.
.

Welcome

.
.
Make yourself at home. Put your feet up. Grab your favorite beverage and prepare to enjoy the reads.
.

.

Showing posts with label Earthquake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Earthquake. Show all posts

Sunday

The Green Green Grass of Home





Aromas, California, earthquake country. Just had a couple good kaboom shakers a couple days ago! These pics pinpoint the exact spot. What an interesting life I lead. Standing in my kitchen, I heard/felt a BIG SLAM! I wondered if someone had crashed their car into the front of my house. But, a few seconds later, another SLAM. Well, of course a little quake. My, but it was a noisy one for only a 3 pointer. But if you're standing right over it, of course you feel it!

~~~~~
Note: photos by me

Wednesday

Just in Case You Missed the Opportunity to Help

It was not just one earthquake, and one tsunami that has done the unimaginable. The March 11 magnitude-8.9 quake (later changed to 9.0) was followed for hours by more than 50+ aftershocks, nearly 40 of them more than magnitude 6.0

Your donations are most welcome and appreciated.

Reputable organizations providing appropriate relief for Japan:

Relief orgs:

• Cruz Roja EspaƱola

• Canpan Fields (a Japanese nonprofit organization)

• Save the Children

• Non-Believers Giving Aid

• NGO Jen

• International Medical Corps

• Association of Medical Doctors in Asia

• Canadian Red Cross

• American Red Cross

• Doctors without Borders

• The Salvation Army

• Oxfam

• Global Living

• Care

• ShelterBox

Someone I love has family and friends in Japan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Photo taken by Katsumi

Thursday

Quake


January 13, 2011
Hmmm.... Earthquake

Talking to my niece from the midwest, she asked if I was okay. I'm fine. It's like when you have a tornado nearby. It's exciting, gets the adrenaline going. And when it's over with no significant damage to people or property, there is that "whew"!

At least with tornadoes you have some warnings. With quakes, they just happen. Truly, quakes happen here every day. Hundreds of them. But, they are so small you don't feel them.

A 3 point quake, if it is nearby feels a bit like when you are sitting in the car and the wind is blowing. You don't notice it very much at all.

A 4 point, if nearby, gives a little jolt.

A 5 is more like some stupid jokesters are jumping on the back bumper of your car.

A 6 is more like someone jumps on your car and it starts rolling. At this level, some books might fall off shelves, or whatever.

A 7 is when you instinctively run for the door.

An 8 caused severe damage back in 1989 here where I live for about 100 miles all around.

We had a distant cousin who died in it when the upper stories of his apartment fell on him in San Francisco. Others died in that too.

If you have ever watched a program on earthquakes you have probably seen a bridge crack open and car fall into the crack. That happened here in Oakland during that quake. The house I live in right now has been through that quake and it is fine. So, I guess I'll be all right if a bigger one happens.

Saturday

Strangers from New York Experience Earth Quake

Living in California the majority of my life, I've felt plenty of earthquakes. The mild ones under 4.0 on the Richter scale are seldom noticed. They are nothing more than if someone was standing on the back of your car and bouncing a bit. As the intensity of the quake is greater, the higher the number on the Richter scale. Once an earthquake reaches 5.0 it can be felt strongly. Once it reaches 6.0 it is so strong that buildings can shudder, grocery store shelves lose their supplies and people are more likely to run into the street. You can see the trees and telephone wires swinging back and forth. For each degree after that the increase in intensity can be very forceful. In disadvantaged or undeveloped countries an earthquake measuring 6.0 can cause considerable severe damage.


Four days before the 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti, a 6.5 earthquake hit a city called Eureka in California located 653 miles (1050 KM) north of where if live. I felt it. Not hard, like the people who live there. But I felt it as many did, up and down the northern California area all the way over into Nevada. The Epicenter was just off the coast near Eureka. Being California, the area was able to sustain the damage without deaths or serious injuries, though, there are now reports of 22 million dollars in damages. (about 15.5 million Euros).

Over the last 300 years, Californians have learned that brick houses and other such buildings would be destroyed by earthquakes. Many deaths and injuries could be prevented by adequate engineering of structures. By the late 1920's guidelines for building were established and have been improved upon since then. The reason there were no deaths and serious injuries in Eureka, is because those building codes had been instituted. We are very fortunate compared to what has happened in Haiti. It is heartbreaking to see the damages, injuries and deaths due to that earthquake.


My First Experience with Earthquake.

When living near Vandenburg Air Force Base from 1963 to 1965, the earth rumbled more from the rocket and missile launches than it did from the few minor quakes I felt.


The first serious earthquake that affected my family was in 1971 on my Mother's birthday. She and my Dad had gone to visit my younger brother and his wife on a vacation from their home in New York State. The idea was to get out of winter snow and ice. I was staying at their home at the time, with my sister.

