OT: Hugs For East Coast Peeps
Aug. 23rd, 2011 06:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lazypadawanWhat a rough week for the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast and it's only Tuesday!
A 5.8 is enough to get your attention in California but it's an unusually strong quake for the East Coast, which has its share of faults. Combine that with a different set of bedrock and shallower quakes, a lot of energy gets sent over greater distances. If you're not expecting that at all, it can be pretty scary. I thought it was funny people were fleeing from buildings and the whole transportation system got shut down. Once the 7.2 hit here in April 2010, I was surprised to find the electricity running, water running, cable and internet working, and no real damage except for some stuff thrown on the floor. Life just went on but boy howdy were those moments scary. Then I remembered that practically nothing is built to CA earthquake code in that region. Just as we're not prepared for a Category 4 hurricane, the Northeast isn't prepared for what we'd consider a blip in our day here. Later I saw on YouTube video of cars smashed by fallen bricks in Tysons Corner, just a rock's throw from my former lair. The National Cathedral sustained some damage (let's hope the Vader gargoyle is okay). A friend in Gaithersburg, MD told me stuff got thrown on the floor in his house, but is otherwise just fine. Thankfully there are no reported injuries.
Well, guys, all I can say is hang on for the aftershocks. They can strike at any time over the next several months and some of them might be pretty strong.
If that's not enough, Hurricane Irene is coming your way :O.
A 5.8 is enough to get your attention in California but it's an unusually strong quake for the East Coast, which has its share of faults. Combine that with a different set of bedrock and shallower quakes, a lot of energy gets sent over greater distances. If you're not expecting that at all, it can be pretty scary. I thought it was funny people were fleeing from buildings and the whole transportation system got shut down. Once the 7.2 hit here in April 2010, I was surprised to find the electricity running, water running, cable and internet working, and no real damage except for some stuff thrown on the floor. Life just went on but boy howdy were those moments scary. Then I remembered that practically nothing is built to CA earthquake code in that region. Just as we're not prepared for a Category 4 hurricane, the Northeast isn't prepared for what we'd consider a blip in our day here. Later I saw on YouTube video of cars smashed by fallen bricks in Tysons Corner, just a rock's throw from my former lair. The National Cathedral sustained some damage (let's hope the Vader gargoyle is okay). A friend in Gaithersburg, MD told me stuff got thrown on the floor in his house, but is otherwise just fine. Thankfully there are no reported injuries.
Well, guys, all I can say is hang on for the aftershocks. They can strike at any time over the next several months and some of them might be pretty strong.
If that's not enough, Hurricane Irene is coming your way :O.
