Earthquake

[Opsa]

I was sitting here tappin' to the Toadfish when suddenly everything in my immediate physical world began to rattle like nobody's beeswax. At first it felt like a wind shaking the windows, then like a big truck passing by, but when everything stared to clatter consistently I figured it was an earthquake. I decided to go outside. I'm an east coast U.S.-er. What do I know about earthquakes? But when I heard the light fixtures and mailboxes were clattering, I knew for sure.

Some of my neighbors ran out into the street, too. "What the heck was that?" one called to me. She thought it was weather-related, but the sky was blue and the wind was calm. Another thought that a helicopter had gone over.

The first and last time I felt an earthquake was last summer. It was early in the morning and I woke to the sound of a constant rumbling and felt the bed vibrating. "Lard, it's the devil, comin' fer me," I thought. No, not really. That just seems like the line to type next. That one was a magnitude 3.6 .

When I went back in, I looked up "earthquake" on the interwebz and there we were, all ready. This one was a 5.9 and centered south of us a good 60 miles or so.

I wonder if we'll get aftershocks. I'm a rookie at this earthquake experience stuff. Anyone else feel this?

[anthrobabe]

I do not know alot about them despite living right near the dreaded New Madrid fault---- http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1811-1812.php    I am glad you rode it out safe and hope no major aftershocks.

[Swatopluk]

In Iceland the newspapers publish a daily record of quakes that were measured the preceding day (typically several hundred). During the two days I was in the country I did not notice any of those.
Looks like they save the money for an amplifier

[Griffin NoName]

Hope it all settles down.

I am quite interested in the fact that people typically run outside in earthquakes. I suppose there is less risk of being buried alive in a buidling, but I wonder if the overall risk (including being hit by other stuff flying around outside) is any different inside or outside. When we last had a (tiny) earthquake, I was quite happy in my bed which felt as if it was rocking about; but then my bed is where I live most of my life so I feel secure in it, never mind if the ceiling is about to fall in !

[anthrobabe]

I wonder why we do run outside-- I think since most humans do so despite culture, etc it has to be something in our brain that comes as a link from former evolution ? Or is it just the "Godzilla is coming" sort of thing aka the fight or flight instinct, which I suppose would be the evolutionary thing I was talking about.

BTW Griffin do you still have the wolly ramp and has it done you well over time?

[Opsa]

Yes, I think the idea of running outside is to avoid having a building collapse on you. Generally, people run out into open area, away from trees. I didn't even think about the power lines overhead. It seemed more quiet outside. The clattering inside was rather alarming.

[Swatopluk]

Looks like the quake made some (metaphorical, no tsunami) waves.
http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/655011/5.9_magnitude_earthquake_rocks_the_east_coast%2C_sending_shock_waves_from_north_carolina_to_toronto/
At least I'd call it that if the White House etc. get evacuated.

[Opsa]

From what we hear, the east coast has shallower but more far-reaching earthquakes due to it's plates, which tend to be more intact than the west coast and therefore conduct the vibrations further.

As for the buildings being evacuated in D.C. and N.Y.C., most of that was because we are still shell shocked from the 9-11 attacks. They happened ten years ago next month, but for some of us, it seems like yesterday. Since we are not so accustomed to rumblings here, it reminded some of the sensations they felt back then. It really proved to us not so much that we are weenies in regards to earthquakes, but that we have not recovered as much as we thought we have. That conflict goes on, and in the back of our minds, we remain on edge.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

As for the buildings being evacuated in D.C. and N.Y.C., most of that was because we are still shell shocked from the 9-11 attacks.

Not to be a contrarian, but having been born in a more seismically active zone and with a fair amount of medium and large sized buildings I can tell you that seismic waves get amplified by tall buildings, the higher the floor you are the harder it feels, so it's no surprise to me that buildings were evacuated in NY despite the distance.
---
Speaking of my pet conspiracy theories, does any one know if any hydraulic fracturing (commonly known as fracking) is being done in the area? For what I read in the USGS site the quake was realtively close to the surface (100mts or so) and unless that is the typical behavior of quakes in the area I would be very suspicious.

[Opsa]

Apparently it is typical for east coast U.S. earthquakes to be that shallow. Ours spread out over wide areas (this one was felt from Montreal to Georgia), while ones in other places are deep and felt more locally. I think I heard that this one was only four miles down, while in South America they have them, like hundreds of miles down.

[Swatopluk]

Well, of course this was caused by Obama's rabid anti-Israel politics/ies.*
Some will of course differ and claim it was the gays.**

*claim already read
**Not yet read it but it would be extremly uncommon for this claim not to come up.

[Opsa]

Hmmm... I wonder what they'll say when there's another earthquake in Israel?

[anthrobabe]

Zono--not sure if they are doing fracking there or not but recently here in AR up around the town of Greenbriar they stopped the fracking because they seemed to maybe think there was a correlation (not sure on causation yet naturally) between lots of little shakers and the fracking and injection wells (we have loads of oil and gas rich shale and we need to get at it but not if we are going to shake the house apart ya know). We are rather close to the New Madrid Fault.

Oh and a rabbi has already blamed New Yorks gay marriage law for the earthquake

http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/nyc-rabbi-homosexual-marriage-caused-the-earthquake/politics/2011/08/24/25766

I've got to remember how to do the tiny url or shrink those --I've forgotten.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Zono--not sure if they are doing fracking there or not but recently here in AR up around the town of Greenbriar they stopped the fracking because they seemed to maybe think there was a correlation (not sure on causation yet naturally) between lots of little shakers and the fracking and injection wells (we have loads of oil and gas rich shale and we need to get at it but not if we are going to shake the house apart ya know). We are rather close to the New Madrid Fault.

I can see the headline: T. Boone Pickens Fraks New Madrid, you can't have rapture without rupture...

[pieces o nine]

I can see the headline: T. Boone Pickens Fraks New Madrid, you can't have rapture without rupture...

So, the Shakers 2.0?