They've been well described . However, nobody has described how an earthquake feels, when you're driving your car. It's totally different.
When it happens, you feel like you're driving on four flat tires. It's sudden and feels really funny. It immediately makes you wonder what in the devil have you done. Then somebody comes on the radio and tells you it was a quake.
Just one of those things that makes you go HMMMMMM!
2007-10-31 19:35:26
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answer #1
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answered by Cranky 5
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Boy was I irate last night, the local news kept interupting the show the UNIT ( just at the good part of course) to tell us that there had been a 5.6/5.7 earthquake near Alum Rock in San Jose.
I was screaming at the TV that's not even something to bother with. So a few bottles fell off the shelf at the grocery stores, big frigging deal!!!! They kept going on and on about it.
Let me tell you I was born and raised in San Francisco, and have been through many earthquakes big and small and this one was really nothing to get your panties in a twist about.When I was a teenager we went through a high 5or low 6 earthquake and it was a "little" scary, but fun in a way.
you do kind of hear a low rumble, things start to sway, like your on a boat and can't walk straight. It only last less than a minute or so usually and then you will get a few lesser aftershocks. When it gets into the 6 or 7 range, then you are talking. The one in 89 was a good one. I was living in Sacramento and felt it up here, the water in my hot tub was splashing and the chandeler over my dining room was swaying. You get this rocking sensation. The problem was that my son was down in Oakland getting his physical for the Coast Guard and had "just" (unbeknownst to me) passed the
part of the freeway in Oakland that had totally collapsed. And I was frantic watching it on TV not knowing if he was ok, and not being able to reach him I was trying to call his recruiter to see where he was at. It had to have been only minutes before he had passed that the earthquake happened and the whole freeway came down. The big one will come one day and then the one in "89" will look like nothing. There are 100's of small
2 point quakes every day, and you can't even feel them. But I would rather live with that than the fires, tornados, or hurricanes and floods that it seems a lot of areas in the US have. They are so rare and far between and like I said have to be in the High 6 to 7 range to really do any damage or injury.
2007-10-31 17:21:21
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answer #2
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answered by Moe 6
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I've lived in California all of my life and have experienced many earthquakes. They all seem to be different. Some are just big jolts that feel like someone ran into the house with a 18 wheeler. Others are gentle rollers that start out slow and pick up speed. Then there are the quakes that start out big and wear themselves out -lots of shaking at first and then run out of steam.
There was a 5.6 quake last night in the S. F. Bay Area around 8:04 pm. I was watching a dvd and it started up strong for a few seconds, stopped and then started up again for about 10 seconds. I'm always a little tense wondering if this is going to be another "big one" like the one in the late 1980s. I happened to be outside walking down the street in S.F when that one occurred. Being outside changes things because there is no structure to shake. I didn't feel anything at all but I saw the windows pop out of the high rise buildings and saw the dust rise up off the street to about 10 feet and then settle down again. Needless to say I didn't get home that night because the Bay Bridge had a collapsed section. Scary stuff. And no, I never got used to earthquakes. I don't like them at all. They are not fun.
2007-10-31 16:28:34
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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I grew up in So. Cal. Most earthquakes (the little ones) feel like the floor is gently shifting under your feet as if you're on a small boat (that's if you're in a one-story building). I work in a high rise (45 floors), which are built on giant rollers. A tremor feels like building is rolling sideways. Interestingly, it feels exactly the same as when there are high winds, which also make the building roll from side to side.
Now. The 1994 quake was a horse of a different color. That's the one that made a big section of Interstate 10 collapse. I was in a 4th story apartment near the ocean when that one hit. That one felt like the floor was exploding. Books were flying off the shelves, the whole bookshelf fell over, and pots and pans were flying out of the cupboards. One of my friends who was close to the epicenter told me he woke up to see his CRT monitor flying across the room toward his head. Scary, really scary.
