The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
QUESTION: Last night’s earthquake was one of the larger ones we’ve had in Contra Costa County within the past 20-years. Does it make you worried that an even larger one might be on the way, or are you not stressed out about it?
Talk about it!
43 comments
I keep an even keel. It’s life in California. Rock Steady (Bad Company).
Off the subject, but one of the best debut albums EVER. I love the sax on “Don’t bring me down” and the vocals on “Seagull”.
We live in California and we know the “big one” is coming. There is no reason to stress over it, as there’s nothing we can do about it except prepare. Let last night be your reminder to get things in order. Water, food, “go packs”, emergency communication plans, everything should be ready to go!
Nope, not worried at all. I grew up in San Francisco at a time when earthquakes were occurring several times a year and got so used to them that when they hit I would just think to myself, hmmph! another earthquake, then go about my business. If I wasn’t constantly reminded of it from the media, I would probably have forgotten about it already.
People were asking where the fault is, and all I know is it wasn’t my fault.
The heart of rock and roll is in California.
Come it expect it, especially in Rocktober.
I think people like to spread fear. If you have a go bag and an emergency kit that can sustain your family for at least 2 to 3 weeks you’re fine. That with the science of how faults work and which faults can throw out what magnitude earthquake it’s very easy to not be afraid.
Also taking a first aid class and an emergency preparedness class. Both of which take an hour or 2 of your time and can help save the people and animals you love.
@Resident – Agree about spreading fear. That, and there seems to be a new crisis or a new emergency pop up each week. I refuse to live in fear, or be awash in the newest crisis or emergency.
Jim and I always try to stay prepared. Gas meter and water heater main concerns in a quake As long as no gas leaks there, anything else can be repaired, replaced, or picked up and reshelved.
This was a jolt, but it was short shot. It’s the longer stronger ones that are more freaky. It does not worry me too much,….been in California my whole life and survived all the other Earthquakes.
My Birthday is Oct.17th and it’s coming up on the 30th Anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake. Just under half my life ago.
I guess I shouldn’t have been thinking about it,.. OOP’s!, my Fault,..LOL!
Happy birthday, Roz.
My “fault” Roz…hilarious!!! You did it again 🙂
The damage was catastrophic; we are less than a mile from the epicenter and some picture frames fell over and some folding chairs fell over in the garage. Aside from our state government, California still > Texas
@Maximus Creek except for: no income taxes, cheaper housing, better roads, cheaper gas, unregulated utilities, better BBQ, more water, less pollution, people are nicer, lower unemployment, etc…
Usually don’t feel anything under a 5.0 because they are generally located some distance from us. I definitely felt it last night. That said, it doesn’t change my thoughts or behavior.
We have water, food, propane, etc…to ride out a couple of weeks. Earthquake insurance doesn’t seem like a good investment seeing how my home has been riding out earthquakes for over 65 years and the rates and deductibles are high. I’d be much more afraid of tornadoes, hurricanes, etc…seen in other states.
Not at all stressed nor worried.
Cat was asleep next to me in the recliner and didn’t even get up, just looked at me with a “what was that?” look and went back to sleep.
Later in the week will take very bright LED flashlight and give house a going over but don’t expect to find anything.
Questions, does your water heater have earthquake strapping and do you have the tilt or shake type gas shutoff valve installed ?
An for those who have a shutoff valve, how expensive are they and do they require permit and professional installation ? Thanks in advance.
I do try not to worry too much about things I can’t control. My entire life has been spent where the The North American plate and the Pacific plate do what they do, so I’m aware that earthquakes will happen. For the most part I just enjoy the ride. The other thing I like about earthquakes is that there’s no advance time spent fearing and fretting that one’s on it’s way as with most other natural disasters. When another big one strikes if I’m still around I’m sure there’ll be enough time to worry, and enough things to worry about, like the last time when the Cypress Structure fell down in front of me. I do have a few supplies put away that may come in handy if I’m able to get to them, if not maybe someone else can.
Silva ~
Wow! When you saw the Cypress Structure fall, were you on the road or saw it from a street or building? I couldn’t image how it felt to see that happen in front of you. Maybe like 911 and seeing the second jet hitting the second tower,…something you’ll never forget.
