Earthquake!

Be safe Patrician - we can handle snarky

Berkeley earthquake: Much chatter about 3.9 temblor, but little damage - latimes.com

Pat the first was 4.0mag at 8.2 kms deep and the second was actually only 3.9mag at 9.6km deep so if it felt stronger that's a good indication it was closer to being directly under you than the other.

There's been a lot of light quakes (under 5 mag) up and down the coast lately - they are shallow. I hope you have things anchored well.

As far as predicting when something will actually really blow.........well, if I could do that I'd be mega rich. I will say though that there is a pattern of very shallow quakes in your area, The north part of the state (where the San Andreas and Cascadia meet), and down between LA and Mexico, with most of the southern shakes being over the border in Mexico.

Right now they are few in your area and not yet really swarming - they were last month...they were spooky last month. The plate is moving a bit though so a quick slip isn't too hard to imagine.

Stay limber! Make sure you have a disaster plan at any rate.

Yeah - thanks Jody and Sal for the moral (and informational) support.

You know I am a bit disoriented from all my life being told 'get in a doorway' - well then in the last few years I have heard NO NOT the doorway.

So where, then? the only table I have is right next to this huge unanchored and lopsided bookcase so I am not going there.

I am so dumb sometimes - I am sitting at my computer (so what else is new) and I said - well I will just sit here.

A few minutes ago I looked directly above me and there is a huge 'chandelier thing with a big wooden fan - so this would be the worst place to be. thankyouverymuch next time I will move but like I said I don't know where.

I think near the front door (not in the doorway) but that is the part of the place that is on solid ground (and next to how to get out of here quick).

Funny - they had the annual statewide earthquake drill today "Great Shakeout Earthquake Preparedness Day" - well folks to reiterate, be prepared NOW! LOL.

ha ha - no big deal (so far).

I really disagree with everyone who thinks the second one was stronger and that seems like the majority (and the stats prove what I am saying).

The first one was a strong jolt - boom it was done.

The second one lasted much longer and it rocked and rolled, but it was not as strong.

What is freaking me out at the moment is this guy on TV who is in Berkeley (close to the epicenter) and he described the building rising up and then sinking "2 feet"). WhaT?!?.

Now that sounds like it is going somewhere serious. Where? sinking.

Then there are the lovely stories about 143 years since the Hayward fault had a 7.0 really serious earthquake and the USGS is 'absolutely sure' that it is an 'every 150 year' deal with that one. Yeah, so who else is keeping tabs. It could be early, it could be late - I doubt it will be like the Mayan calendar or anything, lolololol.

Yeah it is fun rocking and rolling - but I figured out how that works with me. It is only fun when and BECAUSE it stops. The ones that go on and on are harrowing because you don't know if it is going to get worse.

Rock on and be safe...

Pat if you know any building inspectors, have one come in and tell you the strong and weak areas of your place. Also - I have a free report on quake safety if you want it. It discusses the triangles of life and some of the problems with those and other issues. If you want to read it I'll either dig that up or the link to it. I think it's on my site somewhere but will be darned if I remember where. LOL.

that might be an interesting read based on the title, Sal.

don't go to too much trouble but if you find it i would like it.

no activity during the wee hours or today that i felt. did hear another newscast saying it was an 'unusual' cluster (not totally weird out of the ozone, but unusual)

hmmmm.

p.s. yeah building inspectors. the same ones that surveyed and said the building is not sliding down the bluff. uh-huh - we believe it with all the cracks and crooked pictures, yeah dude. keep your day job.

... but maybe they will cough up some useful safety info for a crisis...

(still betting on the front door)

I can see a mag four that's less than 10 km deep being able to make a building sink in that area of the world --- there's a lot of buildings sitting on sediments in that area of the world Pat. How old is Berkley? The study of foundation rock isn't old. They now study what a building will be sitting on before building it - especially in areas prone to severe quakes. Sounds like the ground shook sediment that has decayed enough for a quick shake to compact it. That's not great for the building foundation or walls -but if the rock underneath compacts enough it can actually make the building less prone to severe damage later on, too. A lot of factors going on there.

One thing I am going to say - and this is so you will get the drift of your need to understand safety because we want warriors to survive big quakes - is that the quakes going on in CA right now are extremely shallow. That means that they are going to have a LOT more force than if they were deep quakes.

In all my years of tracking and studying quakes, I've seen only one or two people die in 5 mag quakes. But as shallow as these thing are and as much sediment as you folks out there sit on, you need to really take earthquake safety seriously. A seven mag quake that's only 5 km deep is gonna feel hella lot stronger than a 7 mag. It's going to do a lot more damage than one that is three or more times deep.

Haiti was 10 km deep - 7 mag
Chile was 35 km deep and - 8.something mag (cant remember? 8.3?) I realize Chili is built better for quakes and was not right under the epicenter - but it was mega times stronger. You get the drift - only around 500 people were killed in Chili.

California quakes are ALL happening at less than 10 km deep right now. So you need to be cautious out there. Those of you who have been in strong quakes are familiar with the force things flying around can hit you with during a quake. Things don't just fall on you in a quake - they are hurled with force behind them and a lot of death and injury in quakes aren't from a building falling on people - they are from people getting smacked real hard or crushed by stuff that wasn't anchored and is hurled at them just as if they were getting smacked by a softball hurled by a major league pitcher. It's SO IMPORTANT to anchor your stuff so it can't just fly if shaking starts. That beautiful heavy old dresser can slide across the floor with enough force to crush you in a strong quake - anchor it to the floor! Make sure that nice picture with the sharp frame corners can't just fall off the wall, Open book shelf? Not real good. Bullet proof glass fronted doors on that case that are latched make more sense in EQ territory. Kitchen cupboards that latch can prevent injury.

To be blunt - things are looking very likely for a major event out there, so take the time for preparation. If you prepare and nothing happens you can't get hurt - but......what if it does? Which side of that risk do you want to be on?

Okay - my Earthquake Safety report is not online anymore and the affiliate and website links are out of date - but the info is still good so anyone who would like a copy of that report, pm me with your email and I will send it to you.

OK Sal - request sent to PM.

Thank you.

It's on its way Pat. Hope that it is informative for you.

Got it - thanks again, Sally.

Never really had big earthquakes here in new york but just be careful.

Holy cow - I don't even wanna guess the chaos and destruction that would ensue if NYC experienced a large quake. yikes. Haiti would look like a holiday fun park in comparison.

What is it with earthquakes in the Bay area and the World Series?

I lived in the Bay area many years ago, and the standard protocol was then to get in the doorway. Just recently I heard the recommendation to get between two beds or a bed and the wall, and I think they said to pull the mattress over you (or maybe I just thought that would be a good idea, don't remember exactly). Has anyone else heard that advice?

Eastern Turkey just got smacked with a 7.2 mag - 20 km deep. Not sure of the damage yet. Communications are down in some areas. The day before 7.4 mag at the Kermadec Islands - 33 km deep, but there's not many people there so probably won't have much loss.

My condolences to the families effected by the Turkey quake.