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For the Bay Area members, what were you doing when yesterday's earthquake struck at 8:04pm?
I was getting ready to go to sleep. I could feel the house shaking. It was a fairly long quake (5-10 seconds). No damage, but I was heading towards the door!
For Steve Nova, you're now officially a Californian (;-)
Ed
Hi Ed,
Sorry, but I totally missed out on even knowing we had an earthquake yesterday until I heard about it on the news around 2 hours after it happened. My guess is that I was probably driving home from work in my truck about the time it hit. It was only a magnitude of 5.something-or-other, right?
I moved to San Francisco in '77, so I've been through a lot of 'em, --- most notably, of course, was the 7.1 magnitude Loma Prieta quake in '89... Now THAT was an earthquake!!!
Best Regards in Longhaired Ground-liquifying Comraderie,
Ken
Yes, it was magnitude 5.6 centered about 10 miles northeast from San Jose. Scary but no damage.
You won't feel an earthquake while driving (although I once heard someone say they noticed the streetlights were waving about!)
The Mercury News said that yesterday's quake was the strongest in this area since the 1989 Loma Prieta quake. I lived though that one as well.
Regards,
Ed
Magnitude 5.6 and as of about 8am this morning, 31 aftershocks. Most of them being between 1-2 mag.
--Rick
Hey Ed,
I forgot to include the fact that I work over in Castro Valley, --- so, possibly that also had an effect on me not feeling it, since C. V. is much farther from teh epicenter than where you are.
A friend of mine who was driving on Hwy. 101 at the time of the Loma Prieta quake said that when that earthquake hit, she thought that she was experiencing a flat tire, so pulled over to check... Funny thing was, SEVERAL cars pulled over to check their tires (lol), --- and that's when it hit her that she was going through an earthquake!
Another person, a former co-worker of mine, was driving on SF's 19th Ave. towards the GG Bridge when the Loma Prieta hit. He described the same thing you mentioned: how the street light posts looked like they were waving in the breeze, --- only THERE WAS NO BREEZE!!!
Growing up originally in "tornado country" of Illinois, earthquakes to me are fun, --- as long as they are small and not destructive. But, I do NOT want to experience another one as strong as that Loma Prieta one ever again (or worse, one even STRONGER)... one "big one" per lifetime is enough for my tastes, thank you (lol)!!
- Ken
But, I do NOT want to experience another one as strong as that Loma Prieta one ever again (or worse, one even STRONGER)... one "big one" per lifetime is enough for my tastes, thank you (lol)!!
Speaking of strong ones, here is a picture of my elementary school following an earthquake.
George
So you are from Alaska? The 1964 "Good Friday" quake is likely the strongest measured in recent history. Thank God you were not in school when it happened.
Scott
It was Good Friday, 5:36 pm. Everyone was home. My Dad was stationed at Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage. Measured 9.2 on today's Richter Scale. I was in the 4th grade at this school.
We felt it quite noticeably, but not scary at all - a gentle rolling for about 15 seconds ending in a brief bump. It was the first one we've felt since getting this place in 1982. (We were not home for the 1989 quake, but we had no damage from it. I'd bet we'd have felt it if we were here.) I know two guys who were on the freeway during the 1989 quake - one was on I-280 and the other eastbound inside the island on the Bay Bridge - and neither felt that one either, so it's not surprising you did not feel this one in your truck. The guy who was in the island had quite a tale to tell since a piece of the upper deck fell on the roadway he was on, just a mile ahead of him, bringing a stop to all traffic. Enough were listening to the radio to have heard what was happening, and many abandoned their cars on that one-way roadway and fled the bridge back to San Francisco in terror on foot.
Best regards in longhaired mane-shaking camaraderie, (Hey, it's nature's way to celebrate headbanging!)
Bill
I like that concept of head-banging, Bill, --- VERY original (lol)!!
Hope you had a great time up in Yosemite... and see you tonight for Even's b-day party!
- K
I was doing some computer work and then things started shaking for what seemed like about 15-20 seconds. First thought: earthquake. Second thought: I'm on the first floor of a 2 story house and there's plenty of house above me creaking like crazy. When will it end? Third thought: head for the door!
A great site to check out earthquakes in CA and NV...
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/latest.htm
--Rick, in San Jose
I was at my desk working on the computer. I'm in Downtown San Jose, very close to the epicenter. No damage her bit pretty strong rolling movement. It probably would have been more damaging if it were a 'shaker' rather than a 'roller'.
I went out to the USGS site soon after to fill out the 'did you feel it' form and find the epicenter. You know the question, is it a 5.6 nearby or a 8.7 hundreds of miles away
My little dog, Mimi Pooch-ini was pretty frightened. The scariest thing, for me, is not knowing how big it will be after it starts. Usually I'm too occupied with finding a safe place to shelter to be afraid. After 62 years in the Bay Area I'm fairly complacent about quakes but I love to turn on KCBS news radio to listen to the callers' experiences.
'I feel the earth move under my feet....'
Don
My first real quake. I was in the tub of all places. First I heard the low noise that sounded like a helicopter, only smooth and obviously not coming from the sky, and immediately suspected a quake. Then I felt at least two wierd movements of the floor. No doubt about it. At first I was excited, then I was like "OK, this can stop any time." Then it stopped.
Yes, quakes are sort of an initiation for new residents. Welcome to California!
Ed