About 1 minute or so after the 6.6 to 7.0 quake occurred, my sister and I decided to call and wish Mom a happy birthday. We had no idea what had just happened. It seemed so odd that we couldn't get through. We called the operator to have her put us through. She told us all the lines were busy and to wait and call later. We waited a while and tried again. Still we couldn't get through. We called and asked an operator to try again. She abruptly said, "You can't get through! There's been an earthquake!"

It sent shivers up my spine. Though I hadn't experienced any quakes when I lived there. I knew it was serious if the telephone lines were not working.

There was nothing on the TV about it. We only got three channels in those days.

My sister and I were worried. We called a few more times in the hopes that all lines were no longer busy. But, still there was no connection. The thought occurred to me that if my parents were located where the worst damage happened, then our other relatives might be safe, and there telephones working.


So, we methodically went through the telephone book and called every relative we had in the Southern California region. Some did not connect. Some gave a permanent busy signal, a special kind of busy signal that let you know that it wasn't just a person talking on the line.

Then, I called Uncle Buddy's house. Lo' and behold, his telephone rang. Back in those times, you could ring a person's phone number constantly without interruption and that is exactly what I did. Suzan and I took turns holding the phone listening to the rings. We figured that if the phone was ringing the damage where my uncle lived could not be too bad. Of course, we realized that Uncle Buddy must have felt the quake, but hopefully his house was okay.


At one point we decided that if his phone was ringing to try my brother's phone again. Still no connection. Then trying Uncle Buddy's line got a regular busy signal. There was hope! He must have been using his phone. We waited a few minutes and called again. This time the phone rang twenty times, then Uncle Buddy answered the phone. He didn't understand at first who was calling as my voice was so strained and I was speaking so rapidly, and Suzan was suggesting things for me to say in the background.

I told him we had called to wish Mom happy birthday only to be told of the earthquake, that there was nothing on the TV about it and we were worried. Uncle Buddy had been out in the yard and not wanting to come into his house because of the aftershocks, and didn't want to stay on the phone for long. He had tried to call my brother's house and was unable to get through. The epicenter was reported to be very close to where my brother lived. Uncle Buddy promised he would try to find out what he could and call us back and let us know if everyone was alright.

When the news was reported on TV We learned is was a serious quake called the Sylmar Quake. Sixty five people had died, another two thousand injured. Hospitals had been crushed and freeway overpasses had fallen, many highways were closed, landslides had caused damage to property, two dams had been destroyed. The biggest worry for us was that my brother lived near one of the dams that were being inspected to make sure it wouldn't crack. If so, there would be flooding.

Eventually, Uncle Buddy called us. Mom and Dad were okay, Roger and his wife, Sharon were okay. The baby, Carl, was okay. They had suffered no major damage. Roger's apartment was new enough that it had been built with earthquake safety in mind. Thank you, Engineers and Architects!

When we finally had the opportunity to speak with Mom and Dad, the wishing of Happy Birthday was forgotten. But, they hadn't forgotten, and we were reminded what a beautiful birthday it was. Suzan and I were confused at first, then Mom said it was beautiful because they all survived and did not suffer any damages.


There was a bit of unforgettable story in this situation. Mom and Dad sleep on opposite sides of the bed. They are not spooners, they said. I began to feel uncomfortable. I didn't want to know how my parents slept. But, Mom, or was it Dad, continued to tell us, they had gotten in the habit of sleeping with their backs turned to each other, simply because they had opposite side of there bodies with a little arthritis pain and they were more comfortable this way.

Since they were sleeping at Roger's house, they were not used to the bright sunlight shining through the window. They were both just slightly awake. A moment before the quake occurred Dad turned over and snuggled up to Mom putting his arm around her. Luckily this kept her from falling off the edge of the bed and onto the floor. Even more luckily, when the big mirror from the dresser fell directly onto the bed, it landed exactly where Dad had just moved from. Dad was not injured and therefore another reason to be grateful.

Elizabeth Munroz 
January 16, 2010



If you would like to help the survivors of the earthquake in Haiti, please visit the links below which will direct you to the Canadian or American Red Cross web pages.

Both of them have donation forms which will allow you to send help to where it is most needed. 

Canadian Red Cross


American Red Cross



Also see this article about how you can simply donate through a text message 



Thursday

Rio Del Mar Beach, Aptos California

Had trouble falling asleep last night. Many cramps in legs. Hmm!

Rainy night. Strong windy day.

I wasn't able to pull myself together enough to go out early to walk. Bones too creaky. Too many emails to handle. Cat needed cuddling. Excuses!


