Ever been in an Earthquake?

[HappytheStripper]

On March 2 .. 1987 @ 1:43pm .. a Richter magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck the eastern Bay of Plenty region of North Island .. New Zealand.

 

I remember this one as it was so close to where I lived at the time..

 

The earthquake was preceeded at 1:36pm by a M5.2 foreshock and followed at 1:52pm by a M5.2 aftershock.

 

The main event .. centered about 4 miles northwest of the small town of Edgecumbe .. just up the road from me .. and propagated along a previously unmapped fault that opened a large surface rupture and caused widespread soil failures.. Strong ground motion also affected the nearby towns of Kawerau .. Te Teko and Whakatane.

 

Now in the light of the most recent events in NZ .. it looks like I'm near where the next likely eruption will occur.. as Ruapehu crater lake bursts its banks:

 

 

18/03/2007 14:04:02

 

I got an alarm to my phone while listening to the police scanner.. for sure the crater lake had burst..

 

The Ruapehu lahar plan was in full swing .. after the crater lake burst its banks around lunchtime. It is believed heavy rain over the last few hours put added pressure on the crater lake wall .. a channel formed in the crater wall .. letting a small lahar leak through and move down the Whangaehu River.

Emergency personnel were deployed and the response went according to plan.. that planning cost in excess of ten million dollars..

 

Officials monitoring the mountain say the lahar was due at Tangiwai at about 1.40 sunday afternoon. And it came and went.. rather spectacular too may I add..

 

Hundreds of motorists were stranded in the central North Island as a reult of the instruments' activation.

 

Now there is a chance seismic activity will grow.. I'll keep you all posted :lol:

 

Ashley

[LJP07]

No never been in an Earthquake, luckily I live in Ireland where the chances of an Earthquake are pretty slim, we don't live on a fault line.

[REASON]

In 1992 I was on the Big Island of Hawaii just South of Kona. It was after sunset and I was just sitting there, watching TV when it suddenly felt as though my chair was sitting on a raft in the water. It lasted maybe four to five seconds and then it was over. It was the first time I had ever felt anything like that and it took me a moment to realize what must have happened. I remembered that the Kilauea volcano was relatively near and that earthquakes are commonly associated with volcanic activity.

 

It was confirmed for me during the late local news when they reported a 4.3 earthquake on the Big Island earlier that evening.

 

Nothing crazy, but it was still an interesting experience.

[arkain101]

Not a single bump that I can recall. This canadian ground is pretty calm.

[coldcreation]

Yup, in New Haven CT.

 

4.6 I think.

 

The year must have been 1982 or 1983.

 

It was like a large truck or two driving by just outside the classroom.

 

Thing is, there was no street just outside the classroom.

 

Later that night I found out on the watching the news on TV.

[LJP07]

I'm actually shocked by the outcome of this poll. When it started I though that 75%> would haven't experienced an earthquake yet the current figures stand at:

 

75% Experienced one.

25% Haven't Experienced One.

 

They really must be quite common even the small ones all over the world. One in four Hypographians have experienced one, Wow! :hyper:

[Eclogite]

They really must be quite common even the small ones all over the world. One(sic) in four Hypographians have experienced one, Wow! :(

I assume you are saying this tongue in cheek, but for the benefit of anyone inclined to take this at face value the poll reveals that three in four Hypographians who have responded so far have been in an earthquake. This reveals more about people's inclination to particpate in a poll. If you haven't been in one it is of passing interest. If you have, you want to talk about it.:)

[LJP07]

I assume you are saying this tongue in cheek

No, not really.

 

three in four Hypographians who have responded so far have been in an earthquake. This reveals more about people's inclination to particpate in a poll. If you haven't been in one it is of passing interest. If you have, you want to talk about it.:)

 

Haven't been in an earthquake, did I not mention this in a previous response?

 

Not passing interest, wouldln't term it like that, and my statistical analysis so to speak was based on "three in four Hypographians who have responded so far", which still takes my breath away as this is a startling figure for someone whom has not experienced one.

 

Just have to ask: What's your point? :(

[ughaibu]

I live in Kanazawa, at the base of Noto Hantou, I've been in at least ten over the last week. Earthquakes aren't that rare, in lots of places.

[HappytheStripper]

In the past few weeks there have been many earthquakes all overthe world.. Japan making the headlines in the news and now the Solomon Islands or Honiara..where a small Tsunami hit the Islands not long after the quake.. here is one report..

 

 

Death toll will rise in the Solomon Islands - Yahoo!Xtra News

[Qfwfq]

No, not really.

 

Haven't been in an earthquake, did I not mention this in a previous response?

This does not exactly have a significant statistical impact.

 

Just have to ask: What's your point? :)

Well, whatever it was ;) I tend to somewhat agree with it and fail to see yours. :)

 

I'd say that you're one of few people, of those that have never been in one, that will be bothered to reply. A much higher percentage of those that have will be keen to say so. I don't think I've said more than Elcogite but, whether or not I've put it more clearly, there's no need to squabble over the matter. It's a problem statisticians must allow for, when analyzing a non compulsory poll.

