7.2 earthquake in Guadalahara, and some pretty strong shocks around southern California and clear up to San Francisco. Hope everybody’s got the china battened down. Stay safe!
Everybody ok down there in California?
by CJ | Apr 4, 2010 | Journal | 32 comments
32 Comments
Submit a Comment Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
A few piles fell, but not many. Serendipity was on top of her cat tree. She looked around at me, but didn’t panic. Komet was barking before, during and after. I couldn’t get to him during the tremors, but we walked after. Mom called, & she went outside on her porch because it lasted so long. No damage. Neighbors showed up at the door to be sure we were OK. I’m seeing online that there have been many before & aftershocks, but I haven’t felt any so far. Rather exciting! OK, back to the iPad!
Was in a car when it happened (but was there for an aftershock). However, cats were agitated and I was wondering why until got texts and calls from various folks. 🙂 No damage at all.
I check this page quite often:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/
And I could tell things were going on before it hit the news. Hope everyone is all right! I grew up in LA (the Valley, actually) and still have friends there.
I keep the PNW usgs page bookmarked—we do have our own fault, even out here on the mile-thick flood basalts—but mostly what we get is volcanos hiccuping—well, except for the San Juan discontinuity, which doesn’t move often enough. I just added your bookmark to my list. I’m a geology nut, ever guess?
Down here in Orange County, right by Disneyland, it was just a long-lasting rolling motion. Nothing even fell in our house, though by rights it should have; we have too much stuff precariously balanced.
I didn’t even stop playing my video game.
Figured it was a long way off given how prolonged it was.
I’m a little further south than Morven, but same story. A long, long, but gentle shaking. At this distance, the difference between the P-wave (primary–compressive and faster) and S-wave (secondary–traverse, rolling) was very distinct. (See P-wave and S-wave in Wikipedia.)
No damage here and light casualties (considering it is currently estimated at 7.2) reported in MX, last I heard. If you take the Latitude and Longitude from the USGS site and plug it into Google maps terrain feature, you see why: brush land.
Can’t say that I noticed anything at all. I’m pondering whether it’s the mountains that keep me from noticing things like that (where I live is in a V between two mountain ranges), or if it’s just that I am not that observant.
But I was out checking out some dogs to see if I wanted to take any home, and none of them seemed to be the least bit bothered, either.
Did you find a dog you and your own dog like? I remember reading that you two were planning to go. Hmm.. at least I think it was you and not two on the blog thinking of taking in another sight hound.
There’s two possibles, although from the way I have been thinking it’s pretty much down to one of them. They are coming out tomorrow for a home visit to see how they and the cats get along, and then if all goes well, the winner will move in on the weekend. Right now the front runner is a little brindle girl, but there is a big fawn boy as a potential as well. I’m still a little unsure about what I am getting into, which I think is actually a good thing. If I were thinking that this is going to be the best step ever, perfectly smooth sailing, I would be sorely disappointed with reality.
The USGS California map is fascinating; you can see the little microquakes rippling up the state, and now a fresh wave of aftershocks.
http://quake.usgs.gov/recenteqs/latest.htm
It’s especially fascinating when you are along that line, though it looks like it’s going up the Hayward fault here in the Bay Area, which is to the east of where I am in Marin.
http://quake.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Maps/San_Francisco.htm
That cluster of little quakes in the upper left of the latter map is always there; believe it or not, it’s manmade! It is the result of the geothermal plants at The Geysers. That should be terrifying, but given the location it always makes me think of Christopher Walken’s evil plan in “A View to a Kill”. (which is terrifying only in terms of film criticism…)
More neat quake sites. Another bookmark. Thanks!
Here’s another one for California:
http://www.data.scec.org/recenteqs.html
This is the Southern California Earthquake Consortium – they study them, they don’t produce them!
The aftershock distribution is interesting; I haven’t seen a spread like that before. I think that bigger aftershock northwest of the main shock was actually triggered by it, like Big Bear was by Landers in 1992.
Happy to hear that all seems well out there in the land of the golden bear.
@philosopher77…..have you found a doggie yet? Do you find any problems in introducing older dogs to each other? Hope you find the right companion for your pretty lady.
Cats are in many respects easier than dogs to introduce (if you absolutely positively have to.) Either they will or they won’t accept another cat, right up front, depending on the cat, and armed detente is possible for years, if the two-legged persons in the house don’t set off jealousy; neutered males with neutered females is an easier mix, and you have Feliway (kitty happy spray) to readjust the emotional temperature of the introduction. When Jane moved down to Oklahoma, she brought her Elrond, an older neutered male; and he had to move in with my older neutered male, both of them big cats. Who landed the first punch? The six pound female. [Typical.]
