"If the house is a'rockin.... Come on in and see if we're ok!!!!" (1 Viewer)

[Inspector Hammer!]

I wasn't influenced by films, for years i've heard that that is what could happen, I didn't know, Jack.

But, let me ask, though, is "the big one" a real threat? Now that you've established that Calfornia wouldn't sink into the ocean or any of that, it could be destroyed in a significant quake that has yet to happen, correct?

 

[Ron-P]

Yeah, what Jack said, both times.

 

[Carlo_M]

Yes, the "big one" is a real threat. Not to end life as we know it, or sink CA into the ocean. The fact is that every ___ number of years, a "big one" (i.e. 7.0 or larger) hits the fault lines. We are now due (some say overdue) for a large one on the San Andreas fault which runs through downtown L.A. (I guess the one in 1994 doesn't count since it was in Northridge).

So yes, we're due.

But seismologists will be the first to tell you that predicting earthquakes is an inexact science. A large earthquake has just as much chance of being pre-cursored by smaller temblors (foreshocks), as it does without warning.

If Dave has the bad luck of living right near a fault that is (or has recently become) active, then that's bad luck. As a nearly life-long Californian, and having gone through the 1989 SF and 1994 LA quakes, I can say that if you are near the epicenter, and the quake is near the surface, a 3-4 magnitude quake is not a small deal. I used to think it was (because I'd rarely ever felt it) but then I went through one where it felt like my old apt. complex moved completely and when I checked online, the magnitude was only 3.2. But the epicenter was 6 miles away, and it was not a deep quake. That changed my thinking about judging quakes solely by their magnitude.

Best of luck to you, Dave! Stay safe.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Thanks, Carlo.

 

[Ken Chan]

No. First, California is huge. Even "the Big One" in northern California would have virtually no direct effect in southern California, and vice versa.

Hurricanes don't "destroy Florida", but they may level entire towns. With modern building codes, a killer quake shouldn't level a town, although it might. A more likely scenario for widespread destruction is fire caused by the quake, which is what did in San Francisco in 1906.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Ah, see, it's a good thing the forum is here so that people can tell me these things seeing as how i'm no expert on Earthquakes.

 

[Michael Warner]

Having just moved to Seattle from Michigan I'm rapidly becoming aquainted with the whole earthquake deal. While not usually thought of as being in similar dire straits as California scientists keep discovering new fault lines in the Pacific Northwest and evidence of past catastrophic quakes.

While I certainly dread the idea of a major quake here I also dreaded the massive thunderstorms and tornados I had to deal with back in Michigan. Every locale has it's own unique way of potentially doing you in so your best bet is to just be prepared.

Oddly enough the only two times I've ever felt earthquakes was when I was in Michigan in 1986 and 2001. See, those suckers can rear up and nail you most anywhere.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I have lived in California for all but one of my 56 years.
I have experienced several earthquakes, some severe.

The most frightenned I've been by any natural occurence was when I was in Oklahoma and a tornado touched down a full 9 miles away from where I was located.

I currently live in Central California, Fresno, the "armpit" of CA. We are about as far as you can get from any major faultline and still be in California, get no snow at all, no tornadoes, no hurricanes. A 5 minute thunderstorm in the nearby foothills is treated as major news by the local tv stations. It is 95+F from late May to late October however. When you live in Fresno and come to a 4 way stop intersection in summer, the guy with his windows rolled down gets the right-of-way.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

It's funny, I live in Wilmington, Delaware and we get nothing here except the occasional hurricane (and even then they've been significantly weakened) and flooding.

It's the most boring place to live natural event-wise.

 

[Jack Briggs]

John, I am assuming from your posts that you have never been to California. I try not to make blanket assertions about places at all -- especially places I've never been to. (And, buddy, I've been to Delaware a number of times.)

 

[Carlo_M]

Funny, I always thought Bakersfield owned that distinction!

(btw - grew up in Modesto, though I've lived in LA for last 15 years, so I can diss the Central Valley)

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Jack,
your taking my questions too seriously, I was only asking questions because I was clearly wrong about the stability of CA, I was trying to make small talk, that's all, I know nothing about tectonic plates (except that they are large masses of land) or what effect a major quake would have on a large city.

How am I to learn if I don't ask questions? If I say something that's misinformed, feel free to educate me, I mean not everybody knows everything about this subject.

 

[Dave Mack]

Thanks for all the insight, guys! Much appreciated.
That 3.4 the other day felt like a truck had slammed into the side of the house. I guess what's weird is the feeling that there is no warning beforehand. I mean, with hurricanes, PLENTY of warning, storms with Tornadoes, I would assume some warning but quakes?
The creepy feeling that at literally any moment, the earth can just move so suddenly and violently is a bit unnerving. After 3 in one day, I am a bit spooked especially being 5 blocks from the fault.
Any advice on if a bigger one hits? Stay in the house? Get out of the house?? Also, the part of the house we live in is an addition that looks like it might have been done in the 60's or 70's and the ceiling looks like it is made of drywall that was not particularly well patched. There is now a crack in the ceiling where 2 pieces meet.

:frowning: d

 

[Paul McElligott]

Stand in a doorway. That is the strongest part of any house.

Do not go outside until the shaking is over. And then be careful of fallen power lines. If you use natural gas, turn it off if you smell a leak (or even if you don't just to be on the safe side).

Always keep a few days worth of water and non-perishable food handy, plus a first aid kit and flashlight with fresh batteries.

 

[Dave Mack]

 

[Dave Mack]

These are 2 shots. Kitchen and living room ceiling. There are a couple of others too.

 

[Dave Mack]

Thanks for the advice, Paul! Much appreciated. We have a natural gas heater with flames inside like a stove. Also makes me think that it's odd in earthquake country having that kind of heating system. If the pipe broke, gas, flames, not good.


d

 

[mylan]

I can tell you, California is not the only place that has quakes. I live north of the Atlanta area and there is a fault line somewhere in Tennessee. We have felt small ones, one was a 2.8 and rumbled for a few seconds, and one was not felt but strangely, the circadas's and crickets stopped chirping for a full minute!

 

[RobertR]

One of the things I was surprised by after living in California for awhile is that not all earthquakes have that “hit by a truck” sensation that Dave described. It was really weird to feel a building move as if it were a boat on water—no shaking sensation.

The ’94 Northridge was the only really bad one I’ve experienced (I’ve lived in California 17 years). It was strange/annoying to see news coverage of the one building that collapsed (far from Long Beach where I lived at the time) and the one section of freeway. They managed to make it look like the entire city of Los Angeles had collapsed.

 

[Zen Butler]

My building that I live in survived the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. One of the most costly, structurally, earthquakes California has ever experienced. My building still has various scars from that monstrous quake.