DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Earthquakes

Yo dawgs. Just got woken up in the wee hours in the morning in Anchorage. Rocket felt a 7.1 earthquake on the 12th floor of a high rise hotel. There's a few news stories out there, but too lazy to grab the links. The hotel is fine, but shaking this high up in the air was an awful experience.

Any of you have earthquake stories?

my wife says the bed shakes like an earthquake when i fart, thats about it.

Man, that post ended way different than how I thought it started lol

As I lived in Guam as a child, I've been through quite a few. My memories of earthquakes consist of the world taking a step to the left when you didn't. Luckily I was closer to the ground then.

gotta keep it clean, bro.

I lived in Hollywood (CA.) for 11 years, and I was in several earthquakes. They were all sorta fun and exciting, until the Northridge earthquake hit in 1994.

That one scared me.

I couldn't even stand up to run out of the apartment building I lived in - it took awhile because the building was shaking so violently.

I ran back into my apartment building after it subsided, got some Valium, and ran back out!

Nothing can scare you like nature, you just seem so powerless when she strikes.

2 years ago, on dreary evening in November just at dusk I was home alone watching a football game and thought I heard a tornado siren. I switched to a local news channel and saw an alert showing the path of a tornado headed right toward my street. At that exact moment, I heard a crack and saw half of our giant American Elm tree crash to the ground right outside the window. I ran to the basement door and dove down the steps. I definitely lost my man card that day. The tornado missed my house by a half mile, but being caught off guard by nature like that was terrifying.

Another time I was hiking in the rockies with my family and we got caught exposed on a bare mountainside in a brief thunderstorm with lightning crashing all around us. There was absolutely no place to take cover. I'll never hike in the late afternoon at altitude again, those storms come out of nowhere.

quote by Rocket above:

"Rocket felt a 7.1 earthquake on the 12th floor of a high rise hotel."

I believe my reaction to this would be: "This is it, Hasta Luego amigos."

About 1981, I was playing cards with a couple of friends (a husband and wife) around 1 am in Longmeadow MA.

We were seated at the kitchen table when the table started shaking. Both me and the wife said: "Mark, stop shaking your leg." Mark replied "I'm not."

Then we heard gurgling in the pipes in the walls and I looked over at the front door and saw a ~ 6' tall brass coat rack teetering. We all yelled "EARTHQUAKE" and ran outside. Several of the neighbors had been woken up by the shaking and were outside on their lawns in their pajamas.

It was a small quake, no damage done.

This was my only experience with an earthquake. It was weird and quick. I realized how helpless you are if you are inside.

I've felt a few minor ones out here in Oregon. The biggest was a 6.8 centered somewhere in Washington (Olympia or Tacoma I think). It wasn't bad down here in Portland, but was enough that we had to evacuate the building. 4th floor, and I could see the building shaking, but not a bad quake by any stretch.

I've lived in California for almost 15 years, and the worst quake I've ever felt was in North-East Ohio back in 1986. That one was only 4.6 I believe, but the epicenter was pretty much right under us. We thought a truck had hit the building we were in.

In California, most of the quakes I've felt seemed more like a semi driving over a bridge you were standing on. We had a 7.2'ish one a few years ago that came out of Mexico, but I was out of town when that hit.

I felt the ground rumble in Tennessee. I think it was a 4.1 It happened around 4:30 AM. I was working then and was up but still in bed. The others in the house got up asking questions. I said I thought it was a earthquake.

You are one of the few who frequently talk about themselves in third person. I find that more disturbing than an earthquake.

I've been in 4 or 5 earthquakes. A few in California. A couple in Alaska. Nothing big, but always a weird experience. One in Alaska was the rolling kind. That was wild. There is nothing like that feeling. It was also during a strong wind storm where the wind was already rattling the cottage I was staying in, and the snow was really flying. That was a crazy night.

They have 12 story buildings in Anchorage?

Had the same thing happen on the AT. We were hiking along a ridge and could see the storm coming from our left. We sped up to try to get to some cover, and realized we'd never make it. I felt my hair stand up, so me and my hiking buddy ditched our aluminum framed packs and hit the ground (my hiking buddy has actually been hit by lightening twice). It was close enough to feel the static, but never close enough to hit us.

The hotels are the tallest buildings in the city. There's a couple of tall office buildings, too.

Can you see Russia from the 12th floor?

Nah, but Palin's head is so full of air that you can see her floating by mid afternoon.

Man, it is amazing how many people think that Palin actually said that she could see Russia from her front porch. This is the power of media, that it can take something said on SNL, and a few years later it becomes fact in many people's eyes, that the person being parodied actually said it.

I know that you know this, but man, many, many people think that she actually said that. What she really said was something along the lines of; Russia is our neighbor, and you can actually a Russia from an island in Alaska. (which is true, although the "Russia" that is visible is an uninhabited island)

It is amazing how true the old axiom is; that a lie can get halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on, and how many people really believe that this is something Palin actually said.

I think in the next decade, we will be able to give a 10-15 second heads up for major earthquakes, those seconds could save thousands.

I don't think that would be enough time to do much. People would have to just happen to be listening to the radio or TV when the warning was issued.

It would take at least a few seconds to make the decision to make the announcement, and it would take several more seconds for people to hear that again before they did anything.

Even if all was perfect, I doubt I could make it from the TV, to ripping the mattress off the bed and jumping in the tub in 10-15 seconds.

I agree with you Peen...could someone give an example of how 10-15 seconds would save thousands of lives? I'm genuinely curious how that could be..

Most likely text alert. If you have your phone on you or have a special sound configured its enough time to get to a safer spot in the building you are in. I'm not sure how many people actually die in earthquakes though.

After living in southern cal for over 45 years, I have felt quite a few earthquakes. I lived in the San Fernando Valley when the Saugus quake hit in 72. It was a rolling long one. No harm at the house, but the water was contaminated. Had to boil water for a couple of days until the problem was fixed. I felt the Northridge quake well. It did a lot of damage in the area that I grew up. I lived in Upland when the Hector mine quake hit and had its aftershocks. My sister in law lived in Palmdale and would feel the aftershoks about 10 seconds before we would. When she and my wife were talking, and aftershock hit. She let us know, and we got our son and were ready for it to hit us. That little time really did help us to get ready, away from windows and into a door jamb, propping the door so it doesn't swing. 10 seconds made a difference