Yep, Roz! I was driving to our house. We lived at 32nd and Helen Streets, about 2.5 blocks from it. Nope, I never will forget the sight and the sound it made. And the helicopters flying over us all night , and the tourists coming from around the world to West Oakland, etc., etc.. That thing always gave me the heebie-jeebies, and I’d want off it right away if I ended up on there. I’d imagined it doing just what it ended up doing, especially on the lower level where it had enormous concrete beams(?) across it. I’d purposely stay off that, even though it was really convenient. All parts of the cars trapped under those beams(?) ended up a foot high.
And a very happy birthday to you, Roz!
I had significant damage to the added room with 10′ cement 20 x 30 linear ft. last night. I’m a mile West of the Concord Pavilion.
I never thought too much about it before but now I either have to go ahead and get the earthquake insurance or consider moving, which I had after my husband died, but now I may consider it more. I’ve been in the area 15 years. It roared and jolted hard and fast.
When I’m in Contra Costa County, I don’t worry about it, having lower and newer buildings. I was in downtown Oakland for the Loma Prieta, and saw lots of damage…walls and chimneys that fell, windows that fell from tall buildings, etc.
Now, whenever I am around tall buildings, or on an ocean bluff, I do think to myself precautiously about ‘if an earthquake happens right now, what should I do?’
I would not take a job in an area with lots of old, tall buildings, having seen what happened there, and would not commit to spending extended time there in such an area and I’m glad I no longer take BART under the bay on a regular basis.
While last night’s quake jolted me out of a sound sleep, I do not worry that an even bigger one is lurking. I was in downtown San Francisco when the 1989 quake hit. That to me was “the big one”…at least I hope it was.
No need to worry. Just be prepared.
These smaller quakes are actually
beneficial and help relieve the stress
building up between the plates.
(Like Silva said).
@ Shoulda
Unfortunately, that’s not true. From the USGS website:
“FICTION: You can prevent large earthquakes by making lots of small ones
.
Seismologists have observed that for every magnitude 6 earthquake there are about 10 of magnitude 5, 100 of magnitude 4, 1,000 of magnitude 3, and so forth as the events get smaller and smaller. This sounds like a lot of small earthquakes, but there are never enough small ones to eliminate the occasional large event. It would take 32 magnitude 5’s, 1000 magnitude 4’s, OR 32,000 magnitude 3’s to equal the energy of one magnitude 6 event. So, even though we always record many more small events than large ones, there are far too few to eliminate the need for the occasional large earthquake.”
I’ve ridden 2 quakes with considerably more ground motion. Last night was just a jiggle that was over in maybe 3 shakes. The chandelier in the dining room barely moved. While working for the City, earthquake preparedness was constantly preached to us. To this day I make sure that nothing in the house will slide or roll off a horizontal surface in a way to cause damage. Sometimes I think about past experiences in earthquakes but never worry about it.
Reminded me, …. had a queen sized water bed from college days in Chico. Was up on 4 x 4s cross braced with 2x4s, all bolted together and elevated it four feet. Had a quake 5 point something in January 1980 and had pretty good wave action. Swag lamp hanging from ceiling had a good swing going.
What will be, will be. Hope to survive it…..the next one I mean….
I just wonder at the power that can shake that much earth.
Yeah I’m worried…worried I have not figured out what to make for dinner tonight
If you are not prepared by now you more than likely will never be.
The longer the wait, the more it builds, and the worse it’ll be when it does hit. I’m hoping we can avoid a truely unfathomable disaster with more of the smaller, harmless quakes.
The actual sensation of an earthquake is deeply unnerving to me, as with anyone else, I’m not used to literally everything around me moving as well (Floor, walls, ceiling)… I also live in a relatively tall building, so there’s always the irrational fear that the 6 floors above me will smush me like a bug during a major earthquake. I guess at least if that did happen, it’d be relatively fast, and I wouldn’t have very long to be terrified before it was lights out.
