Earthquakes - how do you cope? Gang situation? (famous, carpenter)

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by SFLGirl4Life

Hi all - we are moving to Culver City at the end of the summer (my husband, 2 young kids and me). I've lived in South Florida all my life. The two issues I'm having with the move are:

1. Earthquakes. I've never experienced one and I'm terrified of them. How do you live with this? I know we have hurricanes over here, but we've got a good week or two to prepare for those. Earthquakes are so...random.

They rarely ever happen. I've felt a couple minor ones. It's sort of creepy for >ten seconds, then it's over. Relax. Millions upon millions of other people do!

2. Gangs. How big of a presence do they have in Culver City?

Thanks so much!

Really nothing to worry about. Culver City is a pretty calm and quiet area overall.

[Harrier]

Originally Posted by SFLGirl4Life

Hi all - we are moving to Culver City at the end of the summer (my husband, 2 young kids and me). I've lived in South Florida all my life. The two issues I'm having with the move are:

1. Earthquakes. I've never experienced one and I'm terrified of them. How do you live with this? I know we have hurricanes over here, but we've got a good week or two to prepare for those. Earthquakes are so...random.

2. Gangs. How big of a presence do they have in Culver City?

Thanks so much!

Earthquakes - well once you have experienced one and know how to react (get under something or into a doorway - DON'T run screaming into the street!) they aren't that big of a deal. You don't go around worrying about them - either they occur or they don't - and if they do they usually don't last long.

Really - I would be more worried about a hurricane - if I lived where they are likely to happen - seems that even if you know they are coming - there is no rhyme or reason as to how one keeps from getting killed or losing a home. At least with earthquakes - you can make your home somewhat safe - and can protect yourself from most falling objects. I've never understood why people from hurricane or tornado country are so freaked out by earthquakes - those killer storms seem a lot more frightening to me - but I suppose if you have never been in an earthquake the fear of the unknown takes over.

Gangs in Culver City - I can't help you with - it is entirely on the other side of town from my location. However - if the gangs over there are like the gangs here - unless you are a gang member yourself - you don't have much to worry about from them.

[SFLGirl4Life]

Thank you for all of the tips/advice! I am feeling better about the earthquakes, but I definitely have a lot to learn about how to prepare for one. I would have been the person running screaming into the street.

Enjoyed those CC secret clips! Thanks.

[Caladium]

Three basic earthquake tips that will give you peace of mind:

1. If you're worried about dishes falling out of an upper cabinet, give yourself peace of mind by putting them in the lower cabinets. Put the tupperware up top. To be honest, I don't think this is something you need to worry about--but I have a mom who worries about things like this and I found that the simple move of putting the dishes in the lower cabinet allowed her to worry less and enjoy being in Los Angeles.

2. Put a little dab of wax under valuable and breakable items and then you won't have to worry about them falling over. That's what the museums do.

3. Keep a pair of slip on shoes next to your bed. You probably won't ever need them--they're there for peace of mind. You can sleep knowing that should an earthquake hit in the middle of the night you can easily slip on your shoes if you need to get out of there.

[jaypee]

In my 20+ years living in LA, the only quake that broke anything in my house was the Northridge.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by jaypee

In my 20+ years living in LA, the only quake that broke anything in my house was the Northridge.

I jumped out of bed in Isla Vista and caught the lava lamp before it hit the floor (would have made an awful mess). It's gotta be one hell of a quake to wake me into action at 4:30 in the morning, and that was it.
Fortunately, there haven't been any like it since. That was 1994.

[urbanr0cker]

1) Earthquakes:

Residentially, common sense goes a long way in this respect: as others have said avoid putting large/heavy items on high shelves and invest in those little earthquake straps for furniture (Quakehold! brand has a pretty decent strap kit). Some recommend keeping a pair of tennis shoes near or under the bed in case of a late night/early morning night shake up.

Earthquakes vary in feel and can be anything from a rolling/swaying motion or feel like a large truck passing by, or a sedan driving into your house. It could come as a slight jolt or a strong, vigorous shake. The feel depends on a couple key factors; first the type of structure you're in (say a highrise with a structure retrofitted with a type of roller which makes the building seem to sway) and two, the type of quake it is.

Emotionally: It can be scary at first; let's not mince words here, the ground is moving uncontrollably beneath your feet and you have no idea when it's stopping. It's neither pleasant nor expected and the promise of aftershocks looms above. Luckily aftershocks are generally much, much milder than the initial quake and aren't nearly as frequent. Initially you might feel the urge to panic and either freeze or run but thankfully in most cases by the time you start to panic, it's already over. They usually don't last that long around here. The longest one I remember was the one that hit Easter Sunday a couple years ago, the epicenter was in Mexico but we still felt it plenty here. It lasted about 60 seconds but it felt more like a steady wave or rolling motion.

It's not uncommon to feel afraid, your heart will beat faster and your adrenaline levels will increase but don't go running around or screaming, crying or panicking. Anecdotally, if you have pets (dogs mainly) they may bark, whine, growl run around or otherwise inexplicably behave strangely a bit before it happens. Some consider their dogs their first defense against earthquakes. I have a friend who gets under her desk every time her dog barks or runs around for no apparent reason.

Some people said they don't happen that often, meh, I live damn near on top of the Newport-Inglewood Fault and I'd slightly beg to differ. Couple years ago I very distinctly remember having a strong quake (5.x) and something like five or six more aftershocks in a week. Nevertheless, the frequency and severity depends on where you live. Earthquakes happen a hundred times a day in California and Los Angeles happens to have some faults running through it.

Whatever you do: DO NOT GET INTO A DOORWAY. This is an old urban legend that supposedly got passed around after a strong earthquake hit a town in Mexico and the only thing left standing was the door frame of a little Pueblo house. Door frames are no safer than standing under a tree in a thunderstorm to escape the rain. Designate a space inside your house -- perhaps a sturdy table or a walk-in closet -- that is easy to access and that can withstand housing debris until the quake is over.

2) Gangs:

In Culver City? Hahahahahahaha. Please. Steer clear of Mar Vista Gardens and you'll be just fine.

[Jay100]

Originally Posted by SFLGirl4Life

Hi all - we are moving to Culver City at the end of the summer (my husband, 2 young kids and me). I've lived in South Florida all my life. The two issues I'm having with the move are:

1. Earthquakes. I've never experienced one and I'm terrified of them. How do you live with this? I know we have hurricanes over here, but we've got a good week or two to prepare for those. Earthquakes are so...random.

2. Gangs. How big of a presence do they have in Culver City?

Thanks so much!

Earthquakes are a part of life here. The good thing about that is everything has been seismically retrofitted and building standards are high here, so there is little chance of major damage or loss of life. My greatest fear is being swallowed by the Earth but it hasn't happened in 2000+ years, so it's probably just a fear.

Gangs (and wannabees) are everywhere. I don't think Culver City is run by gangs but, still LA is a big city and individual gang members will pass through, live or work there. If you don't want to see them--at all, period--then, don't move there.

[sll3454]

Originally Posted by Jay100

My greatest fear is being swallowed by the Earth but it hasn't happened in 2000+ years, so it's probably just a fear.

How old are you?

[Tasksgirl]

I don't really understand why L.A. has such a bad reputation for crime. Statistically it's actually one of the safest of the big cities. I've never experienced any problems with gangs.

Culver City is a nice area.