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Also was in my office chair. At first I thought the chair broke! Stood up and felt a 2nd shake.
Next thought was an airplane crashed in to the building, shades of 9/11. I've never felt an earthquake before, is likely the reason. It was SOOO freaky! Like the floor is about to fall out from under you.
My instincts kicked in and I was one of the first people out of my building, despite starting on the 10th floor.
At home, some drawers in my tool box rocked open. Lots of stuff fell off shelves, deodorant, picture frames. The Embassy of Ecuador lost a brick chimney! The National Cathedral also suffered some damage.
No human casualties but it was a pretty serious shake.
Who else felt it? Bob? Lucien? Serge? How about folks in the MidWest?
Glad that everyone is okay, though. I remember my first earthquake, and they can be a very startling experience the first time!
Odd experience. isn't it? The brain initially cannot figure out what the shaking is. However once the connection is made, it is extraordinary how fast you can get out of the building.
Hope that the damage is not too severe. I have been dealing with a lot of Insurance claims flowing from the Christchurch, New Zealand Earthquakes. The big problem there is that the city actually sits on a flood plain and the soil underwent liquefaction (functionally, solid soil becomes oozing liquid, after a vibration passes through it, sort of like quicksand). In turn, that has closed down the city centre for the past six months and there are doubts as to how much of the city can be rebuilt.
One insurance oddity after earthquakes is that everybody inspects their house, finds cracks and assumes that they came from the earthquake. IN the vast majority of cases, we find that they are old cracks, often having moss, dust, grass and spiders in them. Fresh cracks look fresh and break lines are sharp. Check your property promptly after an incident to see if there are genuinely any new cracks.
Cheers
Graham
Fastest I've ever covered 10 flights of stairs. Don't think I saw anyone else 'til I was on the 3rd floor. LOL
Check your property promptly after an incident to see if there are genuinely any new cracks
Yep, did a walk-around inspection and all was well. Only the tool box drawers had opened.
Well, nobody was working on the roof. That was the sound of the corrugated roof panels flexing like the wall of a tin can. It wasn't sugar making my head spin, and I wasn't passing out. I realized that when I could see the glass panels in the upper section of the metal walls still shaking in their frames!!
Then one of the techs burst out of the lab and yelled that a high resolution SEM column was swaying in its air isolation base, creating an incredible wave image on the screen! Thats when I think we finally got it, and all came out into the corridor to compare notes on what we'd been thru.
Someone was quick thinking and went to the USGS site and confirmed it.
There are 'issues' with the cooling packages on these vans (2007-2010) with the introduction of the 2GR engine. They lack the oil cooler required for the full 3500 lb rating. On the older systems you could add a ring with lines where the spin-on filter mounted to get an external cooler. The wacko cartridge filter used now has no such retrofit ability. The full plumbing kit is something like $1k.
$140 is cheap, let me think about it. Wifey wants to bike more, but I wonder if she really will, or if it's just wishful thinking.
I could use the platform at the beach, for sandy stuff.
What does the platform cost again?
Wonder if the tech managed to capture the data stream from the SEM. Might be a patentable method for recording earthquakes!
When she was in primary school I helped my daughter make a rough seismograph. Of course, no earthquakes for years although we have had a few shakes recently.
Cheers
Graham
Growing up in Southern California earthquakes were common and a nuisance. I remember distinctly a small earthquake in the middle of the night that woke me up, and I just layed there until it passed and went back to sleep annoyed that I had been awakened.
I was scared however in the SF quake back in '89. THAT was an earthquake!
tom
We are near the New Madrid fault (or an offshoot), and occasionally, there will be reports of a tremor, but I've never felt one here...
In 2007, while in Santa Monica on Edmunds business, one hit about 2 AM, while I was sleeping.... just one big shock, like someone had picked up the foot of the bed about 2 feet high, and then dropped it.. I listened for the pitter-patter of feet in the hallway, but heard nothing and drifted back off to sleep.. Last thing I remember thinking: If this is normal for California, then no way in heck would I ever live out here.
Next morning, they said it was a "5-year quake", and pretty strong... Sounds about like what you had in DC/Virginia... Epicenter was in Santa Barbara, about 90 miles away..
I can do without them.. :surprise:
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One thing for sure, sitting on the can is NOT a recommended location to be during a quake. Again, I apologize for any damage that I may have caused.
Bob
During the SF quake I was in the shower! It shook so much I had to sit down and hold on to the tub and then the power went out- I somehow got some clothes on in the dark and ran out of my apartment soaking wet.
I think your story tops mine though!
tom
Heard from my niece tonight. She and her 5 year old were in Lake Anna, a few miles from the epi. She immediately thought it was one of the nearby reactors going postal, scooped up her son and began running for the car!
Harbor Freight has both a steel and an interesting aluminum one. Prices vary all over the place with them. Sales, coupons, etc.
