quake (apartment, camping, safe)

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

Yep, these incidents are good reminders to get plans in place.

When 9/11 happened, my kids were in elementary school in Woodbridge and I was stuck in DC. Of course, internally, I really *wanted* to be home; however, I knew that running down the halls in a panic (as many of my coworkers were doing) and screeching through garage onto DC streets wasn't really going to help me or anyone else.

I was teaching for Fairfax and our home was in PW. FCPS kept us at school. By the time we left (around 4pm or so) I had an easy drive home down 95. There was so little traffic by that point it was almost eerie.

[jillabean]

Originally Posted by VTHokieFan

I'm so sick of people from out west saying this like they're too cool for school. We don't get quakes out here

You can't even handle an inch of rain.

I am sick of it too. I used to live in California and Guam... and yeah, it would have been a small one magnitude scale there but 1) buildings out here aren't built with earthquakes in mind. For example, a nuclear plants that was shut down today was built to withstand a 6.0-6.2 quake. 2) People aren't taught what to do here (saw lots of co-workers run to the windows); And most importantly 3) it was felt in a much bigger area than the localized quakes in Cali--Boston to South Carolina and as far west as Michigan. You don't get huge area quakes like that out West. A quake here is not the same--like comparing a tornado to a hurricane and saying hurricanes are "nothing" because they spread the damage out over a larger area.

[coo77]

Originally Posted by jillabean

I am sick of it too. I used to live in California and Guam... and yeah, it would have been a small one magnitude scale there but 1) buildings out here aren't built with earthquakes in mind. For example, a nuclear plants that was shut down today was built to withstand a 6.0-6.2 quake. 2) People aren't taught what to do here (saw lots of co-workers run to the windows); And most importantly 3) it was felt in a much bigger area than the localized quakes in Cali--Boston to South Carolina and as far west as Michigan. You don't get huge area quakes like that out West. A quake here is not the same--like comparing a tornado to a hurricane and saying hurricanes are "nothing" because they spread the damage out over a larger area.

Which is why my advice was that everybody should have a disaster pack ready, no matter where they live. I was not meaning to be "offensive" by saying the earthquake was moderate. My point was to East Coast residents who may have NEVER felt an earthquake before that things can be much more violent and much more dangerous IF it was a bigger quake. What if this freak, out of the blue earthquake that NOBODY expected was a 7.5 on the Richter scale. The damage could have been much more extensive. These disaster packs can be used for other emergencies as well. As we saw today with the roads clogged, if everybody was stranded and roads were damaged or destroyed, you would want food and water and flashlights, etc... these things are useful in hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, fires, riots, earthquakes, etc...

The poster who responded to me obviously thought I meant to say that East Coast people are "babies." Sorry if it seemed that way. I don't think so and yes, Californians freak out in rain. Its not a competition for who is tougher, just a friendly reminder we should all be prepared for disaster no matter what part of the country we live in.

[jillabean]

I am sorry Coo77--I think I caused some confusion. I wasn't upset by what you said specifically and wasn't offended. The misunderstanding was my fault. I've been reading stories online like at Yahoo, and CNN online, etc. and looking at comments and some of the ones from self-proclaimed Californians were just getting on my nerves. They weren't just saying it was moderate they were saying stuff about this area deserving it, being a bunch of whiners, scared of our own shadows, etc. It was getting on my nerves and that other post reminded me of it.

You know what's ironic? I just moved a little over a month ago and the hurricane brewing reminded me I needed to rebuild a disaster kit. I did the lazy thing and bought two pre-made kits online this morning (one for home, one for the car). I was going to stop at the store to buy extra water, dried fruit, canned goods and such to supplement them, but decided against it this afternoon.

PS- I need to learn to not read comments on news stories

[oneasterisk]

Txt was working while normal cell traffic wouldn't get through. One interesting I found was that the Google Calling feature went through! I had not been able to get through to my sister through a regular cell on AT&T.

Whoa just read this:

and there were reports that the Washington Monument may be tilting.

New attraction folks! Leaning Monument of Washington ;-)

[kutra11]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

What I am wondering is, why when something like this happens (and 9/11 was the first I witnessed it) does everyone RACE to their car and hit the roads. I just don't get it. Why would you panic and run in your car to get home? Or get anywhere.

My poor friend is sitting at work on a bench because a thousand people at our office decided to "run home" and they clogged up the garage so bad that no one could move.

On 9/11 I was almost run down by people running out of the building, down to the garage, only to sit on 395 for HOURS.

Given a choice with returning to work in a 14-storey office building or going home in a two-level house with a basement, it's a no-brainer that a house is the safer place to be in the event of an earthquake. Even if I am stuck in traffic, the road is still a safer bet than a 14-storey office building in the event of an earthquake. Of course, if the roads tear up, then it doesn't really matter where you are!

During 9/11, people just wanted to be with their family. In hindsight, it might look silly, but in moments of stress, you want to be with your family for a feeling of safety and comfort. Period.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by kutra11

Given a choice with returning to work in a 14-storey office building or going home in a two-level house with a basement, it's a no-brainer that a house is the safer place to be in the event of an earthquake. Even if I am stuck in traffic, the road is still a safer bet than a 14-storey office building in the event of an earthquake. Of course, if the roads tear up, then it doesn't really matter where you are!

During 9/11, people just wanted to be with their family. In hindsight, it might look silly, but in moments of stress, you want to be with your family for a feeling of safety and comfort. Period.

Of course. However, watching people run to their cars and jump on the road certainly snapped me into a sense of "I better sit down." Apparently it wasn't much different today.

And while in some other areas, jumping in your car and hitting the road might be okay, it's certainly the worst thing you can do in this area. And it seems that AAA stated that today was the biggest road "panic" since 9/11.

[Alyzza]

Interesting that it was felt all the way to New England and to Chicago, but we didn't feel a thing here in central Fla.

[Caladium]

It's also worth noting that a shallow earthquake creates a different sensation than the typical 2-second jolt I used to feel back when I lived in LA. The rumble is very loud, and the vibration/rocking goes on for much longer. Feeling a room lurch back and forth for a full minute is much more unnerving than feeling a single jolt.

BTW I can remember lots of incidents of Californians acting like fools on the roads after an earthquake--maybe it's just human nature? After the Northridge quake I was working in an office that overlooked an underpass near LAX. I believe it was Sepulveda Blvd. I used to sit there all day and watch the cars jam up because driver after driver would be hesitant to enter the tunnel. Some even turned around in the middle of the road, too scared to try the underpass even though there was no place to turn around. Naturally this made the jams even worse. It was a good week before people started driving normally through that underpass again. And that was in LA, where people go through earthquakes all the time and the roads are designed for them.

[yamota]

Who's watching "2012" tonight?