2007-10-31 11:29:30
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answer #4
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answered by Anonymous
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The last big earthquake I experienced before I moved from Orange County, CA to King County, WA was like being on a boat on a really choppy sea. This was in 1994 or 1995. I nearly fell out of bed and when I managed to get to the hallway the quake was at a very frightening stage. We have only had one fairly big one here a few years ago. It happened during one of my morning bowling leagues and a lot of people ran out of the building. Those of us from Calif. were giving the quake a number, 5.5, etc. We were pretty close.
2007-10-31 11:35:01
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answer #5
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answered by mydearsie 7
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I have lived in northern California and experience two quakes.
And I have lived in Portland, Oregon and felt another. And I
lived in a suburb of Portland, called, Aloha, Oregon and ex-
perienced one.
The large one in the Silicon Valley area of northern Calif.
was not all that close to the epi center. But it was strong
enough that other counties even felt it. It was like a jolt of
movement and the house rolled from one side, and then
back again to the same spot. I now visualize that movie,
Tremors. Where the gigantic snake like things uproot the
earth and try to kill the people? That's what I think of now to
describe it. A rolling of something under the earth to upset
all above ground.
The time in Aloha, I was walking from the kitchen through
the family room of the house I lived in, and saw the bird feeder
swinging back and forth fast. I did a double take and really
stared. Then suddenly the floor rolled underneath me. Like
a monstrous worm was moving underneath my feet. I froze
not realizing what it was. As the northwest never used to
have earthquakes one felt. It was merely seconds before
the house 'rolled' back to it's original spot. Or rather the
ground underneath. It actually feels like the buildings move
along with the earth. And you feel very helpless. Especially
if there's nothing to grab ahold of.
And another experience was when I was in bed, in the
SE side of Portland. And was awakened with a jolt, and
felt like we had a train moving underneath and it was trying
to push the earth out of the way. That seemed more violent
to me than others I'd experienced before. My husband woke
up and he thought I was having some sort of fit in bed LOL.
Or thrashing enough to wake him up anyway. I had also thought he was doing something on his side of the bed that
was more like jumping up and down. So we both sat up with
a start and things happened so fast, we couldn't think. Then
we both said outloud, "EARTHQUAKE"! But where do you
run? So we rode out the rolling and the bed settled down,
and then we were wide awake. This was around 2:00 in the
morning. I think that one was more unnerving, because of the
loud noises we heard underground. We were living in a
densely tree'd area and perhaps the noises we heard were
not just from the house shifting, but the trees moving as well.
Now I live across the river from Portland, and haven't felt any
of the earthquakes they have reported on the news. And I
feel alot safer now.
2007-10-31 11:16:13
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answer #6
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answered by Lynn 7
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We had a tremor here in Charleston. I thought a truck was going by and rattling thee ground, but I didn't see or hear it. The news had a crawl across th bottom that it was an earthquake,
2007-10-31 12:22:02
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answer #7
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answered by slk29406 6
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I have lived here for 12 years, felt only 2..the house moved north/south, barely noticable...had I not been sitting, I would have missed it. Every so often the pool developes sizable waves for no reason...bet that an Earthquake just occurred. Here, there are dozens and dozens of tiny ones every week...I never feel any of them, and hope it stays that way. Peace, Phil
2007-10-31 13:24:59
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answer #8
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answered by Anonymous
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To me, they are fun! I never run or get all excited like some people do. It's so much better & safer to remain calm until you are sure the quake is a big one! These things usually only last few a few seconds & although they DO leave hairline cracks in your walls, these are easily repairable. The 1956 Daly City Quake was the largest I was ever in & after you've experienced a "big one" as a child, these smaller quakes just don't seem like they are a big deal (to me)!
2007-10-31 11:48:15
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answer #9
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answered by Anonymous
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It depends on the type of quake. I survived several in California and in Japan. The "vertical" quake is one where the two plates slip suddenly. You feel like someone just shoved you and whatever structure you happen to be in at the time. The "horizontal" quake is one where the two plates sort of slide against each other. You feel like you and the structure you are in have suddenly grown wheels and are starting to move in one direction together, only to slowly go the other way.
2007-10-31 14:30:25
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answer #10
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answered by desertviking_00 7
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