Australia is supposedly geologically fairly stable, with the whole continent a fair distance from tectonic plate boundaries. However there are various fault zones which do move from time to time.
We had quite a big one when I was a kid. I was under the shower at the time and suddenly found myself, stark naked on the front lawn; a little embarrassing for a small boy! I have always claimed that I ran. However Mum recently corrected me, saying that she swept me up from the bathroom and ran with me under her arm. Either she ran fast, or it was an awfully long shake as I can remember our Holly Tree shaking vigorously, shedding sharp pointed leaves which I then trod upon.
We have had a run of decent shakes lately, most centred around my family's home town. Nothing too dramatic but ornaments knocked over and so on.
Cheers
Graham
West Coasters are probably laughing but the thing is a lot of us had NO IDEA what the #3!! was happening. Like I said, I thought a plane had hit our high rise building, a la 9/11.
My nanny thought the washing machine was overloaded and ran to turn it off, but it wasn't on! LOL
I'm hearing so many stories like that, all mistaking what it was.
This is funny:
I bet the West Coast would be just as freaked out by a flash flood. For us that's a normal Tuesday.
I've heard the same thing - that in LA, they wouldn't have even stopped for it. But I wonder how they would react if we were to dump 3' of snow on Pasadena?? Then again, I chuckle at the 1" snow fall that shuts down Richmond.
That's a great picture!!
On the news last night here in Boston, people were looking at a 100 year old building that was leaning. When inspectors arrived they said Nah, it's been like that like since day 1.
BTW - I didn't feel a thing here.
The thing to remember is this area just isn't equipped to deal with it, even understand what to do. We all made mistakes - I exited quickly and later found out you're supposed to stay still until the tremors stop. The family ran to the basement and they also should have sheltered-in-place.
Even in DC we don't enough snow for the locals to learn how to drive in it. Driving around in the Subaru you still have to dodge all the out-of-control overconfident drivers.
I remember my first earthquake, which I think was something like a 6.2, and it freaked me out. I just couldn't wrap my head around what was happening because there were things moving that you generally assume should never move! :surprise:
Now, though, I enjoy the feeling. We had a 7.9 back in 2002, and I was in my house (just a shell at that point) at the time. It was fun; I even sat down on the concrete floor to feel it better! The dogs were going nuts though, and my truck was literally jumping around in the driveway - the tires on the back axle eventually started to catch some air! All told, it shook for about 2 minutes (which seems like forever when it is happening).
Structural damage (in the area) was fairly minimal, but the fault itself moved something like 9 feet, which tore the heck out of many local roads. A co-worker and her husband were in a local supermarket, and they said you could see the waves flowing through the ceiling, with shelves swaying and tossing their contents onto the floor, glass breaking, people screaming....
The last one we saw in NE was Bob twenty years ago ... I had recently moved into my brand new house and discovered that my french door was no match for 60+ mph wind-driven rain which soaked my kitchen floor, and my back deck was not flashed against the house causing a good amount of water to pour into the cellar ... then the 3 days without power ... yeah, fun times!
Bob
Taxi? Time and cost?
Thanks!
kyfdx
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Taxi: Haven't a clue as to costs. Probably expensive. What about renting a car?
Bob
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This time I knew what it was, I was in bed, felt like the bed was giving me a massage!
One of the seams on my kitchen counter cracked, but it's just a caulk job.
It may turn out that I'll be driving both ways to Silver Spring, from here.. and, not flying at all. We'll see... I'm in deal mode..
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Your kids will be fine, Bob; they're aware and preparing, and that is the best assurance you can have!
Give me a day.... want to make sure it's nailed down.. At this point, it looks like I'll be flying in...
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More details:
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2011/08/25/ocean-city-orders-mandatory- -evacuation.html
Falling trees, earthquakes, hurricanes.... Locus next? Blood? Boils? Please, not the first born!!!
It really is an extraordinary run of natural disasters. I am an Insurance Loss Adjuster so tend to look at as good for business. My wife says that I remind her of an Undertaker; profiting at times of misfortune!
Here in Australia, we have had an extraordinary run of major natural disasters. Much of it appears to be associated with long term climate change although there is a significant proportion of the population that refuses to accept that this leads to far greater variability in weather events. We have also had bushfires and earthquakes to add to the joys.
I do hope that anyone caught up in the path of this storm does take prudent measures. Early evacuation is the best option if in a high risk area; don't leave it too late.
Cheers
Graham
You must've been busy for a while after that.
I'm just hoping we have a beach left in Ocean City when the sand settles.
Strike 1: Son-in-law Jess had a run-in with a 5' shark last week while surfing on Assateague Island, fortunately the shark came no closer than 15' feet or so; but a close call, nonetheless.
Strike 2: The earthquake.
