Earthquake!
The last time we had an earthquake of this magnitude in LA, I slept through it. I woke to find some pictures on the floor, but that was about it.
Just moments ago, when this one hit, I was sitting at my desk. At first, I didn’t know what it was, perhaps a large animal was scurrying across the roof. But, then everything started to shake. I saw three empty water bottles that I had set out for recycling tumble to the ground. A box of kleenex fell as well.
As I stood up, thinking I should head to my bedroom where I could best protect myself by squatting next to a large and heavy chest of drawers (which would block a collapsing ceiling), the shaking began to cease. My electricity remained on. Soon friends were e-mailing me and messaging me to ask if I had felt it. One friend who lives near the epicenter reported it was “fairly intense.”
I walked around my apartment to see if there was any damage. In addition to the items I had seen fall, a total of two framed pictures and a Cary Grant box DVD set had fallen to the ground. Given all the clutter in my apartment, that seemed pretty amazing. Most pictures remained on the shelves. All the books remained on their shelves. Most DVDs remained in place.
All in all, it was a pretty weird experience. I still feel a little jittery.
UPDATE: Weird how quickly everything has gotten back to normal, at least in my neighborhood. I heard a few sirens right after the trembler, but now hear the normal sounds of the day.
UP-UPDATE: After having a late lunch with a friend, I returned home to find a few more things out of place, but nothing not easily fixed. Nothing damaged, just the clutter re-arranged.
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Maybe Michael Moore was jogging past your building. (”Hey! Hey! Hey!”)
Comment by V the K — July 29, 2008 @ 3:21 pm - July 29, 2008
Glad to hear you are OK, Dan. FNC is reporting that the epicenter of the quake was near Chino Hills and it was a mag 5.8 quake - not exactly kid stuff.
Temblors were being felt from LA to San Diego to Las Vegas.
Keep us posted if anything else happens.
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — July 29, 2008 @ 3:23 pm - July 29, 2008
Details here.
Comment by V the K — July 29, 2008 @ 3:24 pm - July 29, 2008
#1 - Or maybe it was Rosie O’Donnell running after the ice-cream truck.
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — July 29, 2008 @ 3:25 pm - July 29, 2008
Glad you’re OK, GPW. Just don’t send it our way.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — July 29, 2008 @ 3:29 pm - July 29, 2008
It’s an experience I’ve never had and one I never want. (Being trapped in our hotel elevator — until we managed to crawl out — during one of the New York City blackouts was enough “excitement” to last me a lifetime.)
I’m glad you’re OK, Dan, and that there is no damage to your apartment.
Comment by Trace Phelps — July 29, 2008 @ 3:36 pm - July 29, 2008
Or maybe it was Rosie O’Donnell running after the ice-cream truck.
Actually, it was a school bus, and she was yelling “Stop that Twinkie!”
Comment by V the K — July 29, 2008 @ 3:52 pm - July 29, 2008
Another report from LA, they’ve downgraded it to a 5.4 and so far, minimal damage. They think some water main may have broken.
I had just finished filling my gas tank and draining my bank account. I was on the curb waiting to make a left turn, when the car starts misbehaving, shaking. I didn’t think the gas was that bad!
It went on for a good 20 seconds which is a long time! Didn’t realize it was an earthquake till the radio announcer broke in. Back home now, nothing moved, not even the cat.
Comment by Leah — July 29, 2008 @ 4:01 pm - July 29, 2008
Meanwhile, I say, “What took them so long?”
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — July 29, 2008 @ 4:02 pm - July 29, 2008
Glad all is well, minus a few down pictures
Comment by Mr. Moderate — July 29, 2008 @ 4:03 pm - July 29, 2008
Dan
Glad you are OK. I know it must have been frightening. A friend was in SF for the one in 1989.
