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News & ArtsTuesday, August 23, 2011
Panic / Breaking News End Times Alert: 5.9 Quake Hits Virginia!
Posted by Goldy on Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 11:05 AM
The AP just sent out an alert that a 5.9 earthquake has hit Virginia. Initial reports say it was felt all the way from North Carolina to Toronto.
UPDATES:
· My sister just called from Philadelphia to tell me that the ground shook there for about five seconds; nothing like anything she's felt before. We had a couple of small tremblers in my childhood, but this must certainly be the largest quake to hit the East Coast in my lifetime.
· Coincidentally (unless it really is the End Times, in which case this is no coincidence), a "rare strong earthquake" measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale hit Colorado last night. By comparison, the Nisqually quake was a 6.8, roughly ten times stronger than the quake that hit Virginia today.
· Initial reports say the quake was strong enough to break glass and knock items off store shelves in Virginia, but there are no reports of injuries.
- Source: USGS
· Apparently, the Virginia epicenter is just miles from the aging North Anna Nuclear Generating Station. According to Wikipedia, the Nuclear Regulatory Agency estimates the annual risk of a quake intense enough to cause seismic damage to the core at 1 in 22,727. By comparison, your chance of winning $10,000 by buying a single ticket in a multi-state Powerball lottery is 1 in 723,145.
3
There's a fault line there, too:
http://popwife.com/2011/03/america-where…
so these things do happen...
http://popwife.com/2011/03/america-where…
so these things do happen...
6
Oh sweet Jesus!! I accept you as my personal lord and Savior!! I appologize for getting fucked up my tight ass so many times!! I am so sorry for fucking all those guys up there ass too!! Oh mighty Jesus forgive me!! And yes, it is all the Jews fault that you were killed!!!
10
I was listening to the Mariners game in Cleveland, and the announcers (for the Indians--it's on XM) were clearly freaked out by the press box swaying around.
12
Interesting, since last night there was a relatively large earthquake (5.3) In Colorado where they haven't had one of that magnitude since the late 60's. We felt that one here in SLC.
14
That was crazy. I've been all over the world, in earthquake zones, but never felt an earthquake until today! I'm at work, and wondering if my house is okay. They don't build stuff out here to withstand such shaking.
16
Yes @ 13, I'm sure the evangelicals will be all over this as a "sign" even though Obama is in Massachusetts. I can't wait 'til one hits Salt Lake and the temple goes a tumblin'.
17
The line has been that the "cost" of living in a beautiful place like San Francisco or LA was that you could die in an earthquake.
What's the payback for living in the Rahway, NJ danger zone?!
What's the payback for living in the Rahway, NJ danger zone?!
19
Actually, the Nisqually earthquake (M6.8) was 22.387 times bigger than the M5.9 quake that just occurred in Virginia (in terms of energy released).
Try it yourself!
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/…
Try it yourself!
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/…
20
@ 15 - the only reason I noticed it was the slowly swaying hanging plant, otherwise I never would have been aware there was a quake. However, my dad was down in Capitol Reef National Park in east-central Utah and said it was a fairly sharp jolt there.
21
Have your east coast friends fill out this form: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/d…
Science requires inputs, and intensity felt is an important input to have.
Science requires inputs, and intensity felt is an important input to have.
22
In Brooklyn, I felt it too. Something was definitely up but I almost thought the upstairs neighbors were just fucking that hard...
23
Goldy, I don't remember if you were here the last time we were talking about earthquakes, but it's "tremor" or "temblor". A "trembler" is a bird.
@16 - You know they'd never take a natural disaster as a divine condemnation of their ways, except that they'd see it as a sign that they haven't been enough of a giant asshole to the people they hate.
@16 - You know they'd never take a natural disaster as a divine condemnation of their ways, except that they'd see it as a sign that they haven't been enough of a giant asshole to the people they hate.
24
The shaking was bad enough here in Arlington, VA to scare the shit out of the dogs and knock some things off the shelves.
25
@23, "temblor" is a made up word people in the media use when reporting on earthquakes. It has absolutely zero scientific meaning. Supposedly it's spanish for earthquake, but outside of news reports, you'll never hear it mentioned.
Tremor, on the other hand, is very real, and just roared beneath the Olympic Peninsula: www.pnsn.org/tremor
Tremor, on the other hand, is very real, and just roared beneath the Olympic Peninsula: www.pnsn.org/tremor
26
Here in Philly we had a nice steady roll for about 25 seconds. No reports of damage but many of the office buildings in center city have evacuated and the regional rail lines have long delays.
27
@25 - They're all made up words, stupid. It just happens they mean things, even if only in news reports.
"OK" first appeared in a newspaper, but it doesn't make it an invalid word.
"OK" first appeared in a newspaper, but it doesn't make it an invalid word.
28
@23, I know, but I can hope! There's just something about those temple walls and the hypocrisy they contain that makes me want to watch them fall down....
