california EQ moment - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

creekster · 03-02-2007, 02:59 PM

My wife and I were at our daughter's HS choral perfromance last night. RIht in the middle of one of the numbers there is an earthquake. Not a huge quake, but it was abotu 4.3 and its epicenter was only a couple of miles away so that's a pretty big jolt when you are that close. The building vibrates, you can feel the directional waves pass through, and then there are a couple of very large jolts, lasting for a few seconds, while dust falls out of the rafters. Everyone sort of looks around but the singers keep singing and the band keeps playing and not until the intermission does anyone stop and talk about it.

I am guessing that in a lot of places such an event would be cause for everyone to stop and go home. True or am I overstating our desensitization to earthquakes?

BarbaraGordon · 03-02-2007, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creekster

I am guessing that in a lot of places such an event would be cause for everyone to stop and go home. True or am I overstating our desensitization to earthquakes?

I don't know anything about earthquakes, but this reminds me of when I was driving to take the GRE, the tornado sirens were going off, and I'm watching as people carry on with whatever they're doing. I remember one guy was busily washing his car.

When I got there to take the GRE, they offered me earplugs in case the sirens would be too distracting.

myboynoah · 03-02-2007, 03:25 PM

By EQ, I thought you meant Elders Quorum, so I was expecting something really jolting.

We used to have the same thing in Japan. The first few times I thought everyone should go home or do something (like run around screaming). They just went on working, so I did too.

Surfah · 03-02-2007, 04:08 PM

I can relate with both of your experiences Creekster and Babs. Growing up in Southern California small tremors and crawling beneath your desk with your hands clasped over your head was something I thought all kids dealt with. And then on my mission while in western Kansas the first time I heard a tornado siren I about wet myself. And yes most people there just carried on. I remember one evening we were on our way to a dinner appointment when the alarms sounded and looking above us you could see the swirling and rolling clouds and the beginning of a funnel. The members just looked at it like it was no thing and went on with dinner with us as planned.

MikeWaters · 03-02-2007, 04:13 PM

One time when I was pretty young, lightning struck the lightpole 1 house down. My brother was reading a book with his head resting against a metal bedframe. He felt a shock. And our neighbor lost his TV.

I was in a 8.2 that lasted a full minute. Trust me, I was not carrying on "as usual".

jay santos · 03-02-2007, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

One time when I was pretty young, lightning struck the lightpole 1 house down. My brother was reading a book with his head resting against a metal bedframe. He felt a shock. And our neighbor lost his TV.

I was in a 8.2 that lasted a full minute. Trust me, I was not carrying on "as usual".

I was golfing in the rain when lightning hit a tree not 50 ft from me. It was the loudest CRACK I ever heard. I felt a slight jolt of electricity through my soggy shoes. Scared the crud out of me.

Jeff Lebowski · 03-02-2007, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jay santos

I was golfing in the rain when lightning hit a tree not 50 ft from me. It was the loudest CRACK I ever heard. I felt a slight jolt of electricity through my soggy shoes. Scared the crud out of me.

Were you working on the best game of golf in your life? Was Danny Noonan your caddy?

Detroitdad · 03-02-2007, 05:24 PM

In Alabama the first year we lived there everybody carried on as usual when the tornado sirens went off, while we spent all the time we could in our safe place. Then later that year a tornado went through our town killing 16 people. The attitudes changed overnight and people were in their safe place when the sirens went off. My daughter had nightmares after a tornado missed her school by 100 feet and they heard it.

This is the one thing about Alabama that I do not miss at all.

BarbaraGordon · 03-02-2007, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Detroitdad

The attitudes changed overnight and people were in their safe place when the sirens went off.

Call us slow, but the attitudes never changed here, even after the May 3rd 1999 tornadoes. (The story I related was in 2001).

Around here, we just like to think we've figured out how to discern the real ones from the hype. Hubris, I suppose.

bluegoose · 03-02-2007, 07:52 PM

My Grandma called me last night about 9:00 and asked me if we had felt the earthquake just then. Seeing as how we're 170 miles away, we obviously had not. She apparently thought it was bigger initially than it actually was. She had just fallen asleep and was awakened with a feeling similar to vertigo. When she tried to stand up, she just about fell down, again thinking she was just dizzy.