Strike 3: Hurricane Irene. Mairen and Jess live about 8 miles from the ocean, and are hunkering down. Jess' parents are even closer. They all live in very wooded areas, so falling trees/branches are a big concern. Keeping fingers crossed.
Bob
Natural Disasters are good for business, but very wearing. The Insurance Loss Adjusting (you probably call it Assessing) business is busy all the time but natural disasters throw up a challenge. We would normally expect a big natural disaster about every 12-18 months in Australia but have had 24 in four years.
The images of cars being thrown around in Toowoomba, and more tragically downstream at Grantham, were an indication of the general damage after the monsoon events in Northern Australia. Putting back the pieces is proceeding slowly but many people lost their lives. Those killed in the unexpected flash flooding are understandable, but a remarkable number of people are caught out, driving through floodwater or having been too stupid, or pig-headed to move to safety when warned. The message to evacuate early and make sure your property is safe, is often ignored.
The loss adjusting profession tends to be highly mobile to cope with the need to shift people around the world at short notice. Hence, we have had a lot of good adjusters out of the USA working with us in the last few years. The biggest problem has been explaining that Australia and the USA are two countries divided by a common language; words can have different nuances in Australia to the USA.
Last summer we had a lot of help from some guys from the Southern States, who were typically polite, calling everybody "Sir" or "Ma'am". Unfortunately, in egalitarian Australia, the use of those terms is seen as sarcastic and almost derogatory. Trying to explain how to use "Mate", the friendly Australian term, or use first names, where Americans usually use "Mr" or "Mrs" proved very funny.
Tying this back to cars, we also had a lovely sardonic Canadian working with us. As I tried to explain to the Texans about "Mate", he offered his own translation problem. Obviously, Australian road rules are a bit different to the USA, not least because we drive on the opposite side of the car (and road). He said that he had discovered that if someone winds down their car window, thrusts their fist in the air and swears ******* ****** at you, you are probably driving on the wrong side of the road.
We are thinking very much of the danger ahead for so many people up the Eastern Seaboard
Cheers
Graham
I'll be driving home in THIS.
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That BMW dealer is in the same auto park where my Subie dealer is, just a few doors down. I've even been in their showroom.
It's just off Briggs Chaney Rd, which is off US 29 in Silver Spring. It shouldn't be too far from the airport.
http://www.bmwofsilverspring.com/dealership/directions.htm
Bob
Everything in the yard has been brought in. I went out this AM for some rebar to hold the trampoline down. The new Explorer will spend the night inside the garage.
I'm not getting in until 1:10 pm... Hoping to make it to the dealer by 2:00 pm, and out of there by 4:00 pm.... Puts me home just after Midnight, if everything goes well..
Puts me in a hotel in Morgantown or Wheeling, if I run too late... lol.
Super cheap lease.... I'm not in that price range on a purchase.. car is for my better half. Replaces her X3.. :surprise:
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Good luck and stay safe everyone.
1) I park my utility trailer along a ravine, and have predicted for years that someday I'd end up having to tow the thing back up if it ever rolled away! Today I finally drove a 4' steel post flush with the ground and used the safety chains to secure it in place.
2) Cleaned out the gutters and reset the gutter-guards.
3) Sealed two cracks in the basement wall that allowed in a little water in the spring snow melt.
4) Got a bunch of stuff off the basement floor, and cleaned up the garage so that outside stuff could go down the Bilco stairs into the cellar and garage to get them out of the wind.
5) Poured a bucket of concrete to replace the broken asphalt driveway around a drainage grate.
6) Ordered 16 bundles of roofing to repair the damage from the tree hit. Yep, finally got the insurance settlement check. I figured that bldg supplies in general will be hard to come by next week, but specific make/model roof shingles could be damn near impossible by early next week.
7) Now working on installing the pipe for a condensation pump drain (basement dehumidifier) so that I can stop dragging 5 gal jerry cans of water up the stairs to dump.
See? There is a silver lining to those ominous dark clouds!
Busy? Worked my tail off....
I don't know; a loose trampoline makes a really good offensive weapon under these conditions. The smart thing is to turn them over and then tie them down so that wind does not get under the cloth. Shade sails are also really good at causing damage when they take the posts (loosened through multiple wind gusts) with them. Loose sheets of roofing iron are also very good
Happily, with some forethought, most of the really dangerous items are easily secured. There are some odd ones though.
Years ago, I dealt with the aftermath of some flat asbestos cement sheeting fragmenting. It left a trail of destruction for about half a mile as the fragments, measuring about a foot square and with sharp edges, were carried long distances before scything into other walls and rooves, especially aluminium cladding on nearby buildings. A couple of sheets of asbestos sheeting caused massive damage with claims of some millions of pounds from the consequences.
Hope that you are all okay
Cheers
Graham