30
@27, I was just pointing out the fact that the word has no scientific meaning, but thanks for calling me stupid.
33
To be blatantly pedantic: "5.3 on the Richter scale" — not the Richter scale. M5.3 or magnitude 5.3, specifically refers to the Moment Magnitude Scale (MMS), Richter hasn't been used in decades.
34
Goldy, I don't know what mini-earthquakes you are talking about from your childhood, but I was born and raised in Philly too and I don't remember any kind of earthquakes, even small ones. Hurricanes, sure, but earthquakes??
I can't believe I live on the west coast now but it's the EAST coast that's having the earthquakes!
I can't believe I live on the west coast now but it's the EAST coast that's having the earthquakes!
35
The daughter lives and works in DC, and had to call me to let me know how excited she was to go through it. Not that she was okay, but it was pretty cool.
Watching MSNBC and they're breathlessly reporting cracks in buildings and a broken water pipe in the Pentagon. Oh, and that someone in the Chicago suburbs felt it. I'm in the Chicago suburbs about 3/4 underground, and felt nothing. If the New Madrid fault goes, I'll let you know.
Watching MSNBC and they're breathlessly reporting cracks in buildings and a broken water pipe in the Pentagon. Oh, and that someone in the Chicago suburbs felt it. I'm in the Chicago suburbs about 3/4 underground, and felt nothing. If the New Madrid fault goes, I'll let you know.
36
Greetings from Los Angeles: next time, get the hell out --fast -- of brick, cinderblock or other masonry structures.
After a Big One, they become a pile of Legos.
My 50 year-old stucco building survived with a couple cracks easily mended.
After a Big One, they become a pile of Legos.
My 50 year-old stucco building survived with a couple cracks easily mended.
37
Just had two aftershocks about an hour ago too. My building gently jiggled back and forth like a giant hand was trying to wake it up from a nap.
40
Wait, that WAS the earthquake. Google said it hit at 5am (when I would have been asleep), but I guess that's GMT. Surprisingly little damage, considering.
Rush hour is going to be a (bigger) bitch.
Rush hour is going to be a (bigger) bitch.
41
Upstate NY - felt a distinct vibration in the floor. Ironic that I have to go to the East Coast to experience a palpable earthquake.
42
@25, ain't no supposedly about it. It's the Spanish for "earthquake, and millions of people "hear it mentioned" all the time. Scientific words are not the only kind of words.
@29, you beat me to it. The devastation is shocking. Someone, preferably me, needs to hurry there right away and take charge. I'll have a daquiri, please.
@29, you beat me to it. The devastation is shocking. Someone, preferably me, needs to hurry there right away and take charge. I'll have a daquiri, please.
43
I'm certainly glad it was only serious enough to peel back a few layers of East Coast Bravado concerning all matters covered under the Natures Wrath umbrella.
5.9... Now, what we ya'll saying about Seattleites and snow?
5.9... Now, what we ya'll saying about Seattleites and snow?
44
@43
That you're all a bunch of pussies when it comes to snow.
Sure, east coasters are all talking about the earthquake right now, but it's more like what @35 said about her daughter. It was exciting, different, cool, etc. We're not a bunch of whiny babies like softy Seattlelites, sorry.
That you're all a bunch of pussies when it comes to snow.
Sure, east coasters are all talking about the earthquake right now, but it's more like what @35 said about her daughter. It was exciting, different, cool, etc. We're not a bunch of whiny babies like softy Seattlelites, sorry.
45
That's what we call a dish-rattler. It rattles the dishes, but doesn't even dump them out of the cabinets.
51
By the way, John has the link for USGS feedback and WaPo is collecting pics of the quake but is having (surprise) "network problems".
52
@ 44, speaking as someone from a snowy region who lived for many years in Seattle, I can attest to the fact that it's harder to deal with in Seattle because of all the hills.
I've never been to Philadelphia, but I bet it's not as hilly.
Now, that doesn't mean that Seattleites aren't pussies when it comes to snow. Or earthquakes, for that matter - I remember EVERYBODY going right home from work after the Ash Wednesday quake happened (at 11:00am), except at my job.
I've never been to Philadelphia, but I bet it's not as hilly.
Now, that doesn't mean that Seattleites aren't pussies when it comes to snow. Or earthquakes, for that matter - I remember EVERYBODY going right home from work after the Ash Wednesday quake happened (at 11:00am), except at my job.
53
I'm in Baltimore, and there was just some power outages and a few cellphone towers out. I think one of my friends on facebook said it best "I bet all of California is looking at us like we look at them when they bitch about snow."
55
As a Californian, I recognize that we don't have snow plows and salt ready to clear our roads if we get a bunch of unexpected snow. Whereas the East Coast has the tools to deal with its snow. But we have building codes to deal with earthquakes and a bit more of an expectation of them, so if the ground starts rattling, we have some idea of what is happening. So, I was worried for the East Coast, because I had no idea what the quake would do in an area that is much less prepared for it. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have been big enough to do any significant damage, and people are okay, for which I am quite glad.
