Earthquake!

[JohnBM01]

In reaction to this ESPN Classic segment on the 1989 World Series, there was an earthquake which took place in San Francisco. It was a 5.2 rating on the Richter Scale and reported that 50 people were killed in the San Francisco area. When it comes to earthquakes, they are unpredictable. Anyone who knows their geography know that places like California all the way to Japan is part of a big section in the Pacific Ocean called the "Ring of Fire." Last year, northern Japan suffered a pretty big earthquake. Don't know how many were killed, but I may recall injuries. I think China had an earthquake either last year or two years ago. So how do you prepare for them? You can't. Just have to hope that buildings and such are built to resist earthquakes. For example, the Transamerica Pyramid in beautiful San Francisco has a base which can withstand earthquakes. Japan has revised some of the infrastructure of some buildings so that they can better resist earthquakes in case "the big one" occurs. No, not 15-car pileups at Talladega, but a devastating earthquake that can kill or produce millions of dollars of damage.

I'm going to be honest. You all can call me pathetic, lame, stupid, or whatever, but this is part of a fear I have. While California is a nice state complete with all sorts of lovely cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and even Pasadena, I fear that if I travel to California, I'll end up in an earthquake and perhaps be injured or die. Anyhow, it's a natural disaster that can do God knows what. While I'm watching this coverage of the 1989 World Series Game 3 earthquake, it was a sad moment for lovely San Francisco. Only thing worse? The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Reply now about opinions on earthquakes.

 

[Klostrophobic]

In reaction to this ESPN Classic segment on the 1989 World Series, there was an earthquake which took place in San Francisco. It was a 5.2 rating on the Richter Scale and reported that 50 people were killed in the San Francisco area. When it comes to earthquakes, they are unpredictable. Anyone who knows their geography know that places like California all the way to Japan is part of a big section in the Pacific Ocean called the "Ring of Fire." Last year, northern Japan suffered a pretty big earthquake. Don't know how many were killed, but I may recall injuries. I think China had an earthquake either last year or two years ago. So how do you prepare for them? You can't. Just have to hope that buildings and such are built to resist earthquakes. For example, the Transamerica Pyramid in beautiful San Francisco has a base which can withstand earthquakes. Japan has revised some of the infrastructure of some buildings so that they can better resist earthquakes in case "the big one" occurs. No, not 15-car pileups at Talladega, but a devastating earthquake that can kill or produce millions of dollars of damage.

I'm going to be honest. You all can call me pathetic, lame, stupid, or whatever, but this is part of a fear I have. While California is a nice state complete with all sorts of lovely cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and even Pasadena, I fear that if I travel to California, I'll end up in an earthquake and perhaps be injured or die. Anyhow, it's a natural disaster that can do God knows what. While I'm watching this coverage of the 1989 World Series Game 3 earthquake, it was a sad moment for lovely San Francisco. Only thing worse? The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Reply now about opinions on earthquakes.

You fear earthquakes? Don't you live in freakin' Texas? How many Texas natives are killed from earthquakes each year? I'm going to bet the stat is somewhere between 0 and 1.

I hope I can experience an earthquake of some magnitude sometime in my life. Something like a nice easy 4.5 or something.

 

[VIPFREAK]

I'm going to be honest. You all can call me pathetic, lame, stupid, or whatever, but this is part of a fear I have. While California is a nice state complete with all sorts of lovely cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and even Pasadena, I fear that if I travel to California, I'll end up in an earthquake and perhaps be injured or die. Anyhow, it's a natural disaster that can do God knows what. While I'm watching this coverage of the 1989 World Series Game 3 earthquake, it was a sad moment for lovely San Francisco. Only thing worse? The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Reply now about opinions on earthquakes.

Well, I experienced that quake even though I wasn't at that game but I don't think it made that much of a difference. Anyway, I suppose it's valid to be afraid of quakes but they don't seem to happen "that" often (knock on wood). I do think we are definitely wussies here on the west coast because we don't have anywhere close to the amount of disasters other places have. like in Florida, every season it seems they gets pounded by tornados and people have to rebuild. Then there's the snow every year which seems to get so bad that stuff is shut down. sounds harse to me. As for my fear of a quake there's not a day that goes by that I think about the sounds, feelings, smells or sights that I have experienced from the last quake. I think that's what's worse than the actual quake is not knowing when and always fearing them. I've heard that it's not just the magnitude you have to worry about but also the time everythings shaking. The combo of the two make a big difference in the outcome of damage.

