Posts
Here I was thinking I was crazy, and I'm NOT! At least not for this!
I could have sworn I felt the floor, or maybe the bed, shake late at night on a couple of different occasions. I figured it was either small earthquakes or demonic possession, a la The Exorcist (something I try very hard not to think about late at night).
And it WAS! The ever-active New Madrid fault, just a few hours away from us, has been very active recently. We've been hearing about "the big one" that was coming since we were kids (a very short time geologically), and while they do still say that's coming (the SEMA and FEMA crews are actively preparing for it), what we're mostly getting is small 2.0-4.0 scale quakes...not strong enough to do much damage, but certainly strong enough to be felt.
Add to that the fact that our county, Lawrence County, Missouri, is actually situated on THREE fault lines, I shouldn't doubt myself. I really have been feeling quakes. So there.
3 comments:
DUDE!
I so know about this! A couple of months ago, I finished a FUN (yeah, I know, I have issues: I LOVE disaster novels and movies) disaster novel called 8.4 (I think that's the title). It was all about what would happen if the New Madrid Fault 'cracked'. It was a FAB book - mostly because the author included enough science to substantiate the cataclysmic events he depicted.
Did you know that, among the top five US hot-zones (areas overdue for a major tectonic event), the New Madrid matrix (because, like you said, there are several other fault lines involved), New England and Louisana rate right up there with the San Andeas.
Now - if only I could get in on a real-estate deal... maybe river-front property in Tennessee?
Nancy
Welcome to my world. Course, we don't hardly blink at any tremor below 5.0 out here, but we're very familiar with the 'be prepared' mantra.
One of the best and funniest earthquake preparedness videos was filmed after Loma Prieta in 1989 (6.9 quake - I was living 3 miles from the epicenter for that one). It's called 'Surviving the Big One' and was produced by KCET. I can't find an online version of it, but you can order it from amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Big-One-Prepare-Earthquake/product-reviews/B00000JX38
This contains one of my favorite lines of all time. The host, an LA firefighter is talking about standing in a doorway during an earthquake and how it may not be a good idea cause the door will probably swing shut on you. If your fingers get caught..."it may not kill you, but you'll wish you were dead."
There's tons of other preparation sites, but a good one to start is http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/earthquakes.shtm
I will tell you, that the one thing that terrifies me about a quake in the midwest is all the brick buildings. Brick is almost non-existent out here except in the oldest areas (all post 1906, though). In 1989, the freeway collapse and the liquifaction in the Marina district killed many - next on the list would be collapsing brick buildings. Somehow I think the order would be different in the midwest.
The only thing you can do is be aware and prepare. Secure your cabinets (and fridge) to the wall. Perhaps you already have a food supply for snow emergencies - keep it stocked all year long. Strap down the water heater, and know the danger zones in your house (like the garage - if you have 2 cars, they can bang together in a big quake.)
Yeah, I'm still a little sensitive to the subject of earthquakes, even though Loma Prieta happened 20 years ago. We're still waiting for the Hayward fault to crack here. It's easy to find - go to google and draw a line connecting all the hospitals on the east side of the San Francisco Bay. It travels directly under Cal Berkeley's stadium and is expected to let out a big one any time now.
blondie
ps. did I mention the sound an earthquake makes? Gives me the willies just thinking about it...
Wow, blondie, thanks for the voice of experience there! I do have emergency food and supplies, which I don't normally tell people because I don't want them to think I'm stockpiling arms and starting a cult or something (of course, I just put it on my blog...). We do have a lot of brick out here, but not that much, because it's more expensive than wood or siding.
And, Nancy, I'd love to read that book, but I started the emergency food and supply collection I just mentioned because of another book, called Life As We Knew It, by Susan Pfeiffer, so I'm sure your book would make me completely paranoid.
About a year and a half ago, some people from my church met with the SEMA rep for our region. He says that he personally has a year's worth of supplies, and that we are closer to disasters of different kinds at any given time than we realize.
Happy thoughts for Christmas, girls!
Post a Comment