Thursday, July 11, 2019

Didja Feel That?

You may have heard, we had some earthquakes around these parts last week.

Lucky for us, the epicenter was way-the-f-out there in the middle of nowhere. (Not great for the residents of Trona and Ridgecrest as they got the direct hit.) 150-ish miles makes a huge difference in intensity.

The foreshock (what they're now calling it) on July 4th hit while I was lazing in bed, playing Candy Crush on my phone. It was that same phone that I then went to Twitter on to find out what we all want to know right away: epicenter and Richter scale magnitude.

You make initial guesses. It was a gentle one, with everything swaying. It was almost like being on a boat. But just when it should have been over, it wasn't. Length is a good indication of how big it is as it could be far away.

I follow a couple earthquake bots on Twitter. They pop up with information right away.

I had never heard of Searles Valley, so I knew it was a distance. And the initial 6.6 (it was downgraded later) was big.

The news goes a little crazy with earthquake stories. We shrugged it off. We were far enough away that we had sympathy for the woman whose house was totalled (it totally went off the foundation), but we weren't in the mood to watch the local stations fill news time with all the minutiae that they find to fill time.

I read blogs and later watched a movie on Netflix.

Friday night's earthquake was bigger. I posted all about it on Twitter:
That's the second time I was in the shower during an earthquake. I blogged about it the first time. (Oh my, that was ten years ago.) This time I wasn't all soapy, but I was in a good spot. I held on as the world swayed around me.

The earthquake finished. I finished my shower. What? I wasn't going to interrupt my shower once the shaking was all over. There was no immediate damage.

7.1 is huge. But again, over 150 miles away.

We seriously lucked out.

Trona and Ridgecrest, not so much.

(My other earthquake stories are filed under the label: earthquake files. You can find them here.)

26 comments:

  1. I didn't realize you were in California. Glad it was far away and all you did was sway in the shower.
    You have an earthquake app. I have a hurricane app. Different coasts!

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  2. I thought about you and all my friends and family in California when I heard about the quakes. Glad it did happen so far out and not in the "bit cities." Its funny how the news gets so excited about them. Its the same with the weather here. They are always going on about the high heat warnings (and I know its good to give visitors a heads up, but a visitor should be expecting high heat if you visit Phoenix, the desert, in the summer). But the news goes on and on about it, how to prepare for it, make sure your pets are okay, check on the elderly, etc. All wise advice, but we already know that, like you Californians know about earthquakes and preparation for them.

    I'm sure there will be lots of aftershocks in the days/months to come.

    betty

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  3. I've never felt an earthquake but I don't think I'd want to be in the shower during one. Just like when there's a bad thunderstorm - what if there was a tornado? Do I really want rescuers to find me naked?

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  4. We had the same timeline as you had. Friday night's was long, hanging lights swung around. In fact, at Friday's bridge, the disco ball was great to watch.
    (I am not elderly, by any means, but bridge is a load of fun to hang out with the cross generations.)

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    1. Nah, it's the disco ball that makes you sound old ;)

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  5. I was wondering about you when I heard about the earthquakes. Glad you're okay. I have to agree with Diane about not wanting to be in the shower during something like that.

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    1. Not the best place, that's for sure. But they all can't happen while standing in the middle of a football field. (True story. I was 16.)

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  6. We have little earthquakes here in Kansas (I think 4.7 was the maximum at my house) Hate that feeling of the house moving. I can't imagine what California is like

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    1. Most of the time, just like Kansas. I guess we've gotten used to it.

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  7. I remember seeing that tweet and thinking "Oh, that must be scary", but you just roll on like nothing happened :).

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  8. I've never experienced an earthquake. the one time that Long island had an earthquake, I was in Florida. You're so calm about it...

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    1. Experience. I've been through dozens. And we were far enough away that we didn't sustain any damage. I'm sure I'd be a nervous wreck if it had been a direct hit.

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  9. I felt the 7.1 way up here in Hollister, but I didn't realize it was down there until later. I was sitting at my computer and felt a slight sway happening. "Earthquake," I thought, but the Husband felt nothing. I haven't got around to researching whether this is a new fault. All I've heard is that it runs parallel to San Andreas.

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  10. Yeah, those hits on the Richter scale recently down in your neck of the woods were strong.

    -waiting for the Big One to hit up here... :S

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  11. Yep....heard that, with my son living out in Calif. I try to stay up on that stuff. They felt nothing in San Diego. Course my daughter was a tad confused with it saying Southern Calif. I explained that there are only two parts to Calif....south and north. Glad you did not feel the worst of it. Had a friend tell me the other day that if we had something like that here we would not fair so well cause our land is not used to movement like that. Said best to have ten days worth of food....WHAT? I normally don't have a days worth!! haha...

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    1. And three days worth of water. I bet you know how many are ready for that ;)

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  12. Back in 1994 (woh, dating myself now) I spent 2 months backpacking around the US. Just before I flew over California had a big earthquake. I started on the east coast of the US so it was a few weeks later that I got to California. On my 3rd (and last) day in LA I was in my hotel room up high when the whole thing began to shake. Things fell off the bench and totally freaked me out. I was glad I was leaving for San Diego. I know it was just aftershocks but coming from a country which is very stable it wasn't something I was used to (a bit like people coming here and worrying about all the deadly critters we have).

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  13. Well, now I know what region you're in!
    Last earthquake I experienced was that 6.8 in Taiwan a little over a year ago. I can't remember how far away we were, but I was in a hotel room on the 26th floor. Hubs was sleeping soundly but I was still up, and yeah, like being on a ship on the ocean.

    Glad you are undamaged!

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  14. You react to earthquakes like people in Northern Michigan react to a blizzard aka we keep on with our lives. LOL

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    1. At a certain point, you've been through enough of them that you stop worrying about them. I hit that point years ago.

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  15. I have felt an earthquake where I live and the bricks( in my office..the wall) looked like they “rolled”. It was different for sure. Glad it didn’t hit you too badly but fell bad for the people in the area of the epicentre and the woman who lost her home

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    1. It is kinda a weird feeling. But it's fun when it's over, provided you sustain no damage. At the epicenter, they had a lot of damage.

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  16. I'm glad you are safe, at least. We're in Minnesota, so we don't usually experience earthquakes. Tornados are more our thing--and snowstorms.

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