On the other side, there are days when I wish we would have one because then the world (around here) would stop in a sense and I'd be off the hook for whatever I was worried about. Pretty stupid thinking but I've wished for it.

I hope I can experience an earthquake of some magnitude sometime in my life. Something like a nice easy 4.5 or something.

You'd like to experience one? Well, the next one we have I'll let you take my place here and go to where you are. BTW, Screw... 4.5 don't be a wuss, you just want it to be like going on a rollercoaster. Try at least a 5 for as long as the '89 quake was, that ought to make you think.

 

[Solid Lifters]

What I hate about them is the surprise factor. I hate surprises. They just sneak up on you whenever. Earthquakes are funny like that. The entire building you're in shakes. Think about that for a moment. The roof or ceiling above you, shakes. The walls all around you, shake. The floor below you, shakes. Sounds fun? Well, it ain't.

If the walls don't come crashing in on you, the crap attached to them usually will. I had my book case fall over during the Upland quake in '90, smashing my TV and crushing one of my guitars. During the big one, the Nothridge quake, in'93, the damage was about as just as bad, even though I had prepared for it.

I have gotten used to them over the years, so I don't fret them as much. Now, if one sneaks up on me, I try to enjoy the ride, while I seek shelter under something big and heavy (insert your own wife/mother joke here).

 

[Danoff]

I'm looking forward to my first quake experience. I've never been in one, but now that I live in LA it's bound to happen eventually. I don't really want to be in a big one, but I'm not afraid of it - they don't kill that many people. I don't care for the surprise factor though.

 

[animateria]

Well at least California doesn't get 'other' problems like Florida...

 

[Sage]

I'd much rather live where I am (in "earthquake-zoned" California) than in some state like Florida… major earthquakes occur here less than once per decade, while the panhandle state gets a bunch of friggin' hurricanes every year. In fact, I feel that California is one of the safest states when it comes to natural disasters, since earthquakes are our only major ones, and as I mentioned they don't occur every year.

I was about 5 or 6 when the Northridge quake hit, so I don't remember too much about it – I remember waking up from the shaking, then my parents rushed into my room and carried me outside where we stayed until it finished (we have no neighbors to speak of, so having other houses fall on us wasn't a danger, and we were standing far enough from our own to be safe no matter what). Then it was all over the news, and there were a few noticeable aftershocks. Since then, I've only been through a handful of very minor quakes – they're nothing to write home about (although one of them occurred while I was talking to a GTP member—can't remember if it was Duke, Alex, or Doug—which was kinda interesting)… the house shakes for about 10 seconds, then slowly stops.

The one and only fear I have associated with earthquakes is being in a place like Home Depot during one, where all the crap they store near the top might come down. I'm also rather concerned that this table that my computer's on wouldn't be able to withstand a "big one", because it has really flimsy legs and no cross-members for support. Otherwise, everything's fine – the only thing in this house that fell during the Northridge quake was an old cabinet that my dad had in his project room.

 

[demon of speed]

I love living here, none of that **** ever happens!

 

[Anderton Prime]

I love living here, none of that **** ever happens!

Same up here in the Great White North...all we get from those massive hurricanes is a little peripheral rain and some moderate winds every now and then. But as can be expected, everyone freaks out when Mother Nature does anything out of the ordinary. I remember last year around this time it was hurricane season and up here we caught the tail end of one of the bad ones...Francis maybe? I can't remember. Anyway, parents were keeping their kids at home and no one was going to work. the streets were deserted where I live. And all we got was grey clouds and a little rain in the morning. The air smelled like Armageddon, though. Really heavy and damp, like the rainforest.

 

[king jame II]

Reply now about opinions on earthquakes.

Simple. If/when it happens, theres noting you can do about it. Just do your best to stay alive. Mother nature is full of suprises and you cant control. Thats just part of the package deal living anywhere.
James-

 

[Anderton Prime]

Simple. If/when it happens, theres noting you can do about it. Just do your best to stay alive. Mother nature is full of suprises and you cant control. Thats just part of the package deal living anywhere.
James-

So true! You can either have perfect weather and earthquakes (San Francisco) or crappy weather and no earthquakes (Canada, Britain). You can't have it both ways.