Keep safe
Comment by PatriotMom — July 29, 2008 @ 5:33 pm - July 29, 2008
I don’t know if it’s at my end or your end but, while I could post comment number 6 here, I have been trying for an hour to post a comment on movie villains. Everytime I’ve clicked “Say It” my comment has drifted into space somewhere but not at this site.
Comment by Trace Phelps — July 29, 2008 @ 6:47 pm - July 29, 2008
We are in the dog days of summer with slow news so this story will shown ad nauseum for the next 72 hours.
Comment by LCRW — July 29, 2008 @ 6:53 pm - July 29, 2008
I am sure the Liberals made it happen. Blame it on Obama.
Comment by Pinky Bear — July 29, 2008 @ 8:24 pm - July 29, 2008
I heard one of the network talking heads say. “This was not the Big One.”
Well, duh-h-h-h-h-h-h-h.
Comment by V the K — July 29, 2008 @ 8:27 pm - July 29, 2008
#14 - Gladly - we will. Does the Lightboy plan on visiting Southern Cal? Will he perform miracles like healing the sick and raising the dead? (SARC)
You libtards are so amusing.
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — July 29, 2008 @ 9:15 pm - July 29, 2008
Report from northern San Diego county: was sitting in the car at work listening to the radio and eating a sandwich.
I noticed the car was shaking (it had to have been shaking for 2-3 seconds before it was aware of it) and I first thought it was wind but then noticed it wasn’t all that windy. By the time I realized it might have been a quake, the shaking had stopped. I noted the time figuring I’d check the USGS website when I went back in.
A couple of minutes later, they broke in on Rush and said there’d been a quake in LA.
Glad there was no major damage up there but, never having experienced a quake before, I thought it kind of cool.
Comment by Robert — July 29, 2008 @ 9:19 pm - July 29, 2008
#14: I don’t think that even The Obama is powerful enough to cause earthquakes - it was probably global warming:
http://globalwarmingwatch.blogspot.com/2008/06/agw-quake-link-not-all-it-cracked-up-to.html
Comment by Robert — July 29, 2008 @ 9:24 pm - July 29, 2008
I got to experience one on the BART at Embarcadero station, but I was at Universal Studios in Orlando.
Glad to hear you guys haven’t fallen into the Pacific yet.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — July 29, 2008 @ 10:23 pm - July 29, 2008
I’ve only been in one, in Atlanta. It wasn’t big at all but not a nice feeling!
Comment by KevinQC — July 29, 2008 @ 11:54 pm - July 29, 2008
I was in San Fransisco on business when one hit. I was in my hotel room sitting on my bed when everything started to vibrate. I was about to call the front desk to complain about whomever had the bass on their boombox turned up too loud when a local news anchor came on the TV to tell us what had happened.
That’s my only big natural event to speak of in my life. I’ve always wanted to see a tornado, from a safe distance of course.
Comment by NaturallyGay — July 30, 2008 @ 1:17 am - July 30, 2008
Peter H, I love “libtards”! That is so funny!
Comment by Mark J. Goluskin — July 30, 2008 @ 2:05 am - July 30, 2008
I remember after the 89 quake, my highschool went to a conference about what would happen if something similar happened in Mississippi. They talked about the New Madrid Fault and what not, but I don’t remember much else.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — July 30, 2008 @ 4:21 am - July 30, 2008
I’ve been in four earthquakes… none of which were in California. (Two in Michigan, two in Oregon). Maybe whatever gods you worship in El Lay are offended that the socialist whackjobs on the city council are trying to ban fast-food restaurants.
Something’s definitely askew in the world when they can get KFC in Fallujah but not in El Lay.
Comment by V the K — July 30, 2008 @ 8:45 am - July 30, 2008
#22 - Mark, I just call ‘em like I see ‘em.
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — July 30, 2008 @ 10:40 am - July 30, 2008
Glad all is well. A friend of mine in Chino Hills called it “significant”. Y’all can have your quakes, I rather deal with stormy weather down here in ATL.
