Earthquake preparedness

[mklotz]

Last Sunday we had a nice little earthquake with its epicenter about 20 miles from where I live. Fortunately, it was one of those small (Richter 4.7) stress-relief quakes we Angelenos so love. A dozen of those is far better than the fabled "big one" that will turn Southern California into an island free to float north towards San Francisco.

There was no structural damage - just a few small items knocked off a bookshelf and the Garaj Mahal wasn't affected at all.

It did serve, though, as a good reminder to inspect what I've done since the last quake nudged me into safety inspector mode. I did find some metal stock perched a bit unwisely on an overhead shelf. That situation will be corrected soon. (In the past, I've corrected some more major potential disasters such as an unsecured rake that could fall and pierce a plastic gasoline container.)

If you live in or near one of the country's earthquake zones (and they're not all in California), take a few minutes to inspect your shop area for hazards that could cause problems if the earth starts dancing.

 

[Maryak]

Marv,

Thanks for the reminder - Adelaide is also in an earthquake zone. :bow:

Best Regards
Bob

 

[Foozer]

If you live in or near one of the country's earthquake zones (and they're not all in California), take a few minutes to inspect your shop area for hazards that could cause problems if the earth starts dancing.

Grew up in the San Francisco area and your advise is good. Went to and saw first hand the aftermath of the LA shake in 72 I believe, overpasses down and other general disarray.

When the kids were younger I would have what was called earthquake day, Shut of the house power and water for 24 hours ( I wasn't the most favorite dad for a while after those exercises) Purpose was to instill a tad of self reliance, kept around a three day supply of MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat), bottled water and such. So for the 24 hours it was a "Dont Panic", got food and water lesson. Useful info can be found at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/preparedness.php

Figure that it would take 3 days after a natural disaster occurrence for some sort of general assistance plan to be in operation. Be able to provide for your own needs during those first few days and you can retain the sense of civilized behavior.

Now in WA with Mt Baker on one side and Mt Rainer on the other, being a BBQ'd Tadpole is an issue, unless of course a tsunami comes shooting through the Straight and redevelops the island.

 

[itowbig]

i have hanging shelves that sway this way nothing can fall off. everything thats on the floor just rolls away. i really like the swaying shelves they just move back and forth however i have thought about how to put them onto a ball type mount so they could sway 360 degrees then i know for sure things wont fall off. ;D

 

[Tin Falcon]

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/

 

[mklotz]

After making my post above, I went out to the garage and completely reorganized the overhead metal stock storage so it's all nice and secure. Came back into the house for a nap - damn head cold is never going to go away.

After about an hour of sleep, I was rudely shaken awake by... you guessed it, another earthquake. This one 4.1 on the Richter and in almost the same location as the last - clearly a major aftershock.

I've never been much of a procrastinator but, in this case, I'm really glad I didn't put off getting the job done.

 

[Metal Butcher]

Hi mklotz. I hope the tremors in your area subside. As a fellow member of this forum I,m very concerned about your safety and the safety of others in the vicinity of this dangerous situation. The precautions and safety warnings your taking and advising are very prudent in the wake of current events.

My best wishes to you and every one that's being affected by these occurrences.

-MB

 

[rake60]

I live in Pennsylvania that is no where near an earthquake zone.
My brother in law was stationed in San Bernardino with the Air Force
for a time. He said one day while he was filling out paper work at a
desk, somebody came up behind him and kicked the back of that chair
hard enough to knock the wind out of him.
He jumped up fighting mad but there was no one behind the chair.
An Airman at another desk laughed at him and said:
"Lighten up buddy, it's just an earthquake.
You'll get used to it."

I'll take the occasional blizzards and flash floods of Pennsylvania.
You can KEEP the earthquakes!

Stay safe there!

Rick

 

[itowbig]

yep when you live in calif you get used to the quakes its normal life here.
i tried to get the wife to move east but she says she dont like tornados. i told her whats the diference earth quakes tornados it dont matter. you will get used to it. drink more beer and sway with it :big: :big:

 

[Tin Falcon]

I live in Pennsylvania that is no where near an earthquake zone.

They may be closer than you think.There was one 3.0 3 miles SW of Roanoke VA earlysaterday morning.
Just comforting thoughts right??
Tin

 

[Maryak]

Geez Tin,

As if Rick didn't have enough to worry about with blizzards and floods. ;D

Can we spring a bush fire on him as well, ??? purely in the interests of a complete picture of course. :big:

Best Regards
Bob

 

[ChooChooMike]

We were at the movie theater on Sunday when the original one hit. We were watching the new Star Trek movie (really good so far) and I thought the movie had some pretty good sound effects :big: when the whole building shook When we realized it was a quake, we decided to get out of the large movie hall and not risk having the ceiling fall on us. There were reports of ceiling tiles falling in another local theater. Now we have to go back to watch the rest of the Trek movie.

Had another aftershock yesterday (Tues) about 3:49pm. I was at work and ran for the doorway on that one. I work about 4 miles from the epicenter.

Oh well, just another day in SoCal

 

[zeeprogrammer]

I experienced an earthquake in Illinois some years back. Very strange having my legs moving back and forth while the rest of me was still.

I experienced several tornadoes in Missouri. Spent many hours in the basement. I'm in eastern PA now and don't miss them at all. What they call tornadoes here, we would have called dust devils in MO.

I'll never own a house without a basement. I'd feel naked.

 

[Tin Falcon]

there was a 2.8 earthquake just 3 or so miles from where I work about 9:45 this am I did not feel it I was on the road in pa. Actually may have felt it and just thought it was the usually east coast rough roads.
Tin

 

[mklotz]

http://www.data.scec.org/recenteqs/Maps/Los_Angeles.html

Five today. Biggest was 2.4. You'll never feel those tiny ones.

 

[Seanol]

Marv,
If you guys keep this up I will have beachfront property here in Las Vegas! :big:

Hope all is well,
Sean

 

[rake60]

I see there was a 6.9 in Baja California today.
How far north did that one reach?
That is something I just can't imagine dealing with.

When my oldest boy was 17 years old he was in extreme
north central Pennsylvania. One afternoon the buildings
shuddered and windows broke. At first the local Civil Defense
said it was an earthquake. 10 minutes later they scrambled a
pair of military jets to be sure it wasn't an airliner crash.
It turned out to be nothing more than a moderate size
meteor strike 20 miles away. I guess you just never know
what nature might throw at you.

Stay safe there in CA!

Rick

 

[Kermit]

San Andreas is famous, but New Madrid was a total loss.

There are about as many people living here as in LA or SanFran.

I hope local efforts are keeping them as aware of their situation as they need to be.



Love
Kermit



and He sits in Judgement of them all...

 

[wmf138]

Good idea
you forget just how quick these things can happen
for us down here we live next to a extinct volcano if there is such a thing
and when I mean next I mean the house is on the side 200m from the crater

and yes we have tremors you don't often think about things hanging from the rafters
must go and change a few things

thanks for pointing these thins out that you don't normally think about


Wayne

 

[ksouers]

Kermit,
That's a neat little map. The New Madrid fault runs very near here. We have very small tremors at least weekly, most go completely unnoticed except by the monitors. The ubiquitous "they" say it, and its tributaries, are much larger than the San Andreas and when "the big one" hits it'll be felt as far as New York City.

Last year we had a small rumbler, 5.2, centered in eastern Illinois about 150 miles from here. The bed shaking woke me up, very unnerving. A couple buildings downtown lost a few bricks and had cracked windows but nothing serious. Similar damage in outlying areas.