(Largely irrational because the building isn’t very old, and there are earthquake safety codes that builders have to adhere to here in a quake state. It’s probably way more stable than I’m giving it credit for.)
I do feel like the taller building I live in now moved more than the ground floor homes I’ve lived in, for the same magnitude.
Silva and Shoulda Coulda have it right, as well. Kinda sad that it’s a small miracle when it has to be pointed out how things actually work. Whether people are afraid or not, there will be more major earthquakes California’s future for as long as we have a fault line/fault lines. Being prepared for, overall, is better than being scared of the inevitable.
You most likely did nove more on a higher floor. The ground floor accelerates at the full acceleration speed of the earthquake wave moving through the ground. The floors above have inertia that causes them to lag behind and then whip back and forth as they try to catch up. Modern buildings up to code should be designed to accommodate that movement, and dissipate the energy.
WS is right. I has an acquaintance who worked on the top floor of 50 California St. in SFO. There was small earthquake and the building swayed for a good 20 minutes.
If someone is supposed to store 2 -3 weeks of food, water, batteries & medical supplies…. where are we supposed to store all of that?
Inside the house is pointless if the house collapses. And 2-3 weeks worth is not exactly moveable that you could carry.
Advice?
Get dehydrated food or MREs. Compact, lightweight, and edible (but nasty) without water.
Water is more difficult. Store extra bottles in the garage. You can also use the water from toilet tanks and water heaters (in a pinch).
Lastly, get ready to lose weight! If it really is the big one, you will need to ration.
Water – A couple things in addition to having gallons of purchased water on hand. (1) You can always use the water in your tank water heater (we have a 50 gallon) for drinking water. (2) You can also purchase a 45 gallon and larger tank for storing emergency water, just be certain the tank is made with potable grade plastic, and have the tank in a location relatively safe in the event of an earthquake.
To ration water, keep antiseptic wipes and baby wipes in your emergency supply kit for hand and body clean ups. Oh, and don’t forget your pets when planning for water use.
Q: where are we supposed to store all of that?
A: location relatively safe
Gee…. No kidding?
I was looking for something a lot more specific.
DVC Student – I assume you live in an apartment. Put it in a closet or under your bed. If you’re going to get into prepping you’re going to need to think outside the box…
If the house collapses you have worse problems than hunger and thirst. Those that survive the quake and can hunker down in the house, have supplies. Be careful which doors you go knocking on during the apocalypse…
If your house collapses, you are going to have bigger problems than food and water.
If you live in a standard one or two story wood frame home, it wont collapse, unless you live on top of the fault that moves, there’s a landslide, or sever liquefaction. Look at that famous picture of the fence at Point Reyes that was offset by 15 feet in 1906. Right behind it is a wood frame farmhouse that came through just fine.
And part of all this is strength in numbers. If everyone has food and water set aside, there will be extra to help out the people who lose theirs. To me, the main idea is to be able to take care if yourself for a week or two and not be a burden on emergency and rescue services. There will be emergency shipments FEMA and the military and whatnot. But better to be able to say no thanks, I’m good for a while.
I think there’s like a 10-15% probability a larger earthquake will occur after one like that, that’s about how concerned I am. Just don’t want it to happen while I’m in the transbay tube.
Due to the power of suggestion I AM NOW! jk they’re so rare I feel fine about them. Being anxious about something that may never happen would ruin my relaxing time
“What? Me worry?” It is what it is. When it happens it happens and there isn’t anything we can do to stop it
I’m not too worried. Every place is prone to some type of natural disaster and I would rather take my chances with an earthquake rather than a tornado, hurricane or tsunami. We live in a single story wood framed house, about the safest structure to be in. We have lots of bottled water, most of it in our shed. I way over-built the shed (probably at least twice as strong as our house), so it should be able to withstand pretty much any earthquake. We have a lot of dry and canned food in our pantry in the house that we could hopefully access even with major structural damage to the house. We also have a small camping trailer parked a few feet from our garage that we could do urban camping in; it has enough propane for several days of cooking.
When I’m in cities elsewhere in the country I look at the multi-story brick buildings and immediately think of an earthquake.
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