Then... Earthquake!

Yup. But, just a little one. Epicenter, if you can call it that a little off shore, from Watsonville, in the Monterey Bay. Really, it was very minor and one of 13 in the area today. Thank heavens for those short shifts! I live only about 10 miles from the previous epicenter of the Loma Prieta Quake (1989).

I finally put on some sweats, (still cold and windy out) and got in the car to drive over to Aptos beach to walk. I parked at the beginning of the half a billion dollar homes, well okay, maybe they are only quarter billion. Once I got my pedometer on, and started walking I had an "oh, no" moment. I had forgotten to change shoes!! I left my Lucky Pink's at home. Darn it! Oh well, slip-ons just had to do.

So, this sidewalk was slanted too. It is across the street from the crazy rich homes. Crazy, because you would have to be crazy to live there. A huge cliff that produces mudslides every winter faces the backs of those homes. The sand and ocean is literally is at the front doors. That is, separated from the sand my only a street and the walk. Well, at least most of them have their first floor as the garage only. I have seen some pretty bad damage on that street. So, I guess it is okay to be crazy if one wants to pay big flood/mudslide insurance (act of God insurance?) and pay for rebuilding when the mud oozes through your kitchen into the living room and right out the balcony and plops down onto the front driveway where the ocean washes the mud away. Still, I wouldn't mind living there just for the incredible view, and the sound of the surf. On the other hand, it is the one and only street that leads to the state park beach. In the summer it is crowded with tourists. The rest of the year it's either surfers or whales washing up on shore. I have a recording of ocean sounds, I think will satisfy me.

And you thought I was going to write about how nice it was by the sea... the seagulls, the sunshine, the waves, the breezes, the warm sand, the beachcombers. Yes, it is all that, and more! It was hard to just enjoy the beauty when my shins were burning, though. My slip-on shoes were not meant to be supportive walkers! I will NOT forget my Lucky Pinks tomorrow. You can bet on it! I want to be in good enough shape for my trip to Vermont that I walk along the shores of Lake Champlain and just hang my mouth open in wonder and joy, forgetting to take pictures.

I didn't care for the inclined, not flat, sidewalk. So I crossed the street to walk along the front of the nice homes. Many people sitting out on their verandas or patios nodded or said hello. Nice people! I wonder if they do that during tourist season, too. I remember how sociable everyone was on New Year's Eve. The whole street was it's own double party. The tourists below on the sand with their bonfires giving toasts to the hosts. The householders out on their balconies in their dress clothes lifting their glasses to their guests. It was a surreal and happy new year where everyone seemed truly happy. What year was that? I forget. But, it was so kewl!

I was determined that I would at least walk as far as the end of the homes, where the public restrooms begin. I did have to stop a couple of times to just stand there and breathe. Coming back, I decided I could handle the sidewalk as the slant evened out my leg length discrepancy. I managed quite well with that, except for the areas where the sand had blown across the pavement. Loose sand is not easy to walk on, when you are as out of practice as I am. Soon, I had lost my momentum, and the pain slowed me down considerably. Other walkers were passing me by, even an old lady with a dog! The jogger, (Bless him!) ran by me, back and forth, so many times, it was DĆ©jĆ  Vu, all over again. Along the sidewalk is a sort of metal bar fence. (something to hang onto when the wind is blowing hard, or the waves are rushing by) I stopped four times, and pushed my spine up against them to help relieve the pain. The burning shins were gone by this time. It was my rib cage and shoulders that were complaining. Next time, I will probably need to take something for pain before I go out, just to keep it to a dull roar. It's very distracting. At least when I am home, in the car, visiting someone's home, I can squirm or change position, or even lie down if need be. But, I had to continue walking. My car was not going to come pick me up. Hey! that's a good idea. You know. They have those cars now that will park for you, and the ones that will watch out for drivers sneaking up on your blind side. They need to invent one that will unpark itself and drive up to whereever you are. That would be great for when you come out of the grocery store and can't remember where in the world you parked your car, too.

Now, see! Who's crazy now. This crazy lady who calls the beach home owners crazy! That's who.

I just need to keep on working on this until my body is as ambitious as my mind wants it to be. It's not like I can't do it... I can.

That last 99 steps I counted myself, just to put my mind off the invisible Samurai jabbing me along with his ancient sword. It was with a sigh of relief, as well as pride when I got in the car. I actually had broken a sweat! Though my body was throbbing and complaining even after I sat down, I was happy to see the numbers on the pedometer.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention... the pedometer says I took 3599 steps!!

My reliable, old, 1987 Dodge tells me that I went a mile. Aren't there only supposed to be 2850 steps in a mile?