Just experienced my first earthquake

[scrabbler1]

I was just finishing up lunch at a local pizza joint here on Long Island when the building started to shake for about 10-15 seconds. Some of the inside lights hang from cables so they were visibly swaying.

The pizza joint is the end store of a set of stores so I wondered if the event was limited to just the group of stores. But when we saw an office building/bank across the way evacuate then we knew it was more than that.

I saw no damage of any type in my walk back home. When I returned to my apartment building I saw some of the neighbors in the lobby. Some had already seen local and MSNBC news coverage which said it was centered northwest of Richmond, VA, with the effects felt as far away as Detroit.

I experienced an earthquake (low 4s) in San Diego back in the 1980s. It was centered in the high inland desert and the shock wave felt like a very fat squirrel ran across the roof of the house. My cousin was napping in her waterbed at the time....must have felt like a tidal wave LOL!

My dad, who lives about 15 miles away from me on Long Island, told me he felt nothing. He said he was dozing and may have heard a rumble (which is odd because I heard no rumble where I was and it was not very noisy inside the pizza joint).

 

[kaudrey]

I work in DC and live in Alexandria. I work for the gov't, but my first thought was actually a construction explosion or something, as there is lots of construction nearby. At my house, I had two broken wine glasses; two broken picture frames, pictures on the wall all askew, and just general shifting of most things loose. Weirdly, the TV upstairs almost fell off the bureau, which is a little scary - it's heavy!

The cats seemed a little freaked when I got home - they were in unusual places in the house, and didn't come down to eat right away. But, everything seems back to normal now.

Glad everyone is safe.

 

[Walt34]

The best reaction I heard was from one of the guys at work. He called home to check and his wife's reaction was to yell at their two boys, ages 10 and 12, playing in the basement to "Knock it off down there before you break something!"

For once they were innocent.

 

[rescueme]

At my house, I had two broken wine glasses; two broken picture frames, pictures on the wall all askew, and just general shifting of most things loose.

Sounds like a typical Saturday night at our house ...

 

[Nodak]

There are several apps for smart phones that will show where earthquakes have happened in near real time. It's interesting to see how many quakes happen every day.

 

[HFWR]

Experiencing your first earthquake can be scary.

I've experienced several while I lived in MO. The first quake I experienced, I was 10 years old and sitting on the toilet.

Connection? Just sayin'...

I was in San Jose a few weeks after the '89 quake, on a train-cation for Megaconglomocorp. There was a mild aftershock, which sounded like someone scooting a piece of heavy furniture across the floor above us. One story building, though... Didn't know until that evening that it was a "quake".

 

[Brett_Cameron]

Three tidbits:
Decades ago, first wife and I had just finished having sex when a mild earthquake happened in San Diego. We laughed long and hard about that.

I was sitting in a motel room in Vallejo, CA watching a local news piece on earthquake preparedness when another mild earthquake occurred.

An earthquake occurred in Alaska, a short time later we saw the water level oscillate on a large tank level indicator in Mississippi.

 

[HFWR]

Three tidbits:
Decades ago, first wife and I had just finished having sex when a mild earthquake happened in San Diego.

This thread is useless without pictures...

We laughed long and hard about that.

No pun intended?

 

[MikeD]

We were in the car and didn't feel a thing. We are mad that we missed it.

DC Earthquake Devastation - jmckinley's posterous

Mike D.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Often the real damage done by an earthquake are the fires and floods caused by broken pipes and damaged dams. Any news of that kind of thing is the real reason to worry.

Or damage from nuclear reactors that can't keep their reactors cooled and go "China Syndrome" on us spreading radioactive fallout for hundreds of miles.

That could count as "the real damage"

 

[Brett_Cameron]

This thread is useless without pictures...



No pun intended?

yes, yes words chosen carefully!

 

[kaudrey]

Sounds like a typical Saturday night at our house ...

Can I come over?

 

[grumpy]

We were sitting having lunch at an outdoor restaurant beside the city dock in Annapolis, Maryland. The dock was bouncing and swaying. My companions said a boat must have hit the dock. I said "no, look across at the dock on the opposite side, the pylons there are swaying too - its an earthquake." I was in a 6.4 quake in Mexico City in 1964 so I knew right away what it was. We stayed where we were and finished our lunches.

 

[kaudrey]

This made me laugh...we were standing around after it was over, wondering if we should leave the building (our alarms didn't go off), and a co-worker said, "well, I know my martini will be ready for me when I get home..."

