DC Earthquake

[SuzySunshine]

My Denver friend didn't feel the CO today and she has lived in CA so she knows what they feel like.

Everyone has to remember that EVERYTHING gets more coverage on the east coast, that is where all major media outlets are housed. Think about the heat waves we've had lately, the midwest was SWELTERING for DAYS and it was barely mentioned but as soon as it hits the east coast its a MAJOR story.

I get that earthquakes are rare on the east coast and this one was rare regardless of the location because it was so widely felt but it seems there was no major damage other then some flooding due to broken pipes. I get that people who have never felt one are a little freaked out but it will pass.

[SoonerTexan]

Everyone has to remember that EVERYTHING gets more coverage on the east coast, that is where all major media outlets are housed. Think about the heat waves we've had lately, the midwest was SWELTERING for DAYS and it was barely mentioned but as soon as it hits the east coast its a MAJOR story.

It's annoying.

[Cinderella]

There were reports of rock slidse that damaged a few houses in CO during their earthquake this morning but on Youtube you can't find any video for it. The one that happened at noon today in DC there are tons of video from NY, the White House camera shaking, Virginia, Detroit and even New Haven. Lots of evacuations from buildings in the populated areas and confusion because it seems they aren't used to it.

[L.Jane]

I already posted this on the other post, but HOW IN THE HECK did I not feel the earthquake? I have to be the only one in DC not to have felt it. I'm seriously annoyed.

[oceanchild]

Apparently you can feel earthquakes over further distances in the east:

The energy from the quake propagates farther in this region compared to a similar quake in the Southwest U.S. as the crust is colder and there are fewer cracks to dissipate the energy.

“The rocks are old and cold and they carry the seismic energy very far. Even a magnitude 6 or less earthquake can be felt over a considerably large area, unlike California where the shaking is more concentrated,” said Mike Blanpied, associate coordinator for the USGS earthquakes hazards program.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...vEZJ_blog.html

I want to make fun of my DC friends more, but frankly, my California and Nevada friends behave the same way on facebook, even though we're used to the quakes.

I already posted this on the other post, but HOW IN THE HECK did I not feel the earthquake? I have to be the only one in DC not to have felt it. I'm seriously annoyed.

I've never felt one! I lived in CA for a year, and never experienced one that caused attention. There was one in Cleveland when I was in 8th grade, but I was in gym class so already jumping up and down. I think I was flying when another one I "should have" felt occurred. I'm really okay with it, though.

[scrub-jay]

Apparently you can feel earthquakes over further distances in the east:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...vEZJ_blog.html

I want to make fun of my DC friends more, but frankly, my California and Nevada friends behave the same way on facebook, even though we're used to the quakes.

I didn't know that J, that is really cool. Thanks!

[peggyfromwastate]

We were waiting for allergy shots in the new hospital. It definitely shook, but only lasted about 6 sec or so. No big deal. The new hospital is pretty sturdy construction though-- a couple if pictures fell off a shelf at home but that's it.

I've been thru many quakes but nothing big. I wouldn't call this big- a little unnerving but not terrible.

[Meenah]

Well, it scared the hell out of me. Never felt one before, and hope to never feel it again.

Call me an East Coast wimp. I was scared. My office is on the 25th floor and we felt a lot of movement. I was already a little on edge because before the quake I had been reflecting on how yesterday's weather reminded me of that of September 11 ten years ago when I lived in NY. I sprinted to my phone to call home and check on my baby.

[niener]

Semi-related: I thought this article on how the animals reacted at the zoo in DC was really interesting. Animals are awesome

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/SCBI/Anima...earthquake.cfm

[scrub-jay]

Semi-related: I thought this article on how the animals reacted at the zoo in DC was really interesting. Animals are awesome

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/SCBI/Anima...earthquake.cfm

My parents have ducks and chickens and they normally hang out together during the day. We can always tell an earthquake is coming because hours before the quake hits, they'll cluster by species and refuse to break formation to eat. Really interesting.

I was just sitting in the living room and our dog cowered under my legs when the lights started swinging. DW said she thought they were working on the floor above her @ the hospital until I texted her that it was an earthquake!

[Cinderella]

There is footage today of surveillance video of the quake in CO. Also of various animals early detection of the earthquakes. I haven't experienced one myself that I know of but with the coverage lately they say we're due for a major one here in the next 60 years. When I went to the OR coast for the first time I saw tsunami evacuation signs up and down the highway for when the major one hits.

[scarlett09]

I already posted this on the other post, but HOW IN THE HECK did I not feel the earthquake? I have to be the only one in DC not to have felt it. I'm seriously annoyed.

I didn't feel it either. We were on the way home, near Bangor, ME, when it struck. Since we were in the car moving along at 70mph, we would have never felt it. We didn't even know what was going on until after we had stopped in Bangor for wild blueberry pies and lunch and I saw I had gotten a text from my brother about it. We all jumped on our phones to text family and check on Facebook. One of our friends who works in NY, apparently got up from his desk, took the stairs all the way down to the bottom from the 20th floor, and took a ferry home. I thought he overreacted a little bit by going home, but it was good that he left the building. Everyone I know (except those of us that were in ME) felt it unless they were driving. I texted a neighbor and she confirmed that things were alright in our area, but I was happy to come home yesterday and see that our house was just fine.

One of our friends was in the stirrups at her OBGYN's office waiting for him to come in and conduct her annual check-up when the earthquake struck.

Apparently you can feel earthquakes over further distances in the east:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...vEZJ_blog.html

I want to make fun of my DC friends more, but frankly, my California and Nevada friends behave the same way on facebook, even though we're used to the quakes.

Apparently, earthquakes in the eastern part of the country are located closer to the surface, only a few miles below ground, so they are felt over a wider area. I think the quake on Tuesday was less than a mile below ground. Earthquakes in the western part of the country tend to occur further below ground, so the effects are felt over a much smaller area. My theory about the west could be wrong, but the east is pretty typical.

Everyone has to remember that EVERYTHING gets more coverage on the east coast, that is where all major media outlets are housed. Think about the heat waves we've had lately, the midwest was SWELTERING for DAYS and it was barely mentioned but as soon as it hits the east coast its a MAJOR story.

I get that earthquakes are rare on the east coast and this one was rare regardless of the location because it was so widely felt but it seems there was no major damage other then some flooding due to broken pipes. I get that people who have never felt one are a little freaked out but it will pass.

That's because way more people live on the East coast than in the center of the country, and it is where the financial and political centers of the country are located. But I do agree that the suffering of folks in the Midwest on account of heat and drought do deserve more coverage here, I only hear about it on The Weather Channel or the national news. Plus, like you said, big earthquakes are so rare here that it's going to get a lot of coverage. Now I'll bet it's all about the hurricane, which is also incredibly rare and has the potential to be so much more destructive.

And there was a lot more damage than just some flooding due to broken pipes, most of it confined to the area around Richmond. There was damage to the National Cathedral, as well as the Washington Monument. Much further north, there are spotty reports of damage, such as the City Hall in my hometown, and various other buildings up and down the East coast. But otherwise, everything is back to normal.