What is it like to experience an earthquake?

[Ron Ward]

I am sitting here, watching the morning news with my jaw agape. The country of Haiti suffered a major earthquake. Thousands of buildings are heavily damaged and the casualites are very high. I feel for these people. I cannot imagine what it is like to experience such an occurance.

Have any of you folks been through a major earthquake? What is it like? Yeah, we have tornadoes here and people from all over the country tell me there is no way they would live here because of them, but I cannot imagine what an earthquake is like.


Ron

[Eagle Kammback]

Re: What is it like to experience an earthquake?

we had a small earthquake here in jersey back in the summer, I slept right through it

[Bamfster]

Re: What is it like to experience an earthquake?

Never an earthquake, but one helluva tornado in Salina back in the 70s. Scared the crap outta me.

[67prostreet]

Re: What is it like to experience an earthquake?

I was at my grandparent house in Hayward Ca, during the big quake of '89. The best way I can describe it is like sitting in an old truck going down a bumpy embankment with no seatbelt and a commercial jet flying overhead at the same time.

[jword2001]

Re: What is it like to experience an earthquake?

The Quake in Haiti is horrific, my heart n prayers go out to those people, I've been through 3 quakes, two in N.M., a 4.5, and one a little stronger that i could actually see my shop floor move a bit, I didnt care for that at all!, the other I was asleep in the truck off of I 40 in Az just this side of the Ca border, it felt like some one standing on the running boards and rocking the truck hard, as I recall that one was a 5 something, and derailed a military train in Ca.

[67prostreet]

Re: What is it like to experience an earthquake?

I just looked it up. The '89 quake in the bay area was a 7.1

[bearphoto]

Re: What is it like to experience an earthquake?

Well being born and raised in Southern California I've been in or felt all the big ones. It seems they always hit early in the morning when you are in deep sleep and to be woken up by that does scare the hell out of you. As a kid, the big Sylmar quake dropped almost an entire freeway interchange at I-5 and the 14 freeway. I think i was 14 when that one happened.

Now living up here at 7000 feet in Big Bear i thought living on a big mountain rock would be safe from quakes. Boy was i wrong when in 93 the Landers quake hit. It was around 5 am and was a 7.3 as i recall. Landers is about 40 miles from Big Bear as the crow flies but it was followed up by a 6.8 Big Bear quake. At the time i was the Commander for CHP on the mountain. We had a number of civilians and one of my officers trapped in a section of mountain road that sustained rock slides on both sides of them. And if you can visualize the ripple of waves in the water caused when you toss a rock into the water, I saw that moving across the landscape from my left to right as i was trying to drive to a call. It was the darndest thing i ever saw and will never forget it.

We've had other smaller quakes around the area but those twin quakes were the worst and the aftershocks lasted for months. You could actually hear them coming, starting out as a low rumbling and then "wham" you'd get hit. Again most of them were in the night. Pretty scary as you dont know if its going to be the big one or not.

[Loren]

Re: What is it like to experience an earthquake?

You may feel, then hear, a low rumbling that might seem like it's coming from a distance and getting closer. Things on tables and shelves start rattling around. About this point you go from wondering "wtf", to heightened awareness. Then with a louder rumbling or possibly a sudden thud, you begin to feel the floor shake. The noise around you as every loose thing jumps around and falls off shelves is amazing, confusing, panic-inducing. People tend to run for the door at that point. If you stand in one place it seems like the ground is moving back-and-forth 2-6" at perhaps 4-6 cycles per second, if you walk or run it's at though you can't balance. If you're driving it's as though your steering is coming apart, or you have a flat tire. In a really good quake this may go on for half a minute or more, which will seem like forever.

When it's over, the lamps are swinging from the ceiling. Dogs are barking everywhere, the birds are at the bottom of their cages squawking and struggling to get on their perches again. If your on the road you'll see a few people pulled over, dust rises from buildings and hillsides. Strangers are looking at each other with big eyes, and everyone will be telling stories for the rest of the day. Aftershocks will come every now-and-then, they will be softer and shorter.

I was ten when the '71 Sylmar CA quake hit and was literally shaken out of bed. I think it was '89 when I was nearly on top of the Pasadena CA quake, I was working on a milling machine which probably weighed 1,500 lbs, and it was rattling across the floor. Sheets of material were rolling off storage racks. For the Northridge quake in the early-90's I came into town later in the day for work and to stay for the week and was around for the aftershocks and to see the damage. Always freakiy stuff, like seeing cracks down the center of the street, blocks-long sections of walls toppled, a huge multi-level concrete parking garage collapsed flat.

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: What is it like to experience an earthquake?

