...you find yourself wondering, "What's that banging sound?" only to realize that the tectonic plates are shifting within a few miles of where you live.
I've lived in California since 1996, so I'm well aware that this locale, as lovely as it is, brings with it the whole "ground might open up and swallow you" thing. This is by far the most intense quake I've ever felt...looks like they've marked it as a 5.6 at this point.
So, yeah, I was a bit freaked out for a moment there. Sorry if this is the most inane thing I've ever posted, but now that the building isn't threatening to crush my head, I'm finding the post-analysis to be fairly fascinating. The location and magnitude data appeared online within only minutes of the quake, and probably even sooner than that on the radio.
Hopefully the rest of you Silicon Valley folks are okay.
8 comments:
I didn't notice this for a second, but Sarah said she did. I guess living near the streetcar has made me really desensitized!
Well, the epicenter was a lot closer to me than to you...I'm pretty sure you'd have felt it unmistakably if you'd been here! It felt like I was walking on the deck of a ship for a few minutes there.
But different people are definitely differently attuned to earthquakes. Someone I know said that he was in Fry's Electronics when it happened, and he saw a sales clerk dive under a table 3 seconds before he noticed anything. And I'm sure living somewhere that vibrates all the time can make it difficult to tell when there's something tectonic going on!
Glad you guys are OK, though. When I first felt the quake I remember thinking, "Gah, if this is centered in San Francisco, San Francisco is probably underwater by now!"
I was at home in berkeley on the phone with a friend in alameda! phone earthquake rocks! my chair moved at least a quarter of an inch.
Makes me feel left out considering the UK is smack dab in the middle of a tectonic plate thus meaning we don't get earthquakes.
Also I know this is completely off topic. But it is no doubt of interest to you Anne.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/skynews/20071102/twl-mighty-mouse-key-to-a-human-breakthr-3fd0ae9.html
Gash: Well, I've heard that if the polar ice caps melt, the UK will actually likely freeze over due to the alteration in air currents (or something like that), so there's potential for something disastrous no matter where you live!
I lived in the Eastern US for the first 17 years of my life, and out there we had hurricanes and major thunderstorms -- Hurricane Gloria (1985) was probably the most destructive event I've ever witnessed firsthand: there were entire trees uprooted, bringing sidewalk squares with them. And the power was out for about a week.
I tried to visit the URL you posted, but Blogger seems to have cut off the end, so it's giving me a "page not found".
Urgh thats annoying. Well look it up on my blog. I only just posted an article on it today. Its www.ihasacookie.blogspot.com
I lived in the Southland and felt the Northridge and Landers earthquakes in the early 1990's. I know how that experience can unnerve someone.
Hi Mark. I'm over being unnerved at this point, but yeah...at the time it was definitely rather unsettling (no pun intended). Actually at this point, I'm wondering if maybe some people will decide that Earthquake Central is too scary, and move away, thereby causing a drop in housing prices.
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