How Cool!

[deird_lj]

We just had our very own earthquake!

Apparently measured 4.7 on the Richter scale - which might be mini to you overseas living-on-a-faultline-people (or might not, I have no idea), but out here, it's pretty exciting.

I was babysitting Caleb at the time, and the stovepipe for my sister's fireplace was rattling incredibly loudly. And the couch was shaking.
I started mentally calculating how long it would take me to run into Caleb's room, grab him out of bed, sprint to the back door, and dive for cover before the house collapsed... and then the earthquake settled down.

So, no death-defying leaps from collapsing buildings today.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

So, no death-defying leaps from collapsing buildings today.

Which is such a blessing!

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

Heh. I've never had an earthquake and don't exactly live on a faultline, so I'm impressed. Americans don't all live in California. XD

But yay for the lack of death-defying leaps! Always a sign of a quality day.

[deird1]

You mean you don't all live in a big city with frequent earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms, and celebrity sightings?

*world-view collapses in a heap*

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

Heh. Sorry to ruin your dreams.

Also, I'm wondering: do you wrestle crocodiles while wearing funny little safari hats, standing in knee-high mud and petting kangaroos and emus?

[deird1]

Always.

Well, kinda.

Actually, no...




I ate a kangaroo steak yesterday, does that count for anything?

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

UM NO.

...unless you petted the steak before you ate it. :P


But I read somewhere - mental_floss, I think - that eating kangaroos is better for the environment, cause they don't give off the gross methane gas and stuff that cows do. So good for you.

Apparently, Australia's the only country to eat both of the animals on it's coat of arms. So, um, good for you?


...kind of creepy, actually.

[deird1]

Hmm... Never eaten emu. Maybe I should try it?

Kangaroo's pretty yummy, actually. And remarkably cheap.

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

Well, surely you want to be able to say that you've eaten both of the animals on your coat of arms, right?

No idea what it tastes like, though.

Huh - I wouldn't have thought that kangaroo is yummy, for some reason - I guess cause it's not something that Americans ever eat, because we, um, have no kangaroos here.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Wow! Is impressed!

[debris4spike]

Glad to hear that "the earth moved for you"!!

Glad all is OK!

[louise39.livejournal.com]

That must have been so frightening. Hope there are no aftershocks in your vicinity.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

As a San Francisco resident, I can tell you that earthquakes are always, always exciting (for me, anyway), and 4.7 is what I'd term a "nice ride". It's big enough that you know it's an earthquake and not just some semi passing by, but over almost before you can panic. However, I also feel obligated to point out that running out of the house is a bad idea! Things falling off of buildings is a very real hazard. Safer by far to grab the nephew and stand under an interior doorway. There's extra bracing there, you see, so even if a part of the ceiling collapses, you're relatively protected.

During the 1989 Loma Prieta quake (the Bay Bridge fell down, freeways collapsed), I was at the gym, huddled under an archway with a couple dozen other people. All seemed fine when the shaking finally stopped, but when we walked outside, the brick facade of the building had crushed several cars right outside the front door. Which happened all over the place, leading to six pedestrian deaths in just one spot (my old place of employment, as it happens). So: stay inside!

That is all.

[deird1]

Oh, you experienced and knowledgable people...

However, I also feel obligated to point out that running out of the house is a bad idea!

Even if you're on the second story and the rattling building might collapse into the downstairs part, crushing you all beneath a huge pile of rubble, when outside is a magical fairyland of trees and veggie gardens and sweet sweet safety, unlike this inside terribly-quakey bit with all its shakiness?

:)

Thanks for the advice!

[taiba.livejournal.com]

If things to get dangerous, don't go outside!!!

Find a nice solid doorway to sand in. Seriously. Earhquake comes, stand in one of those because that's the bit that *won't* collapse.

I remember my parents telling me this from the earthquakes they used to live through quite regularly in Croatia.

[taiba.livejournal.com]

Also, your kitchen table can help if you dive for cover under it.

I'm not sure about the structural integrity of your unit, but arches are in general pretty solid so crouching down under your own arch-way (lounge to dining area) could be a good idea.

But for the love of Pete, don't try to run outside!!!

[deird1]

Oh, I know.

It's just that I was on the second floor at the time, and my vivid imagination was producing graphic pictures of the floor collapsing underneath me and dropping me several metres in one hit. Getting to ground seemed like a less scary option...

[taiba.livejournal.com]

For someone so logical, you need to work on being more rational ;-)

[deird1]

...but it was SCARY!


:)

[taiba.livejournal.com]

Yeah, ok. Fair enough :-) *hugs*

I'm scared of thunder... When it's really close, anyway,

[draconin.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear you're ok - I've only once been in an earthquake; the Meckering earthquake of 1968 (I was pretty young but old enough to remember being terrified). That was 6.9 strength and, even 50km away where I lived, was enough that we had huge cracks in the walls and kitchen cabinets falling over. It apparently only lasted for 40 seconds but it felt like forever!

[klme.livejournal.com]

I like that your first thought was grab the nephew :)
I should point out that the house is on a hill, meaning that although the lounge room could conceivably fall several stories to the ground, the laundry actually sits on solid ground (well, close to it anyway). Probably the laundry doorway is the safety spot of choice.

Sad to have missed it!

[feralxheart.livejournal.com]

Noooo. -cling- No danger for you, or the for the cutie!

-tucks you away into a very safe place, and slides you food in under the door-