I've been through a few 6'ers, dozen's of 5'ers and on down the line. I don't recall the Lander's one being rated in the 7's, but I was young and don't recall reading it's magnitude (and lots of earthquakes have been re-rated with new scales/forms of measurement in the last ten years). The Hector Mine Earthquake in 1999 was the only 7+ I can recall for sure in So. Cal. that I've felt. The magnitude scale is exponential, so a 7-something is thousands of times more powerful than a 6-something, etc.

Loren describes them pretty well. Usually second(s) before hand the animals go nuts, things can shake in a couple different ways depending on how the fault breaks and the ground you are standing on. There can be sharp jarring motions or it can be easy rolling motions, long or short. I don't know about feeling them while driving though. My Old Man was driving to work when the Northridge quake hit, and he didn't feel it at all, he just knew something was up as the lights were going out around the freeway he was on and the talk radio guy got real quiet (L.A. based) for a minute. I know I've been driving with in a ten to thirty miles of a decent 5-something and not feel it.

And one last thing to take note of is building standards. CA builds for these quakes to minimize casualties and property loss, a place like Haiti doesn't have the financial means or historic intent of doing so.

[CarPlayLB]

Re: What is it like to experience an earthquake?

I remember the '89 Bay Area quake well.
I was house-sitting Mom's condo that was right on the edge of a man made lake in Stockton, Ca., maybe 50 miles, as the crow flies, from San Francisco. Pizza guy just dropped off the pie and I was getting beer uncapped to watch the World series game.
To me it always has the feeling like you are standing next to train tracks with a big train coming...kinda has a low rumbling sound/vibe to it. It builds intensity until it sounds and feels like the train just ran into a solid structure. Right after the "boom" is when things start really rocking and rolling. It feels like an eternity when it is happening, but truly only lasts typically less than a minute.
Back to the condo. I grabbed my beer and immediately went outside. The lake was something I will never forget. The water was rolling, no waves or white caps, about 5 feet high! Water spilled over the top of the bank, which was a good 2 feet down to the water.
Nothing at Mom's place was broken...she was lucky. There was some local stores damaged, but nothing as severe as in the City.

[DanStokes]

Re: What is it like to experience an earthquake?

Never been in one. My observation is that every area has some sort of possible natural disaster waiting to happen. In Michigan it was snow and ice in the winter and occasional tornadoes in the summer (although I never saw one). Here it's hurricanes - although again I've never seen one in 5 years. CA had earthquakes, landslides, and huge fires. I guess it's "pick your poison".

Interesting to read the descriptions of what it's like to be in one. Thanks for sharing (man does THAT sound corny!)

Dan

[JeffMcKC]

Re: What is it like to experience an earthquake?

Go to the "No tell Motel", like you do already, and drop the quarter in the Bed this time. ;D ;)

[dieselgeek]

Re: What is it like to experience an earthquake?

it's interesting to hear that animals seem to know it's coming.

I've only been through a few small quakes, but I've had a tornado that was 1/4 mile wide bear down on us and go directly through my property. 15 minutes before it happened, the neighborhood dogs were going NUTS. Later I realized they were trying to get us out of my soon-to-be-roofless house and to safety. After the neighbors were pulling us out of my storm shelter, which had been covered by half of a farmer's grain bin (from 3 miles up the road), you could see a swath across the countryside. It was the scariest thing I'd ever been through.

I wonder why we don't have a scientific explanation for the animal sixth sense?

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: What is it like to experience an earthquake?

I wonder why we don't have a scientific explanation for the animal sixth sense?

I don't think there is any positive proof, but I think they hear or possibly feel the low frequency vibrations that travel much faster than the higher frequency vibrations (it's relative) that constitue the ground motion we feel and hear. Probably the same for the Tornado's, lots of wind mean's lots of noise, just is it in the frequency range humans can hear? It's not like they are going crazy a minute before, it's just a couple seconds before hand.

[Schtauffer]

Re: What is it like to experience an earthquake?