First thunderstorm saw both guys under separate dining room chairs. That started it off: they were adjusting.
The female was still a holdout after several weeks: we finally got them all looped on catnip and they woke up buddies. [I don’t recommend catnipping absolute strangers to each other: a drunken brawl can result that really messes things up.] But we do wipe down newcomers with something that smells like the household, a sleeping mat, etc; and spritz Feliway.
Dogs—I fear I don’t have a clue.
@smartcat – we introduced one-year-old Shadow to 8-year-old Tucker last year. We took Tucker to the shelter first to see how they reacted to each other – no reaction, which is good.
Coming home was a different matter since Tucker’s been a single dog all his life, and he is the most confident dog we’ve ever had. His idea of play with other dogs is chestbutting to see who reacts.
You almost have to ignore the new dog at the beginning and don’t fuss over him or you’ll create jealousy. Reinforce the existing dog’s place in the pack.
But keep reinforcing who is really in charge – you. We would put either or both dogs on their backs if there was any animousity at all and stand over them to reinforce who was really in charge. I’m talking about 70+ pound dogs. If you’re confident it’s no problem, just make sure your body language matches your attitude. And correction, correction, correction.
We also put away all the toys so there would be no power struggles. They also get 3-mile walks which helps emphasize who is in charge (the human with the leash) and that they are a pack.
We had Shadow for 6 months before Tucker really warmed up to him. Oddly, the change happened while we were on vacation and we had a dog sitter stay with them. The most familiar being in the house was the other dog, and they bonded. They play with each other, but we still don’t leave toys out all the time as Tucker wants to roughhouse. Big twerp!
@smartcat and @82Eridani – It looks like the little brindle girl is going to be coming out to stay on Friday. The blond boy is apparently angling to stay with the people who run the rescue. He did not want to have anything at all to do with me when he was here, but is perfectly fine with them! Little Katie, on the other hand, walked in and just scoped the place out and settled right in. It was amusing trying to see how she and the cats would get along… Rana darted out of the room, and once I got Pyret out of the cat tree and down on the ground by Katie, Katie just looked at her and then was off in the corner saying “there’s a really nice bed here… can I have it?” And she just refused to move when it was time to leave! I have been reminded multiple times by the rescue people that she is generally not like this with people, so we will see how things go in the long run.
And while Eridani’s approach works with some dogs, it’s not always necessary. These two girls are both soft dogs from a traditionally soft breed, and thus take a relatively light hand. With most greys, a stern “ah-ah!” or “no!” is all it takes to keep them in line. And the issue I am going to have to deal with is bringing a shy, fearful dog out of her shell, which takes much patience and a matter-of-fact but not domineering attitude. So this will be a learning experience for both of us.
If anyone wants to see a picture, she’s Katie, about halfway down this page. http://www.homestretchgreys.org/Dogs%20Available.html
Katie looks like a little sweetheart…..hope all works out well for you, Tink, and Katie. 🙂 😀 😆
Wants her own bed, eh? Looks as if she found it! She’s a pretty girl!
I live in the most seismically active area of Ohio – Shelby County. The pinpoint most active spot in the county is a small town called Botkins in the northern area of the county. I used to ask students where I would be substituting for the regular teacher how many of them had ever been in an earthquake. Most of the time, only a few hands, but when I told them that they had all been in earthquakes, they were amazed, but then realized that they were microquakes.
Our area is affected by the New Madrid Fault in Missouri, and according to informed geologists, if it lets go, there will be significant shaking and damage from the epicenter branching out in all directions. It has happened before, it’s just a matter of when.
Hey, nobody said life was safe! If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.
BTW, neither of my cats (both neutered females one is 9, the other 20 months) seem to be bothered by thunder. They do play with each other, although sometimes the older cat (Birdie) just sits and looks disgusted at the antics Sydney goes through with the laser pointer.
In urban legend the beginning of the New Madrid fault lies in a block of stone that forms a scenic backdrop for the escalators in the lobby of the Hyatt in Kansas City, Missouri…which has been used for science fiction conventions. The saying was that if the New Madrid went, we would be the first to know.
Boston and the New England seacoast around here are on a fault which is a hundren+ years overdue for a large magnitude earthquake. I first became aware of that little fact as a teen when many folks I knew were protesting against the erection of the Seabrook nuclear power plant right on the coast. Yes, it’s a handy bit of fear to haul out when you want to fret over something statistically likely at some point but completely out of your personal control. Luckily, I tend not to haul out those fears too often.
I know NYC has several minor faults running through Manhattan, the most notorious being the 125th Street fault (125th is apparently right over top of a fault, go figure), but didn’t know the complex continued up the East Coast, or that it was armed and dangerous.