[Shapedoctor]

I was in the 1971 San Fernando quake in California but I slept through it even though it was a ~6.6. I've felt two smaller quakes here in Oregon.

[quaien]

I felt a magnitude 6.5 +/- in Singapore ...I recall my shoes walking themselves out from under the bed and water sloshing out of the kitchen sink. (We were on the twelfth floor).

 

We had a 6.4 here (Helena MT) a couple years ago. The epicenter was about 30 miles away as I recall.

 

The main thing that freaked me out and made me realize something was happening was that water in the aquarium started sloshing around by itself.

 

They had an article in the newspaper a couple days later about what first came into people's minds. Most people thought that their spouse/loved one had sneaked up on them and was screwing with them, jostling them around. Then they realized it was an earthquake and ran outside.

 

I was alone and didn't know enough to run outside as I am not from here.

[hug]

Yes, I've been in some relatively big ones, but I made it OK.

 

In 1989, I was also in the Loma Prieta EQ. At that time, as now, I lived in Northern Cal, but I was down in the LA area on consulting work during that period for just one or two days (I can't recall), including the day of the quake. I was working for a big management consulting firm, doing a study for a client down there (in LA). It happened in the AM, while we were still at the hotel, and I remember (very well) things falling from the ceiling of the hotel lobby, and BIG waves in the swimming pool (which could be seen from the breakfast area). Oddly, we all still decided to have our meeting with the client that day, in a conference room where the entire ceiling of tiles had collapsed onto the big conference room table (a scene that we found when we got there). And, throughout the meeting, there were smaller aftershocks the rest of the day. We flew out that night, back to Northern Cal. I guess, at the time, we felt that business just HAD to keep going.

 

I was also on the 48th floor (the top floor, other than the restaurant above) of the Bank Of America building in downtown San Francisco when the large S.F. quake happened in the late 80's, I guess it was around the same time. The building swayed a bit but I mostly remember that it went up and down, like being on a pogo stick, which really felt, well, ODD. Alas -- and I'm very thankful for this! -- the building did fine. After the quake, at first, we all stood there and looked out the windows, facing the Bay towards Alcatraz island and overlooking the Marina area as well. We couldn't see much of anything at first, but then we could see smoke arising from some spots, especially in or near the Marina area. After a few minutes, we decided that it would be a good idea to go downstairs and get out of there ... 48 stories. Nothing was working that day -- the systems were caught by surprise. The lights didn't work in most of the stairwell. The voice over the loudspeaker, presumably giving us instructions, didn't do any good (that much, I can remember), I can't recall whether the loudspeakers weren't working or whether they were so loud or muffled that you couldn't make out what the person was saying. In any case, we got out. Then, no public transport was working (that's understandable, of course). So, I walked home, through the streets of S.F., past many people standing outside watching all the walkers go by. At that time, I lived in an area of the city that was a few miles from downtown. It was a beautiful day, weather-wise, and it was a comfortable, but very odd and very ethereal, walk home. It was one of those instances -- a little like waking up early in nature when you are camping -- that tell your inner human that walking is good, being outdoors is good, having no electricity is OK and survivable, and that big buildings and office work are not the be-all-and-end-all of human existence. That night, we only had candlelight at home.

 

I've also felt other fairly large EQs in the S.F. Bay Area. And, I was in Tokyo once when they had a mid-sized EQ. That was one of the more anxiety-producing experiences, for a short while, until we all realized that it had passed, because it helped me understand what it's like to be somewhere where you know very few of the local people and you can't speak the local language beyond "hello" and "goodbye". When traveling, if everything is going well, it's easy to have fun and get by, and get around, without knowing too much of the local language. But, if/when in a disaster away from home, there is a different level of insecurity (I guess you'd call it) if you don't know anyone or speak the language.

 

Anyhow, those are the highlights of my EQ experiences.

[DougF]

I was in a magnitude 5.7 +/- 30+- years, pretty strange filling like being seasick on a boat, pictures were falling off the walls, lamps falling over, window broke (one big crack). :doh:

[iguana]

i used to live in the lesser antilles, which, because it is sliding into the sea, has frequent little earthquakes: glass jingling and earth humming ~ small enough for me to be glad to have the experience, too small for me to understand the cultural psychology of taking earthquakes personally ~ it is interesting to hear the existential stories that large earthquakes inspire in people ~

[DougF]

i used to live in the lesser antilles, which, because it is sliding into the sea, has frequent little earthquakes: glass jingling and earth humming ~ small enough for me to be glad to have the experience, too small for me to understand the cultural psychology of taking earthquakes personally ~ it is interesting to hear the existential stories that large earthquakes inspire in people ~

Welcome iguana,

Glad to have you here and hope you enjoy Hypography.