[solvegas]

No prob, Solvegas.

Hey, want to trade earthquakes for hurricanes?

Oh yes !!! You can see a hurricane coming and, if you have any sense, prepare for it or simply skeedadle. Earthquakes ? You know about them after they hit you. That sucks. 

[TheZookie007]

Exactly! Earthquake are the scariest natural disasters because there's no (reliable) way to predict them, and when they strike, you can't avoid them. You're SOL.

[MasterDragonfly]

I was on the phone with a customer when the quake hit where he was. He was suddenly discussing with a co-worker, then told me they had to leave the building. End of call.

On a more personal note, I was in San Francisco about a decade ago, living on the top floor of a 15 floor apartment building, when a quake hit. I was awake and chatting online, it was around 12:30-1:00am.

I freaked. I jumped up, didn't know what to do, ran to my unit's door, threw it open... and noticed the complete absence of panic on my floor.

I turned and looked out of the window, noticing the slowly shifting/rocking perspective of everything outside.

It wasn't huge as quakes go (as I came to understand it), but it was still plenty unnerving. It was a newer building (built to be more flexible), but still. I was high up. The building was wobbling. And me without my Iron Man suit.

[calcifer]

I hear Republicans want to call the source of the east coast quake "Obama's Fault" =P

[RandomX]

Exactly! Earthquake are the scariest natural disasters because there's no (reliable) way to predict them, and when they strike, you can't avoid them. You're SOL.

I feel that way about tornadoes. Tubes of destruction all crammed into one giant wind tunnel. You can predict they might come, you can't predict where, exactly when or its path.


The earthquake itself wasn't so bad in NC. My coworker asked if I felt something and I agreed that it felt like the ground was shaking. The scary part? Proof messaged me from the next town over asking if I "felt that" and my mother message me from 700 miles away (NJ) saying they just had what felt like an earthquake AT THE SAME TIME. My mind could not wrap itself around the concept of NJ and NC getting hit at the same time by an earthquake, I thought it was something worse at first!

[pedonbio]

Hey! Today is the anniversary of the day in 1883 when Krakatoa Island exploded!

[PregNut]

I was on the phone with a customer when the quake hit where he was. He was suddenly discussing with a co-worker, then told me they had to leave the building. End of call.

On a more personal note, I was in San Francisco about a decade ago, living on the top floor of a 15 floor apartment building, when a quake hit. I was awake and chatting online, it was around 12:30-1:00am.

I freaked. I jumped up, didn't know what to do, ran to my unit's door, threw it open... and noticed the complete absence of panic on my floor.

I turned and looked out of the window, noticing the slowly shifting/rocking perspective of everything outside.

It wasn't huge as quakes go (as I came to understand it), but it was still plenty unnerving. It was a newer building (built to be more flexible), but still. I was high up. The building was wobbling. And me without my Iron Man suit.

Sounds like you had to settle for "rust" in your underpants.   

[TheZookie007]

I feel that way about tornadoes. Tubes of destruction all crammed into one giant wind tunnel. You can predict they might come, you can't predict where, exactly when or its path.

But at least if you see where a tornado is headed, all you need to do is drive away at a 90-degree angle from its path

The earthquake itself wasn't so bad in NC. My coworker asked if I felt something and I agreed that it felt like the ground was shaking. The scary part? Proof messaged me from the next town over asking if I "felt that" and my mother message me from 700 miles away (NJ) saying they just had what felt like an earthquake AT THE SAME TIME. My mind could not wrap itself around the concept of NJ and NC getting hit at the same time by an earthquake, I thought it was something worse at first!

That's because Twitter is faster than an earthquake.

[DruulEmpire]

Three quakes in Oklahoma.  WTF!?  But at least they were less severe than our August one.

Addendum: huh, spoke too soon, their latest hit was about as bad as our August one was.  

[Djoser]

Well there are 'quakes' everyday here, and on average, once a week they are powerful enough to be felt by most people (that is 3.0 in richter's magnitude). I can't imagine living in a place where earthquakes are seen as a rarity or as the sign of apocalypse.

[DruulEmpire]

Don't have to be "apocalyptic," just a pain.  One in Turkey just now killed a few people.

[Djoser]

I don't get how in places like China or Turkey in which there have been millions of earthquakes since humans established still suffer heavy death tolls each time the Earth shakes... humans don't learn well it seems.

[pedonbio]

I don't get how in places like China or Turkey in which there have been millions of earthquakes since humans established still suffer heavy death tolls each time the Earth shakes... humans don't learn well it seems.

I don't know, either, Dj. Most basic building techniques will easily withstand a 5 to a 6, and a few pretty obvious modifications will protect buildings up to an 8. Building with unreinforced stone is about the only way to make buildings collapse.

[Shadowmuse Blown]

4.8 magnitude earthquake hit New Jersey (just west of NYC) an hour or so ago and boy did it rattle us out here on Long Island!

[rtpoe]

Yep.

They're scarier in the Northeast because a) we're not used to them, b) the geology of the region means they're felt over a MUCH wider area, and c) our old buildings aren't earthquake-proof.....