56
Probably caused by all the fracking (mining process) that is going on...messes with water tables. Note new theory that Salton Sea in So. Cal having water in it is now being said to help avoid earthquakes in that area.
Don't mess with Mother Nature...
Don't mess with Mother Nature...
57
@44 - We had a 5.9 off the coast last month. I think it ran on the news behind a cat fashion show. Matter of fact, there's a magnitude 6 happening right now... IN MY PANTS! BURN!
59
Wow, that was disquieting. Live about a half-hour outside DC, whole house was shaking. I know for an earthquake it's NBD, but that was one helluva way to start the day.
61
Here in Toronto, I ... ah ... slept through it all and only found out about it in a phone call 40 minutes later.
62
Breaking news in Salt Lake City via KSL "news": the D.C. temple lost 4 of 5 tops on the spires due to the earthquake. Oh my heck! And this was the top story despite all that is going on in Libya and other locales.....
63
Obviously, the deficit is the cause.
That area is just too darned weighed down with with debt.......
That area is just too darned weighed down with with debt.......
64
In the grand scheme of earthquakes, sure, this was small potatoes, but I picked a hell of an afternoon to actually be in the office! At first, my desk started this funky shaking. I was trying to type up a report and make a phone call, so I was just annoyed. I couldn't figure out WHY my desk would be shaking. I tried grabbing it, like I was trying to get it to stop shaking from someone kicking it. Then my chair started bobbing along and I finally realized what was going on about 2 seconds before it was over, at the same moment that my California-native co-worker was calmly yelling for all of us to get into the doorways. Now, my office is on the 4th floor, so I probably felt it more than people closer to ground level, and so I don't argue that it was super-strong, but it WAS quite noticeable. To provide perspective, I didn't feel either of the reported aftershocks, as I was out walking on the sidewalks by then.
From that point, my building was evacuated while they checked for gas leaks and structural and electrical damage, all of which it was cleared for quickly, but our boss told us to just go home or whatever. We decided that "whatever" was best fulfilled by a 3:30 happy hour and then a long, slow commute home. The subway is running at 15 MPH until further notice while they do track and structure inspections, so my normally 15-minute commute was about 35 minutes, despite waiting out the initial "go home" crush at happy hour (I had no trouble getting on the first train into the station). Sure, it seems "wimpy" to West-Coasters that our building isn't up to code for a 5.9 earthquake, but it's unreasonable to build to that standard here, much like it's unreasonable to build to a category 4 hurricane or F-3 tornado standard on the West Coast.
So I'll be working from home for the next few days in anticipation of a lot of slow commutes. Freaky, inconvenient, and somewhat hilarious (some people were panicking after it stopped shaking), but not as stupid and wimpy as some would make it out to be.
More...
From that point, my building was evacuated while they checked for gas leaks and structural and electrical damage, all of which it was cleared for quickly, but our boss told us to just go home or whatever. We decided that "whatever" was best fulfilled by a 3:30 happy hour and then a long, slow commute home. The subway is running at 15 MPH until further notice while they do track and structure inspections, so my normally 15-minute commute was about 35 minutes, despite waiting out the initial "go home" crush at happy hour (I had no trouble getting on the first train into the station). Sure, it seems "wimpy" to West-Coasters that our building isn't up to code for a 5.9 earthquake, but it's unreasonable to build to that standard here, much like it's unreasonable to build to a category 4 hurricane or F-3 tornado standard on the West Coast.
So I'll be working from home for the next few days in anticipation of a lot of slow commutes. Freaky, inconvenient, and somewhat hilarious (some people were panicking after it stopped shaking), but not as stupid and wimpy as some would make it out to be.
65
"People of Virginia: This quake is but a warning. Get rid of the fucktard Congresman Eric Cantor or suffer the consequences. XOXO, God."
67
Regarding this 5.8 earthquake in Washington. Obama wanted it to be 3.4, but the Republicans wanted 5.8, so he compromised.
68
Who knew there were so many Philly people reading Slog? Can we have a meetup? Slog Happy, Philly edition? I'll organize if people say they're interested...
69
I was way uptown in Manhattan taking a nap and felt maybe ten seconds of jostling. Thought maybe the upstairs neighbors were moving furniture or something.
70
@68
We need to. These Seattlelites have no edge - bland, bland, bland. It's like living in Mayberry most days until I run into other transplants who bitch about the locals just as much. Never before have I bonded with Southerners, as a Yankee, but a Texan and I will go *on and on* about the weirdo PNW people. ...And before you tell me to leave, local whiteys, remember that this ain't *your* land either...
We need to. These Seattlelites have no edge - bland, bland, bland. It's like living in Mayberry most days until I run into other transplants who bitch about the locals just as much. Never before have I bonded with Southerners, as a Yankee, but a Texan and I will go *on and on* about the weirdo PNW people. ...And before you tell me to leave, local whiteys, remember that this ain't *your* land either...
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