Pragmatist
Pragmatist

EARTHQUAKE!
Thu Sep 30 2004

Yes. There was an earthquake in California today (Monday). It was centered in a small town midway between Los Angles and San Francisco. It was a 6.0 temblor, along the infamous San Andreas fault.

I heard that some tremors were felt in Sacramento, but I didn’t feel them. Maybe it’s because I went through a couple goodly ones when I lived in Southern California, and I don’t even notice unless I’m in the middle of one.

The epicenter was a few miles south of tiny Parkfield which is almost exactly half-way between LA and SF. On the outskirts of the town is the sign “You have entered the North American Plate.” They also claim to be the earthquake center of the world. In fact, the Geological Survey has a bunch of equipment there to monitor and try to predict when quakes will occur. I think they’re proud of their status. It’s unique, I’ll give them that.

Oh, when I say “tiny,” I mean population of 58 souls.

The Survey is predicting after-tremors of possibly 5.0 over the next several days.

Besides Japan, I might guess that California is pretty high on the list of earthquake-prone places. There have been some pretty bad ones in Turkey, too. But California doesn’t suffer such massive damage as other places, because builders realize that the occurrence of a quake is a given, and so building codes require that structures be at least earthquake-resistant, if not earthquake-proof.

Anyway, Sacramento is at least 100 miles east of the San Andreas fault, and if we feel anything, it’s minor. I think people who live in earthquake prone areas are crazy, but that’s just me.

I also think sky-divers are crazy, too.

Shalom

P.S.

I wrote this last night (Tuesday), but Hami was down, and I finally decided it was time to go to bed—Hami or not.

So, here’s my EARTHQUAKE! entry now. Late, but here it is.

P.S. II

Hmmmpphhhh!! It’s almost noon on Wednesday now. How long is Hami going to take to do whatever Hami is doing????

Well, I’ll just have to try again, I guess.


Finally. 4:00pm Wednesday, and I'm finally able to post Monday's entry.

9 Comments
  • From:
    Allimom (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Sep 29 2004
    MT. St. Helens is struggling to bring Washington State up on the same earthquake frequency status as California and Japan.

    With a few hundred tremors an hour, I think she's catching up quickly!
    Alli
  • From:
    Yetzirah (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Sep 29 2004
    I didn't feel anything either. And I am pretty sensitive to that stuff.

    See you in the Sukkah!
  • From:
    Sezrah (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Sep 29 2004
    nz is situated right along a faultline also so there are tremors that occur here semi consistently. having said that, i've never felt an earthquake so we're not as active as you guys, i expect

    sez
  • From:
    Yetzirah (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Sep 29 2004
    Well, it would take your marshmallow a long time to toast since the fire is sealed behind glass...
    Sorry to say.

    Now our friend C. has an open fireplace.... that's the spot for marshmallows...and chocolate... and graham crackers!
  • From:
    FishCreekBride (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Sep 30 2004
    What is going on? Earth quakes! Hurricaines! Volcanos! I'm glad your a hundred miles away...
  • From:
    Dreamerbooks2003 (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Sep 30 2004
    You know where I live there is a fault that runs down to eventually connect with that San Andreas fault line. I am not sure what it is called up here, but it runs right through the city. Almost on the city - county line. My parents live on one of the city/county dividing streets. There is a guy who built his house right on the edge of the fault.. It is at the mouth of the canyon .. Very frightening. I guess this was down a long time
    Enjoy the evening. Hope nothing starts shaking here, other than the usual upstairs neighbors, who never stop.. LOL
    PEG
  • From:
    Dustbunny3 (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Sep 30 2004
    Oh where is Camolot or how ever you spell it.
    I have not found it and if I did I would not tell.
  • From:
    Calantha (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Sep 30 2004
    Hi!

    I don't understand why people keep rebuilding homes where there have been mudslides, either. Just asking for trouble, seems to me.

    Snooky thanks you for the attention. ;-)

    On commenting, if it's a private entry, then yes please make comments private. I'm not going to post any private entries, so if you have something to say just to me you can also make it private.

    If the entry is a public one, go ahead and post away publicly. It allows for more communication and it's what I like about having a diary here. Just no real names or places, please.

    I have had many strange things happen here at DD since the changes. I have had my name and password show up when I go to comment too, but it did not happen when I came here. I'm not sure what's up with that! However, I am sure it is just from our own computers and not something other people will see, so no-one will be able to comment on your behalf.

    I'm happy about the changes going on in my life. I've given away control before, and thought I was strong enough before not to relinquish it but then went and did it anyway. This time, I'm going to be true to myself and also be BY MYSELF. Where I've failed in the past is in thinking I needed a man in my life. All I really need is a bit of financial security and the only way to have that reliably is to provide for myself. For the next couple years, I'm going to work as hard as I can to get that part of my life under control so it is not the one thing I have to be thinking about all the time. I want to enjoy life, and I'm a very simple person with few needs so that should not be difficult to manage.

    Progress is being made, even if slow. Forward motion is a good thing.

    I hope you and Banshee are well and happy.

    Take care,
    Calantha
  • From:
    CovertOps (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Sep 30 2004
    Dear Chaya,

    I am so glad you are all right! Thanks for your (very educated) firsthand account of the earthquake. I thank Providence only tremors were felt and there were no casualties.

    When I first visited LA, my Dad and i marvelled at the fact that even the hotels are no more than 6 stories high. We thought it a rather uneconomical use of land since most hotels in Malaysia are over 20 stories high. Later we found out that it was to minimize property damage and deaths in the event of an earthquake. Coming from a country that has no earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes or hurricanes, the revelation made us quite anxious.

    LOL! Poor tropical backwater dwellers! LOL!

    Take care, dear Chaya.
    Love,
    E.L.