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Earthquake!!!!

July 29th, 2008 at 06:44 pm

11:44
That was a pretty big quake here in LA. time to call the family.
11:50
Family are okay though there is no cell service. Had to use the land lines. Need to call sister in AZ to let her know. It started as a slow roll and then a couple of big jerks for a few seconds, then subsided with more slow rubbles. Maybe lasted 15 seconds.
11:55
5.8 estimate in SE of LA in Chino Hills. Seemed bigger than that, but it was still kind of fun.
12:15PM
seems very little or no damage on the news except for a water main breakage
12:50PM
I look forward to the interviews of CalTech Seismologist because I like Dr. Lucy Jones. This time Dr. Kate Hutton is giving a press conference.
01:16PM
The quake has been downgraded to 5.4. Like housing and the stock market--everything goes down. Still felt pretty strong but probably because I am about 20 miles from the epiccenter. They say the closer you are to the quake, the stronger the jolts will be. I say that is pretty true.
11:10PM
It's been almost 12 hours since the quake, and there hasn't been any aftershock that was noticeable. They say there is a 5% chance within 24 hours, that the quake could be a foreshock to a bigger one. Some think that should bring fear, but I'm father excited at a chance to ride another one though. When you live in CA long enough, you generally don't fear earthquakes as much because yet common for here, they are really rare. For some people, they actually have a hint of regret if they don't feel one.

11 Responses to “Earthquake!!!!”

  1. JanH Says:
    1217357246

    Yikes! I need to turn on the news. Hope you guys are okay through any aftershocks. Dealing with hurricanes is bad enough, but at least we can see them coming.

  2. ihate2work Says:
    1217358566

    Thanks I prefer quakes over hurricanes. I just can't stand all that water.

  3. FrugalFish Says:
    1217360892

    Glad you are not shaken up too badly.

    I am convinced that I am blessed with a serious set of "sea legs." I never feel quakes unless they are quite substantial. Was standing in the dining room when two prisms hanging on the glass door started swinging wildly- and yet I didn't feel the quake itself. I turned on the TV to see if there had indeed been a quake and not something else that had started the prisms to rolling.

    DH and I have long agreed that a big quake (not one like this) could potentially damage the housing market- as it has in the past. With the market already tanking here, can you imagine what another big quake, that sent people moving away, could do to the already weak housing market?

    I lived in the midwest for a short time and was terrified of tornadoes. I much prefer "surprise disasters", not to mention that earthquakes leave all your stuff in one nice rubble pile, not scattered over 3 counties!

  4. monkeymama Says:
    1217361629

    First I heard - I have some family down there - I assume they are okay but will have to see how they are faring.

  5. PauletteGoddard Says:
    1217363705

    How long did the tremors last? Did you have time to run to someplace safe? Were you at work in a chair with wheels on and had fun gliding around? (Someone did that at my husband's office when we had our 6.x earthquake in 2001)

  6. creditcardfree Says:
    1217367754

    Glad to hear you are okay...my mom will be checking on my aunt who is in LA. I'm sure she is okay.

  7. boomeyers Says:
    1217398353

    Seems like a little wake up call to be on your toes. Since we are having our own quakes here in the Midwest too, you never know what is going to happen where!!

  8. ihate2work Says:
    1217399342

    Most quakes I've been through have been very short, and by the time you realize what it is, it is over. The Northridge quake in '94 was a big jolt that had me jumping out of bed into a doorway. Footing was hard to keep and I bumped into a wall on the way.

    This quake being smaller at 5.4, but it was pretty shallow at 7 miles below, so it felt strong. I was at my desk when it happened. First There was a roll for about 3 seconds, then it started to rumble, and that's when I realized it was an earthquake. At that point, I stood up, because you feel more of the quake on your feet. After 5 seconds of rumbling, then there were a few strong jolts. To describe a jolt: well it is a lot like what you see in the moves as the camera shakes and the entire field of vision moves abruptly. To my eyes, it seemed as if the entire world teetered, as my field of vision was fixated. AFter the jolts, there trembling subsided but over all, it was a pretty loan quake. They said the cell lines were jammed with everyone checking up on everyone else. I was able to get through to my siblings because everyone was at work, so their office phones were fine. My sisters even instant message each other right after which was convenient. The strangest thing is usually during any mild trembler, the lights flutter and power goes out, but this time, there was no break in electricity at all.

  9. luxlivingfrugalis Says:
    1217423824

    Glad you're okay!

  10. Brenda Says:
    1217498134

    I heard on the news that there were about 21 aftershocks.

  11. ihate2work Says:
    1217566638

    unless an aftershock is over 4.0, most people just laugh at the little ripple and ask Mother Nature: is that all you got?

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