Comment by A Different Peter H — July 30, 2008 @ 11:32 am - July 30, 2008
#24
Maybe Pinko can explain how Bush has taken away our right to have KFC. I’ll tell you one d*mn thing, I’ve been craving those fried cherry pies, McDonald’s used to have, fortnightly the past few months. Whataburger still has fried pies.
#26
I’ll stick with the hurricanes down here in Florida. You can see ‘em coming and you know in advance how bad it’s going to be. Back in ‘04 when three of ‘em criss-crossed our county, I sat on the lanai drinking, smoking and toasting the storm. We didn’t piss and moan about FEMA either.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — July 30, 2008 @ 3:44 pm - July 30, 2008
I used to live in Chino Hills. This time I was in downtown San Diego on the 20th floor of an office building. I didn’t think it was that bad–just back and forth a couple of times. I was in one that occurred about 4-5 years ago on the 13th floor and our building was literally swinging around in circular motions. During that one I white-knuckle gripped my desk for a good 90 seconds.
Comment by Sean A — July 30, 2008 @ 8:49 pm - July 30, 2008
#27 - You can still get fried pies here in Houston. I’ll send you a care package.
I was in FL during the 2004 hurricane season with Hubby. We were in Ft. Lauderdale and got stuck there. Did the same thing you did - except since we had a hotel room, I’ll just leave the rest to your imagination.
“Lanai?” What, are you one of the missing Golden Girls? Puh-leeze. Does that mean if I get to visit you, we get to slice up a cheesecake and talk about sex all night?
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — July 30, 2008 @ 9:39 pm - July 30, 2008
13th floor? Well there’s your problem right there. Say, is an earthquake an up & down motion or side to side?
Yeah I know. Momma told me the other day that “lanai” was yankee. I’ve just heard it so much down here, I thought that was correct. But then it’s easier to say than “screened-in patio”. I always eschew obfuscation and take the easy route.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — July 30, 2008 @ 10:05 pm - July 30, 2008
Oh, and do earthquakes make a sound like on TV or is it just the noise of stuff falling/breaking? Like say you were in a huge field or prairie with nothing to fall over, would you hear anything?
Comment by ThatGayConservative — July 30, 2008 @ 10:07 pm - July 30, 2008
Earthquakes do make a sound; it can be a loud rumble or kind of like a muffled thunderclap, depending on where you are and what kind of earthquake it is. The motion varies; in some places it is like a big wave where you feel an up and down motion, and in others, it is a continuous back and forth shaking.
My first big temblor was last fall; ironically, on a night when I was teaching class, and at our building that was located next to the harbor. It started as shaking, which isn’t too bad, but when the shaking doesn’t stop, that’s when the adrenaline goes up. I just told everyone to get under their desks and we stayed there until it stopped (about thirty seconds).
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — July 31, 2008 @ 12:29 pm - July 31, 2008
ThatGayConservative, #27 — I thought I was the only guy in Florida who sits on the “screened in patio” and watches the storms. However, a Cat 4 or 5 would send me scurrying inland since my back yard and a narrow strip of sandy beach are all that separate me from the Gulf and storm surges. We haven’t had a direct hit where I live since we built the house but one of the 2004 storms was close enough that the storm surge made it into our pool and to within a foot of the “screened in patio”, which sent me upstairs to watch from a “screened in porch” that sits atop the “screened in patio”.
At least there’s multiple-days warning. Here in Kansas, where we spend the summers working our small farm, the tornado sirens don’t give us much time to take shelter. Fortunately, they’ve only come close. The night in June when a tornado hit Manhattan and Kansas State University the storm cell held up all the way into our county and that was spooky.
In a few hours we’ll be leaving tornado alley and sometime late tomorrow will be in Asia for four weeks in Vietnam and China (for the Beijing Olympics) and I will definitely be thinking about earthquakes!
Comment by Trace Phelps — July 31, 2008 @ 2:02 pm - July 31, 2008