This email came this morning is from a missionary friend of mine in Haiti. I also have a cousin who is there as a nurse, I have heard from her and she is fine. Some other friends of my parents who live in Petionville have not got word out yet, so we have no idea if they are ok or not. My friends from the DR said that it shook pretty good there, but no real damage. --Gene

Tuesday January 12, 2010
To those of you who have not heard many details of the earth quake that hit Haiti this afternoon a little after 5:00 pm. This is ?my story?. Darv has been and is still out and about, and will have his own perspective, much broader and bigger than what I?ve seen.
Darv was out when it hit; he had just gotten through Bon Repon when his truck started shaking; he thought he must have a tire problem until he realized this was an earth quake. For us at home, our big, 2-story, concrete house started shaking more and more violently. I was sewing and quickly realized what was happening and ran for a door while our children ran screaming out another door. Even on my way out I remembered Kiana asleep in the back bedroom, so dashed back in as the whole house rocked and swayed and shook violently. I grabbed her out , momentarily getting tangled in her mosquito net. Her pacifier flew and she gave one wail of protest at the rude awakening. Cupboard doors and drawers flew open, dishes crashed to the floor, cleaning supplies tumbled, a concrete flower pot broke a leg and crashed down ? but all of us were there as we shakily gathered out under the trees. Our school teacher Melanie, and Deborah Yoder with her two children came dashing down from the guest house.
As soon as we quieted down a bit, we could hear the wailing from Titanyen and dust rolling towards the mountain.
It wasn?t too long before Darv came tearing in the lane, dust rolling. He jumped out with wide eyes and said, ?It?s bad.? He told us how Bon Repon had houses gone down and plans were quickly made to round up the guys to go help; Darv was sure there would be people buried. We ladies jumped in the Pejaro with the children and went over to see how Global Outreach made out, while the guys loaded shovels and supplies in a truck to go see what needed done.
Driving in Global?s lane, we met a flood of people leaving the seminar and people heading in with children in arms, people loaded in trucks . At the clinic, Chris Brumbly met us, afraid we were bringing hurt staff in. we quickly decided to bring the children home and Melanie, Ashley and I went back and helped at the clinic until the people had pretty much quit coming.
Melanie spent her time cleaning up burn victims; the flour mill went down and there were some bad burns from that.
To get inside, you had to step over a man who later got taken away in an ambulance. a little girl with bad cuts on her legs and head lay in her mother?s arms. The benches were lined with people, children wailed on the floor,and more were coming.
The university hospital at the end of the road had damage enough that they closed their doors, but their doctors and nurses came up to the clinic at Global Outreach ? and they did an excellent job. I ended up with a doctor stitching victims inside the clinic; his first one was a brave little girl, about 3 yrs. Old with a 4-5? deep gash in her head. Without benefit of anesthesia, he stitched her head while her mother helped to hold her. The doctor sure was a competent stitcher; a handsome little guy was cut on the front of his ankle. The muscle and tendon were exposed and there was a great patch of just no flesh. He pulled that all together very nicely and I think he?ll have a nice scar. A young dad brought in his little girl , a 5 inch long, deep cut on her head. It was like a flap of her head was loose. Tears ran down his face as he held his little girl, his love and concern so obvious even as he spoke sharply to her at times to make her hold still. Her cries of ?Jesus! Help me!? were heart-wrenching. She felt so many of those stitches. And she was so brave.
Another man that I?m guessing came from the flour mill lay on the floor; his face was covered in dirt and his one leg was short with a huge ball of what must have been smashed leg where his thigh should have been. Different men from Global were praying with him and talking with him; Cris Brumbly said he?s going to die, his leg was ?gone? and he had lost too much blood. I never found out then if he did die; by the time I came out again, he was gone. There were different people with broken limbs, bent and grotesquely lumpy.
This was only one small clinic, in one small village of Haiti.
The whole time we were there, small tremors shook the clinic every little bit. Once it was big enough that a line of people exited outside to hang out on the driveway.
There?ve been tremors all along; some of them quite stiff. It?s scary. For those of you who may not have heard, they?re saying it registered a 7.3, with tremors of 5.0 following. 6 hours later,we?re still getting some tremors.

Darv and Clayton Brubaker are out right now. They took our guard home; his family was near the worst of it and he had heard no news as the Digicell phone system is down. He was understandably very worried. Earlier, our guys checked on an employee, Hughe, who lives in Bon Repon. Darv said when he saw Hughe?s house, he was just like, ?O boy?? the two story structure was just caved in on itself. However they were upstairs and all three of them were safe.
Darv wanted to check on Simex?s house, too; not sure where all he will have gone til he gets back. They saw much death and destruction just on that one short trip earlier. Will let you know more when I hear from him.

For damage here at CAM, the water is off at the guy?s house; water was pouring out of it. One whole wall of shelving in the warehouse crashed, spilling skids of wheat and buckets. It?s a mess. School books are book-slide on the floor upstairs in the warehouse. Our kitchen is littered with broken glass and souvenirs we?ve collected and my DR tea set, cleaning supplies spilled and broken and drawers hanging open, lamps knocked over? we?ve only dashed in , grabbed what we wanted at the moment, then sprinted out again to try to beat the next tremor.
However, all those things look pretty insignificant. Like nothing.