5.9 Magnitude Quake Rocks Washington D.C. Region

Originally posted by loam
reply to post by EarthShakin

 

Originally posted by EarthShakin
Big EQs I would say start out around 6.5+.

Then you must have been on the Dominion Power nuclear plant design team that decided it didn't need to withstand anything beyond a 6.1.

North Anna Nuclear Reactors Only Designed to Withstand 5.9 - 6.1 Magnitude Earthquake

Bravo.

edit on 24-8-2011 by loam because: (no reason given)

Did you even read that article? Nothing happened. They lost power. And regained power with their generators, As planned in the event of an EQ.

Must be another Fukushima scenario eh? :-/

reply to post by EarthShakin

Originally posted by EarthShakin
I Have many friends and family in VA. From what they have told me

Ah! So your 'evidence' is what someone else told you.

Originally posted by EarthShakin
...people are overreacting big time.

What precise behavior led to this assessment? Be specific.

I'd be curious to learn if it entails anything beyond a rational expression of surprise and concern. Are droves of people sleeping outside, refusing to return to their homes or work? Are people leaving the region? Are people committing suicide in despair?

What constitutes "overreacting" to you?

Originally posted by EarthShakin
I don't think this is something that people should call devastating, or act like it was.

I actually live in the region. I have not seen a single individual call this event "devastating, or act like it was."

Maybe your family and friends could point me in the right direction.

Originally posted by EarthShakin
Sorry that I am desensitized to EQs, call me a jerk,

I'll leave that all up to you.

Originally posted by EarthShakin
I just do not think this is something to freak out about.

Neither does anyone else I know.

Originally posted by SheeplFlavoredAgain
reply to post by EarthShakin

 

Our buildings were never built to withstand quakes. We have lots of rigid masonry construction, both for commercial and residential properties. Some locations in which school has already convened had to cancel classes due to structural damage being found. Damage is still being assessed. There may be legit reasons for people not going back into their homes. Think of how it was for Christchurch NZ. Their situation is more comparable to ours than Japan's in terms of expectation and preparedness for quakes. Also my mom lived for many years in Japan and felt her fair share of quakes. The one yesterday still left her awestruck. She said it feels different here.

edit to add that it doesn't help that there isn't much info explaining what caused this, is it truly done with us yet, and we lack general quake info for this region. Being an unknown quantity is a bit intimidating. I don't know about VA but in MD it's calm and all about getting ready for Irene now.

edit on 24-8-2011 by SheeplFlavoredAgain because: (no reason given)

There is info explaining what caused it, the earth moves, thats what it does and has done for.... ever. I cant think of a single place that has never had an EQ or that will never have one. Throughout history they happen, and will continue to happen.

reply to post by EarthShakin


Well I live in VA and I was exactly 72mi from the epicenter of the quake...It actually woke me up. The most reaction it got outta me was that I booked it off the second floor of the house. Other than that it really wasn't too big a deal...unless another one bigger pops off. In fact all the comments I saw on my facebook from people in the area were jokes about said quake. Even the top head shop in Richmond was joking about not having any of their glass break and so was having a 20% off everything earthquake sale ...so we here in the area aren't really too worried for the most part...in fact I think it's funny that the people that seem most worried are from the further reaches of the area the quake was felt

reply to post by EarthShakin

Originally posted by EarthShakin
Did you even read that article? Nothing happened. They lost power. And regained power with their generators, As planned in the event of an EQ.

Must be another Fukushima scenario eh? :-/

Is it a reading comprehension problem for you, or did you purposely avoid the point I was making?

I'm done with you.

Take your arrogance and drivel elsewhere.

I live in the Piedmont area of NC. I was in the kitchen at the sink washing dishes and my little grandson was on the computer. My computer is in the kitchen too. There was some shaking and my little grandson thought the computer was messing up because the monitor was shaking.
I told him ..I thought we just has an earthquake tremor. He said, Oh, so that's what it was!..I don;t like that shaking the computer thing, it messed me up on my game.!!
I went back to washing my dishes. the end...

Originally posted by loam
reply to post by EarthShakin

 

Originally posted by EarthShakin
Did you even read that article? Nothing happened. They lost power. And regained power with their generators, As planned in the event of an EQ.

Must be another Fukushima scenario eh? :-/

Is it a reading comprehension problem for you, or did you purposely avoid the point I was making?

I'm done with you.

Take your arrogance and drivel elsewhere.

edit on 24-8-2011 by loam because: (no reason given)

Its not a reading comprehension problem at all, I am just making a point as well.

This is the last thing I will write on this subject, its not a big deal. People need to get over it, there will be an earthquake everywhere at some point or another. I can guarantee there will be another one in VA. Maybe not today, maybe not within a year, maybe not within the next 10 years... It will happen though.

Originally posted by EarthShakin
...there will be an earthquake everywhere at some point or another. I can guarantee there will be another one in VA. Maybe not today, maybe not within a year, maybe not within the next 10 years... It will happen though.

I suppose on this we can agree.

I do really want to say my last post was harsher than necessary. (Had to leave to pick my son up from camp, so couldn't delete and edit it accordingly before you replied.)

I just find it frustrating to see people make unsubstantiated assertions concerning how people reacted to this event. It's distasteful and far more repugnant to me than any actual overreaction.

I often edit what I say before hitting submit. This one, however, got away from me. So in terms of my own posting behavior, allow me to apologize.

I expect more from myself when I post.

Well, after 1200+ posts and 60+ pages on a 5.8-5.9 earthquake, I would say that IS overreacting. At first I thought it was needless handwringing, but through this thread and other news reports I have come to learn that the East Coast issues are different. First, they propagate over a far wider area because the plate is flat and second, people simply are unused to them. I've heard several people say this was their first quake ever. So from that standpoint I now know that to these folks, this is a Big Deal.