 

[HFWR]

...and a co-worker said, "well, I know my martini will be ready for me when I get home..."

Shaken, not stirred...

 

[clifp]

Shaken, not stirred...

That reminds me of the best tweet I heard from us bemused Left Coast folks.

"5.9 that's what we use in California to stir our coffee."

 

[Purron]

Devastating Earthquake in Virginia!

From my brother in law in Roanoke, VA. Yeah, I know there was some real damage from this thing, but for most of us, it was more like this:

As we see more of the pictures, we begin to understand the extent of the devastation...

 

[FIRE'd@51]

We live about 35 miles from the earthquake's epicenter. Although we had no damage, it scared me enough to call my insurance agent today and add an earthquake endorsement to my homeowner's policy. It's quite expensive (adds about 40% to my current premium) with a 10% (of replacement value) deductible, so it's truly catastrophic coverage; but I'll sleep better knowing I'm not self-insuring the entire house should a Black Swan event occur.

 

[Surfdaddy]

California

We're in Southern California. This is amusing to us thinking of all those people who moved east due to fear of earthquakes.

Our son is in school in North Carolina. He felt the earthquake yesterday, and they are now preparing for a hurricane.

So glad we don't get hurricanes out here.

 

[clifp]

We live about 35 miles from the earthquake's epicenter. Although we had no damage, it scared me enough to call my insurance agent today and add an earthquake endorsement to my homeowner's policy. It's quite expensive (adds about 40% to my current premium) with a 10% (of replacement value) deductible, so it's truly catastrophic coverage; but I'll sleep better knowing I'm not self-insuring the entire house should a Black Swan event occur.

I figure that is what FEMA is for. I dropped hurricane insurance on my house because I figured if Honolulu gets hit by hurricane that is so bad that it causes more than the $10K(the deductible) Uncle Sam will provide us disaster relief.

 

[sheehs1]

We live about 35 miles from the earthquake's epicenter. Although we had no damage, it scared me enough to call my insurance agent today and add an earthquake endorsement to my homeowner's policy. It's quite expensive (adds about 40% to my current premium) with a 10% (of replacement value) deductible, so it's truly catastrophic coverage; but I'll sleep better knowing I'm not self-insuring the entire house should a Black Swan event occur.

I know you feel better Fire'd@51...and if that Black Swan event happens it will be well worth the coverage. My twin sister and her husband live in Goochland...so ...probably not far from you.

 

[FIRE'd@51]

I figure that is what FEMA is for. I dropped hurricane insurance on my house because I figured if Honolulu gets hit by hurricane that is so bad that it causes more than the $10K(the deductible) Uncle Sam will provide us disaster relief.

Well, perhaps I'm naive, but I have more confidence in my insurance company (USAA) making me whole (in a timely fashion) than FEMA. Plus, I also have the full homeowner's insurance coverage of my personal belongings as well as loss of use. Maybe FEMA will help me out with the deductible.

 

[donheff]

I figure that is what FEMA is for. I dropped hurricane insurance on my house because I figured if Honolulu gets hit by hurricane that is so bad that it causes more than the $10K(the deductible) Uncle Sam will provide us disaster relief.

FEMA just provides low cost disaster loans, doesn't it? Far different than insurance.
I'm not bothering with earthquake insurance but it would be nice to be able to get insurance to cover loss of domicile due to a dirty bomb or nuke.

 

[clifp]

FEMA just provides low cost disaster loans, doesn't it? Far different than insurance.
I'm not bothering with earthquake insurance but it would be nice to be able to get insurance to cover loss of domicile due to a dirty bomb or nuke.

Looking at FEMA's website they do provide assistance in the form of grants if your damages exceed your coverage, or the insurance company doesn't cover your damage.I am sure you'll still end up taking a financial hit.
However, I figure between FEMA grants and loans it probably won't be that much more than high deductible on hurricane or earthquake insurance.

 

[sheehs1]

I agree with Fired@51 on this one. FEMA actually initially denied help to all the tornado victims in North Carolina last year. I'd have to check to see if they reversed their stance. Having said that, I think the only thing my policy covers is damage from "wind driven" rain. Made a claim after Hurricane Floyd using that clause...as the wind drove the rain under the seal plate of my front door, forcing water in and resulted in buckled hard wood floors. ummm...might have to take a look at my coverage as weather events in this area seem to be on the rise.