[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by quixotic59

Soft ground, in an earthqualke, starts to act like a liquid. It's one of the reasons that Manhattan is considered relatively safe in the case of an earthquake since it sits on mostly solid rock.
As the soft ground starts to shift, liquid like, anything above it is in for a wild ride!!!!

I wonder which The Vegas Strip is built on...?

[DianeV]

Not sure what the "shapest" knives might be, but the thing is, you learn that small earthquakes don't do much, stuff doesn't fly around, etc.

[SoCalCpl2]

I have been in hurricanes, tornadoes, dust storms, water widgets and a little old earthquake in Alaska in the early 60's... And that one moved earth and mountain quite easily....

Liquifaction is what it is called when the ground is soft and a good size earthquake hits... And does a bunch of damage.. BUT on the other hand if a BIG one hits or depending on the way it hits, it won't matter if you are on the Rock of Gibraltar, its gonna shake your bones and do a bunch of damage...

Also there are earthquake "swarms" or or micro quakes in every part of the country on a daily basis..all the time....

[mishmom]

Originally Posted by PinkString

I have been through tons of earthquakes in the 26 years I lived in California. They are exciting and scary at the same time. A real waker upper kind of thrill. Nothing more fun than seeing my bookcases swaying back and forth and all my books going kerplunk all over the room. Hearing dishes smashing in the kitchen. I never get to buy new one's anymore since my old one's never jump off shelves the way they used to in California.

I guess I am just bored senseless with my boring life right now. So, if you all don't want earthquakes, how about a tornado or a hurricane? lol Like that will happen here.

Grew up in SoCal and last big earthquake I experienced was Northridge in I think, 1994. Scary but everybody automatically jumps to a doorjam, and thankfully we never experienced anything terrifying. I know what you mean about it being kind of exciting, and since I happened to have insomnia the morning of the Northridge quake, that was the first one I heard coming before the actual shaking started. Sounded like a freight train was on it's way through my backyard.

When we went to live in Minnesota (11 years), The first couple of years, I had nightmares about tornadoes. Absolutely terrified of them. Grabbed the kids and cowered in our basement when the sirens went off. Meanwhile my neighbors were all out in their front yards saying things like, "wow, the sky is looking pretty green"... I thought those neighbors had a death wish. Eventually my nightmares eased up, and then for the next 5-6 years, the sirens would go off, and I'd send the kids to the basement and I would continue doing whatever it was that I was doing upstairs and keep an eye on the local news. The last couple of years we lived there, kept the news on just in case, and stood out in the front yard with the neighbors and commented on how green the sky was.

[PinkString]

Originally Posted by mishmom

Grew up in SoCal and last big earthquake I experienced was Northridge in I think, 1994. Scary but everybody automatically jumps to a doorjam, and thankfully we never experienced anything terrifying. I know what you mean about it being kind of exciting, and since I happened to have insomnia the morning of the Northridge quake, that was the first one I heard coming before the actual shaking started. Sounded like a freight train was on it's way through my backyard.

When we went to live in Minnesota (11 years), The first couple of years, I had nightmares about tornadoes. Absolutely terrified of them. Grabbed the kids and cowered in our basement when the sirens went off. Meanwhile my neighbors were all out in their front yards saying things like, "wow, the sky is looking pretty green"... I thought those neighbors had a death wish. Eventually my nightmares eased up, and then for the next 5-6 years, the sirens would go off, and I'd send the kids to the basement and I would continue doing whatever it was that I was doing upstairs and keep an eye on the local news. The last couple of years we lived there, kept the news on just in case, and stood out in the front yard with the neighbors and commented on how green the sky was.

I think we can get used to anything. We are an adaptable species. Well, the majority of us anyway.

[yellowsnow]

Originally Posted by mishmom

Grew up in SoCal and last big earthquake I experienced was Northridge in I think, 1994. Scary but everybody automatically jumps to a doorjam, and thankfully we never experienced anything terrifying. I know what you mean about it being kind of exciting, and since I happened to have insomnia the morning of the Northridge quake, that was the first one I heard coming before the actual shaking started. Sounded like a freight train was on it's way through my backyard.

When we went to live in Minnesota (11 years), The first couple of years, I had nightmares about tornadoes. Absolutely terrified of them. Grabbed the kids and cowered in our basement when the sirens went off. Meanwhile my neighbors were all out in their front yards saying things like, "wow, the sky is looking pretty green"... I thought those neighbors had a death wish. Eventually my nightmares eased up, and then for the next 5-6 years, the sirens would go off, and I'd send the kids to the basement and I would continue doing whatever it was that I was doing upstairs and keep an eye on the local news. The last couple of years we lived there, kept the news on just in case, and stood out in the front yard with the neighbors and commented on how green the sky was.

Yep, I did that in Minnesota too.

[Tek_Freek]

I've stood out in the yard and watched tornadoes go past. The time when there were the most (probably 15 or so over the period of an hour) a town in northern Iowa got hammered. After they were all gone we went roller skating.

Belmond, IA Tornado Destruction, Oct 1966 | GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods

[tadtam]

BELIEVE ME, you definitely do not want an earthquake. I could tell you many stories. I was in Anchorage Alaska on March 27th, 1964 (GOOD FRIDAY) when a 9.2 quake hit. Won't go into details, but thought I was not going to come out alive. Also been in major hurricanes on east coast, but earthquake is worse because you have no warning.
Imagine right now things shaking around you and the ceiling falling down on you. You try to get up, you fall down because you cannot stand. Then comes the ROAR. Sounds like a freight train coming through the room. It happens fast and furious.

Here is a photo I took a week later on the main street in Anchorage. The "Denali" sign you see is the marquee of the main movie theater.

EARTHQUAKE

[DianeV]

Wow.

But there's a difference between a much lesser earthquake and the 9.2 you experienced, right? Just as there's a difference between wind and the sky dumping a bunch of rain on you and ... Hurricane Katrina.

I assume that many weather "events" are tough to experience when the severity increases.

[LVNVTrucker]

I was in Barstow a few years back (1999) when the 7.1 Hector Mine Quake hit near Ludlow on I-40 (about 25 miles away and it shook pretty darn good). I was in Big Bear City in 1992 during the 7.3 Landers and 6.5 Big Bear Quakes, I remember the chimney collapsing on the ranch house, buckled roads and sidewalks, huge cracks in the ground and landslides that blocked CA-38 and we were without electricity for 2 days. USGS came out to set up instruments in the valley north of us and they had said we were less then a 1/4 mile from the epicenter of the BB Quake. Every aftershock was not only heard (a deep down rumbling growl) but you can actually see the waves coming at you in the ground, like waves at the ocean and the pine trees swaying. Very very weird. Every aftershock would send the water in the pool sloshing from end to end and after a day or so the pool was half empty.

Now granted a 7.3 is no where near the strength of a 9.2, but it is still pretty good size. My biggest fear is being awakened by them (Northridge and Lander woke me up), your half non-coherent and your bed is rocking and rumbling around in the dark and you here stuff cracking and books and plates falling off of shelves. What feels like an eternity is only a few moments to maybe a minute or so.

Back in the day before todays modern technology, when we felt a decent quake we would place bets on a pool as to the epicenter and magnitude. We would all wait 30 to 45 minutes before some reporter who also was woken up by the quake had rushed in to the studio to do a special report and they would break in live with "Breaking News".....now one only has to wait about 3 minutes before epicenters and magnitudes are known and broadcast worldwide via twitter and the internet.