I was also living in the Bay area during the 1989 quake. I was leaning back in a chair, pretending to do some homework and waiting for the baseball game to come on when suddenly I found myself lying flat on my back looking at the ceiling. My first thought was "I'm going to kill him", meaning my brother who I thought pulled the chair out from under me. Then I noticed lights swinging and bookcases falling. A very sureal feeling, to say the least. I wasn't a bit panicked, as I had no idea how serious it really was, being 50+ miles from the epicenter.

03-02-2007, 02:59 PM	#1
creekster Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: the far corner of my mind Posts: 8,711	california EQ moment My wife and I were at our daughter's HS choral perfromance last night. RIht in the middle of one of the numbers there is an earthquake. Not a huge quake, but it was abotu 4.3 and its epicenter was only a couple of miles away so that's a pretty big jolt when you are that close. The building vibrates, you can feel the directional waves pass through, and then there are a couple of very large jolts, lasting for a few seconds, while dust falls out of the rafters. Everyone sort of looks around but the singers keep singing and the band keeps playing and not until the intermission does anyone stop and talk about it. I am guessing that in a lot of places such an event would be cause for everyone to stop and go home. True or am I overstating our desensitization to earthquakes? __________________ Sorry for th e tpyos.

03-02-2007, 03:25 PM	#3
myboynoah Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Memphis freakin' Tennessee!!!!! Posts: 4,530	By EQ, I thought you meant Elders Quorum, so I was expecting something really jolting. We used to have the same thing in Japan. The first few times I thought everyone should go home or do something (like run around screaming). They just went on working, so I did too. __________________ Give 'em Hell, Cougars!!! Religion rises inevitably from our apprehension of our own death. To give meaning to meaninglessness is the endless quest of all religion. When death becomes the center of our consciousness, then religion authentically begins. Of all religions that I know, the one that most vehemently and persuasively defies and denies the reality of death is the original Mormonism of the Prophet, Seer and Revelator, Joseph Smith. Last edited by myboynoah; 03-02-2007 at 05:33 PM.

03-02-2007, 04:08 PM	#4
Surfah Master Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: F'burg, VA Posts: 3,211	I can relate with both of your experiences Creekster and Babs. Growing up in Southern California small tremors and crawling beneath your desk with your hands clasped over your head was something I thought all kids dealt with. And then on my mission while in western Kansas the first time I heard a tornado siren I about wet myself. And yes most people there just carried on. I remember one evening we were on our way to a dinner appointment when the alarms sounded and looking above us you could see the swirling and rolling clouds and the beginning of a funnel. The members just looked at it like it was no thing and went on with dinner with us as planned. __________________ Ernie Johnson: "Auburn is a pretty good school. To graduate from there I suppose you really need to work hard and put forth maximum effort." Charles Barkley: "20 pts and 10 rebounds will get you through also!"

03-02-2007, 04:13 PM	#5
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	One time when I was pretty young, lightning struck the lightpole 1 house down. My brother was reading a book with his head resting against a metal bedframe. He felt a shock. And our neighbor lost his TV. I was in a 8.2 that lasted a full minute. Trust me, I was not carrying on "as usual".

03-02-2007, 05:24 PM	#8
Detroitdad Resident Jackass Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Roswell, New Mexico Posts: 1,846	In Alabama the first year we lived there everybody carried on as usual when the tornado sirens went off, while we spent all the time we could in our safe place. Then later that year a tornado went through our town killing 16 people. The attitudes changed overnight and people were in their safe place when the sirens went off. My daughter had nightmares after a tornado missed her school by 100 feet and they heard it. This is the one thing about Alabama that I do not miss at all.

03-02-2007, 07:52 PM	#10
bluegoose Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,919	My Grandma called me last night about 9:00 and asked me if we had felt the earthquake just then. Seeing as how we're 170 miles away, we obviously had not. She apparently thought it was bigger initially than it actually was. She had just fallen asleep and was awakened with a feeling similar to vertigo. When she tried to stand up, she just about fell down, again thinking she was just dizzy. I was also living in the Bay area during the 1989 quake. I was leaning back in a chair, pretending to do some homework and waiting for the baseball game to come on when suddenly I found myself lying flat on my back looking at the ceiling. My first thought was "I'm going to kill him", meaning my brother who I thought pulled the chair out from under me. Then I noticed lights swinging and bookcases falling. A very sureal feeling, to say the least. I wasn't a bit panicked, as I had no idea how serious it really was, being 50+ miles from the epicenter.