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jesus christ i need a drink, that was scary. |
A couple weeks ago there was an earthquake of 4.5 with an epicentre in Richmond, VA, and I felt it at work....I thought it was just the heating system in the building malfunctioning and rumbling a bit. |
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i felt sea sick. we all realized what was happening and just watched the blinds and other objects sway back and forth. it seemed to go forever. my nerves and equilibrium are still out of whack. |
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he loves california |
jealous asshole |
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i didn't |
But I can't help but laugh here. I mean, I have been through bigger quakes then that, pinned between a cement wall and a glass wall while on crutches that were acting as a jackhammer, and still wasn't scared. I guess I am an oddball, cuz I am sorry I missed out on the quake. When something of that magnitude hits, I dance. Literally. They really don't scare me in the slightest. Probably cuz I have lived through them and never seen too much to scare me. I have studied them at length. Earthquakes are fun to me. It's tornados and hurricanes that scare me, and you usually find larger amounts of damage, and more deaths and injuries from them. But maybe that's just cuz I am a Cali baby, and grew up there, where earthquakes were the norm. |
. . . I'd probably react the same way. . I root for natural disasters. |
you know how many times i've heard that exact sentiment from people yesterday? you know how many of them were in a high rise office bldg? none. evertone i've spoken too who was in a high rise office bldg was pretty damn shaken up. every been in a high rise? you *know* its safe, mostly. you *know* that swaying is a good thing. you know all of this. but that rationale doesnt help when you're in the middle of it and they structure you're in is creaking and your looking out a window watching the world sway and your being tossed side to side. this is a 12 story bldg with tons of steele and concrete, not a ride at Disneyland. It just doesnt feel right when its happening. you just pray the bldg doesnt snap in half. this bldg has been here for 30 years? how is the foundation holding up? where's the structural limit? you don't know and thats what gets me. you dont know the limit. at home at any given time, im 20 feet from the door if need be. moreover, the house is bolted so I feel pretty secure. here. fuck no. Granted this quake wasnt major by the time it reached LA, but because of the relative shallowness of it, it was felt widespread. I've been at home during quakes and felt much much more secure. You fell more in control. Here, all I could do was ride it out. I couldnt leave. They caution against using the stairwell in a major quake because it could be unsafe. hurricanes and tornados are nothing. you can always take shelter. you can't take shelter from an earthquake. |
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We've had a few tornados in Maryland, luckily not to many, and non of them were "predicted". By the time a warning could be issued they were already here and gone. It isn't like Kansas where there are miles and miles of miles and miles. The terain veries to much to be sure where a tornado will strike. And, huricanes seem to make up their own minds where and when they will make land fall. Since we don't get to many of these like Florida and other "Southern" states we don't have strong enough building codes to really make much difference. As for the basement being a good place to take refuge. First, my wife couldn't get in the basement if Freddy Crouger was standing right behind her saying boo! Secondly here flooding is our major headache so a Basement may not be the best choice as a place to ride it out. Although they are very rare we have felt the earth move a little a few times in my life. Most of the time these little quakes go unnoticed until mentioned on the evening news. All the other natural disasters mentioned seem to stay away from Maryland. |
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around the same level earthquake as the one that hit CA.... however with this one probably around 10000 dead... wow makes you think, don't it? |
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hurricanes offten are preceded by days of warnings and weather reports. property and lives are saved because of advanced weather forcasting. The last major hurricane that slammed into NC....they had nearly a week to prepare. How did that advance info not save property and lives? And hurricanes, relatively speaking are quite predictable, as far as weather patterns go. tornados, while less predictable than hurricanes, are still avoidable. i had several instances as a kid, being held at school, crouched in the hallway with my peers when there was a tornado warning, or being ushered into the basement with my family because a warning came over the TV. The tornado may have not come within a mile of me, but at least I had a heads up that conditions existed and i should take precautions. |
You and I are basing our postings on our personal experiences. Maryland weather has traditionally been very unpredictable. It's our geographic location and topography that make it that way. |