I've been through several 7-ish quakes and saw Mt. St. Helens blow up. Every time this happens dozens of people are killed and property damage is in the billions. St. Helens alone threw a cubic mile of ash over 11 western states. The St. Helens eruption was equivalent to 20,000 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs. So please forgive your west coast bretheren for not being impressed because you experienced a rather small quake where a few cars got munched and nobody died.

But I recognize that to you, it was a Big Deal. So can we all get along now?

Originally posted by loam

Originally posted by EarthShakin
...there will be an earthquake everywhere at some point or another. I can guarantee there will be another one in VA. Maybe not today, maybe not within a year, maybe not within the next 10 years... It will happen though.

I suppose on this we can agree.

I do really want to say my last post was harsher than necessary. (Had to leave to pick my son up from camp, so couldn't delete and edit it accordingly before you replied.)

I just find it frustrating to see people make unsubstantiated assertions concerning how people reacted to this event. It's distasteful and far more repugnant to me than any actual overreaction.

I often edit what I say before hitting submit. This one, however, got away from me. So in terms of my own posting behavior, allow me to apologize.

Meh, it happens. There is little I take offense to. If my posts were offensive in any way I extent an apology as well.

reply to post by EarthShakin


Thank you.

I just hope you understood my substantive point.

reply to post by schuyler


I think the reason for so many posts is because of the huge area this quake was felt in...it only makes sense that more people with first hand experience of the event will want to chime in and add their 2 cents...most of these posts are either people acknowledging they felt it recounting their experience or west coasters discounting it . I honestly skimmed through most of this whole thread after about page 22...

reply to post by LucidFusion


You are mistaken sir/ma'am.

I was quoting someone elses post, and stated that they probably said the same things the last time this happened in 18 whatever.

And if it happens again, when it happens again, the religious zealots will say it was one of their gods or prophets angered at gay marriage/drug legalization/Obama or whatever else these religious nuts beleive.

I am spiritual, but have developed an aversion to organized religion.

reply to post by loam


I live in Central WV and here it felt like I was sitting in an older semi-truck while it was idling. As most of you know, the Eastern US is chock full of coal, oil, and natural gas extraction operations. These things are everywhere, and stay around for quite a long time, because of the use of fracking in oil and gas wells to revive low-production wells.

Fracking is a process by which high-pressure fluid is injected into porous rock in order to crack, or fracture, the rock so that the gas/oil contained in them can be effectively extracted. Due to the rising cost of oil, it's recently become economical to do this in order to revive wells that have previously dropped below acceptable production levels.

The reason I say this is because there are some theories out there, which may have been discussed here or elsewhere on ATS (I'm too lazy to check and it couldn't hurt to be posted twice), that fracking in the general vicinity of the epicenter could have weakened the rock and acted as a trigger of sorts to Tuesday's quake.

Here's the link.

It's an interesting idea, and I believe that it warrants some investigation. Not too much, mind you, as there are other things (like increased safety gear or reclamation) that the money could be used for. But let's face it, there won't be money spent on either one... but that's a discussion for another time.

Have a good one everyone... And thanks for reading my first post.

Yes, I know the earth moves. I just hadn't yet seen a good article explaining what triggered this particular quake, nor the last one here for that matter. It may be out there but I guess I missed it. I just saw a lot of man on the street type of accounts and news on evacuations of buildings. Edit: Looking, still not finding. I just found an article in an Alaskan publication saying there is not that much data on east coast quakes for scientists to work from. www.alaskadispatch.com...

When it started, for those of us new to this experience, there was no sense of when it would end or how bad it would get, as there can be with a thunderstorm. We KNOW how devastating quakes can be for our west coast friends, that is why such an experience is so frightening for us as it is happening and why we review it ad nauseam afterward. So now we have a couple of quakes worth of experience to draw upon and hope that will better prepare us like our friends to the west are. I appreciate the patience, tolerance and indulgence and helpful advice that some of our western friends were gracious enough to extend while we got this adventure all sorted out.

reply to post by jhn7537


The geography of the location is different, hence the impact of the earthquake was felt over a much wider area, and the quake was quite shallow.

reply to post by loam


I want to apologize for some of my posts on this forum. I was harsh and rude in a few of them and I am sorry for that. I just sense such a lack of sympathy and concern for our fellow American's that it is very disturbing to me. Everyone experiences these events differently. None of us have the right to judge these experiences. It reminds of kindergarten kids on the playground! What is wrong?

reply to post by loam


This is a little scary

www.politico.com...

Originally posted by aero56
reply to post by loam

 

This is a little scary

www.politico.com...

That happens here in my part of CA almost every time we have an EQ. Its because everyone is calling or trying to call someone in panic or just to talk about what happened and the cell towers cannot support that kind of traffic.

The last decent EQ we had it was a 6.5 and I couldn't call anyone for hours from my cell phone or land line... Didnt help that the power was out for hours as well, lol.

reply to post by RickyD


My friend lives in Hampton, hes in the navy and he was saying that more of the military folks were freakin out about it than he expected (Im not saying there were tons, he just expected most of them to keep their cool). He has told me of some interesting things people are doing just out of inexperience with EQs. I posted some in an earlier post...

Being that he is also from CA, we grew up with EQs so he really wasnt worried about it. He said it felt just like the ones here at home.

After doing more reading Im realizing the number of people that are FREAKING out is a bit smaller than it seemed. My first couple hours of reading/ hearing about this had me thinking that most people were losin their heads.