We had a fairly substantial earthquake out here about 5 years ago — a 7.0 and a 5.6 aftershock about 15 minutes later. It sounded like a big truck approaching, then you were sitting on the engine while it slowly revved, then departed. Some property damage and some alarmed people; the first one was a faster vibration, the aftershock was the ground oscillating under you from side to side with about a .5s period.
Ours in Spokane was known to the Spokane tribe, but not to us. Big surprise, when it started moving.
But if you sit atop a flood basalt—you have no idea what’s down there until it shakes. That basalt is hundreds of feet thick. And they don’t know why IT exists, either: could be related to the Yellowstone hot spot, could be an independent plume.
Ever watched How the Earth Was Made? I highly recommend it. We want the boxed set, it’s so good. They bother to tell you the science behind their thinking, and the bits on various places like the Siberian Traps and Yosemite and Yellowstone—very much worth the watch.
The most recent one we had that folks on Maui felt was about 9 months ago. It was only about a 2 second jolt, centered under the east flank of Haleakala; one friend who lives about half a mile from the epicenter didn’t feel it, but another about 3 miles further away did. Geology can be very odd. Myself, it was such an abrupt shock and noise that I thought (hoped!) a meteorite had hit the garage 😀
How The Earth Was Made is coming up this week on either PBS or HBO; I forget which. It’s going on TiVO.
Oh, it’s good stuff. It’s got one specifically on Hawaii. And more comments on Hawaii in the Siberian Traps episode. I can watch those over and over and get new stuff from them. The animations are terrific.
my aint lives in san diego on the side of a cliff everything is fine but it sure scared her.
Side of a cliff is scary in a quake: we lived on a cliff in Spokane on the 3rd floor of an apartment building overlooking the fault—it was a little quake, just a 4.2, back in the 2002 era, but we felt it!
My family and I had just finished lunch and were walking from the Bob Hope memorial to the USS Midway. It was definitely a nice rolling motion – not enough to knock you of your feet, but a little bit of an adjustment for the first wave. Two more waves hit within a minute or two. We slept through the aftershocks last night.
It was just as well we were out and about – the elevators in our hotel were shut down for 3 hours after the event. I hear the Sheraton downtown was evacuated, but I hear very little damage in the San Diego area.
Anyway, it was a heck of a welcome to California and my kids have a heck of a story to tell when they get back to school next week.
– S
It was interesting. We’re on the second floor of a three floor building in San Diego. The things that run through your mind are. 1) What is that? 2) Is it going to get worse? 3) Where’s the nearest doorway to stand in? {stable part of building}. 4) Do I have earthquake insurance on my house? 5) Why are idiots running out of their buildings where potential structural debris will hit them? 6) Why isn’t it over yet? and 7) This is still better than living in tornado alley!
😆 at least you can survey tornados and say: 1)which way’s it moving? 2)how big is it? 3)does it have brothers? and 4) is it going to bounce when it hits that ridge or not? Then if it’s coming your way 1) is it on the ground? 2) how big do they say it is? 3) bathtub or closet or find a manhole?
Watching a tornado (being from Oklahoma, I’ve had to duck a few)is interesting. Most of the time it’s moderately exciting, and doesn’t damage anything but wheat. They have the behavior of an escaped very tired helium balloon dragging along the ground, prone to bounce up a bit from any encounter. If they’re F1-2 they’re not too much worry: they don’t live long. If they’re F3 they have enough energy to power along the ground, but may heavily damage 1 house at a time and leave the neighboring houses untouched—they can mess up main street in a big way, but won’t destroy the town, and may be up and down for 50 miles or so. F4 you’re in trouble, and you’re going to be on the national news: it’ll make a swath of damage, and don’t lay any bets, and f’ gosh sakes don’t take shelter under any underpass: lie flat in a bar ditch upwind of your car and pray. F5: they don’t bounce, may go on the ground for a very, very, very long time, may have 2-3 additional vortices in the main one, which will be a mile wide, and you definitely want to be down the manhole or in an underground shelter—been there, and that’s when you watch the track and wonder if your major city is going to get hit or if the darned thing is ever going to turn. You have CNN in your city for days, the National Guard is out, and it sucks lawns out of the ground and reduces houses to bare slabs.
Give me hurricane and floods any day….we actually watched a tornado during a category 1-2 hurricane about 20 yrs. ago touch down and snap off 3 or 4 oak trees…big 50 ft++trees….then touch down again….100yds or so away….later we followed the path for about a mile. It’s pretty amazing to watch trees that size be snapped like the proverbial matchsticks. In retrospect it was probably not the brightest idea to stand in an upstairs window and watch!
Noooooo. Bathroom, in the tub, is usually best.