earthquake

H

hawai_74

mac über alles
Joined
Aug 5, 2003
Messages
1,074
Location
switzerland
did you have an experience with an earthquake?

Yesterday, there was an earthquake between Switzerland and France (a very small one: 5,1). Not a big one but still impressive. I never saw an important earthquake IRL, and i'm wondering if some of you have.
 
I've never seen an earthquake, but I've felt a few. Two in all my years living in Vancouver, Canada, and three in Japan in the space of four months. Nothing more than little shimmies that rippled my tea and shifted loose objects off the shelf.

Has anyone known an earthquake strong enough to throw open cupboard doors?
 
I have never been thru an earthquake, fortunately. :)

My region is quite safe, fr a natural disaster point of view. No earthquakes, volcanos, massive floods etc.
 
Allegedly, Ireland is the best place to be if you want to avoid an earthquake. Does anyone else know of places like this?
 
Three years in Alaska, felt one that I couldn't stay standing in. I don't think there's anything more bewildering than having the ground under you rocking and shaking. Earthquakes were one of the reasons I moved to New England. I can handle hurricanes, floods, and even tornados, they all have seasons and some predictability, but earthquakes are a 24/7/365 threat with zero warning.
 
There was a minor one in VA a few weeks ago. I could just barely feel the ground shudder for a few seconds.

IIRC a pretty major fault line runs under NC, which is expected to cause some massive quakes in the future. Can't wait.
 
I live in California, I felt one just about a month ago. You know, the one that happened at about the same time as the Iran one, with less damaging results. I wasn't actually at ground zero, my mom felt it, I was too busy eating lunch.
 
Geologists keep squinting at their tectonic maps of the Pacific Northwest and saying, "Well, it ought to happen" and big too. Somehow we're lucky.

Our Lotto players therefore recon the next one must be catastrophic, any moment now...

I once did structural work on a Vancouver house against earthquake, bolting it to the foundation, etc. at the owner's request. Waste of money, in my opinion, but who can say for sure?
 
Yes, but a very mild one in Melbourne (not an earthquake zone). In the middle of the night I was awakened by a slight but perceptible vibration of the whole room. It lasted only a fraction of a second and I don't think the Richter scale was even registering.

BTW there an funny cartoon some years back when then Prime Minister Whitlam visited China with his wife and experienced a significant earthquake there. The cartoon showed the Whitlams in bed and Mrs. Whitlam speaking the words, "Did the earth move for you too?" :)

Edit: recalcitrant keyboard!
 
Originally posted by Sean Lindstrom
Geologists keep squinting at their tectonic maps of the Pacific Northwest and saying, "Well, it ought to happen" and big too. Somehow we're lucky.

Our Lotto players therefore recon the next one must be catastrophic, any moment now...

I once did structural work on a Vancouver house against earthquake, bolting it to the foundation, etc. at the owner's request. Waste of money, in my opinion, but who can say for sure?
Click to expand...

Hehe, ya, i hear we are "supposed" to be getting a big one, there is enough pressure built up for a magnitude 9 earthquake or something apparelty. It will happen, sometime . . .

And ya, our local school board seems to be fanatical about seismically upgrading all the school - even though they can barely afford it. Sad, we will have a safe school, but no heat, textbooks, or teachers!!! hehe, my house, our foundation would literally turn to sand in an earthquake, it is poorly made, and old (1910's ish).

EDIT: We have minor ones, 3, 4 max, that happen every so often. You feel the ground shake. End of story . . .
 
Originally posted by RealGoober

We have minor ones, 3, 4 max, that happen every so often. You feel the ground shake. End of story . . .
Click to expand...

It's amazing to read that for someone who is never confronted with earthquake, even small.
 
I don't think I ever felt one (there was one or two, but I didn't wake up :D ), but I live in a a city with some risk and that was already destroyed once by one...
 
I lived in CA for 19 years. Yeah, I've been through a couple. Was there for the Loma Prieta quake in '89.

My dad, in addition to living in CA for 30 some odd years, grew up in the Alaskan Panhandle. He has managed to miss quite a few of the bigger ones. Got to the point when mom would worry when he travelled.
 
I live in province of Québec and in 40 year i just had 2 minor shake. There is a geological formation call ''Le bouclier canadien" it mean canadian shield, which is a very stable formation, several km of solidified rock. Only a small area hited by an asteroid xillion year ago is sensible to small earth quake.
 
Despite the fact that the Melbourne earthquake was very minor, the fraction of a second vibration of the whole room left a major frightening impact. It must be really traumatic when you realise that the solid earth you take for granted is just a veneer over hot unstable liquid.
 
Never been in an earthquake. Calgary isn't exactly an earthquake hotspot. I lived in Vancouver for 10 years, and never was in one there eihter.
 
Been through one in Marysville when I lived there. (It's near Seattle) Nothing big. Caused some big damage in Tacoma, though.
 
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