Merged 5.9 Quake Hits Virginia

[BowlOfRed]

I hadn't heard of the "US Array" before (http://www.usarray.org/), but they have a nice bitmap of sensors across portions of the US.

And they can help make pretty pictures. From the BadAstronomy website:
http://www.iris.edu/spud/gmv/109962

 

[NoahFence]

You weren't fast enough.

LOL

Apparently there was an embedded f-bomb in the .gif i posted. I didn't even notice it....

whoopsie!

 

[I Ratant]

I found this interesting:

National Zoo Animals React to the Earthquake

Apparently the only animals who reportedly did not react to the earthquake were the giant pandas.

Hmm...

..
.
Exhausted after the Arizona adventure...
http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/2011/08/23/20110823arizona-rogue-panda-sign.html

 

[AdMan]

..
.
Exhausted after the Arizona adventure...
http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/2011/08/23/20110823arizona-rogue-panda-sign.html

Something tells me these pandas are not to be trusted.

I hope someone's keeping an eye on them.

 

[Cactus Wren]

My favorite comment so far (from Twitter via Time.com):

"There was just a 5.8 earthquake in Washington. Obama wanted it to be 3.4, but the Republicans wanted 5.8, so he compromised."

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

My favorite comment so far (from Twitter via Time.com):

"There was just a 5.8 earthquake in Washington. Obama wanted it to be 3.4, but the Republicans wanted 5.8, so he compromised."

Jokes are supposed to be funny. That's a depressing joke.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Jeff Corwin was interviewed by Ron Reagan on Hardball today about the animal reactions to the EQ. I'm not sure if I liked it, it was a mix of science and unsupported conclusions. Corwin notes a lot of the evidence is anecdotal, but instead of citing studies that don't show animals reacting, Corwin cited the anecdotes from the National Zoo as if those anecdotes were objectively collected. They weren't.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/44263623#44263623

If that doesn't get you to the interview (after the commercial) go to the Hardball webpage and look for the video from 8-24-11, "Did zoo animals anticipate earthquake?"

 

[MattusMaximus]

Btw, I have noticed that a lot of people (both here and elsewhere) have stated that when the East Coast quake hit, they walked out of the building they were in at the time. Bad idea, folks.

For future reference, you might want to look at the safety suggestions from FEMA on dealing with an earthquake.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Btw, I have noticed that a lot of people (both here and elsewhere) have stated that when the East Coast quake hit, they walked out of the building they were in at the time. Bad idea, folks.

For future reference, you might want to look at the safety suggestions from FEMA on dealing with an earthquake.

I so know what the evidence supports, but dang, during the Nisqually quake I had the option of getting under the table or going outside and I chose going outside. I did not want to be buried alive in a building.

I think one should be able to think fast and make an informed decision, hopefully instantaneously. The shaking was rolling as opposed to sharp and I was on the ground floor near enough to a door to get there quickly.

Had the shaking been more forceful, I hope I would have thought to get under the table. I will say that having had that particular experience, I will be able to think instantaneously next time and make a rational rather than reflexive decision. There's nothing like real experience to perfect one's actions in an emergency.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Btw, I have noticed that a lot of people (both here and elsewhere) have stated that when the East Coast quake hit, they walked out of the building they were in at the time. Bad idea, folks.

Doesn't it depend on where you are? I was in a very low density area, a couple of two-story office buildings surrounded by parking lot. It's not like a skyscraper could have shed windows down on me.

 

[Nosi]

.
Happens here in CA all the time.
Folks can't finger out things for themselves, and need to be told by an official.

can't finger out things

 

[Nosi]

Something tells me these pandas are not to be trusted.

I hope someone's keeping an eye on them.

They are Red Chinese, so You Betcha!

 

[Nosi]

My favorite comment so far (from Twitter via Time.com):

"There was just a 5.8 earthquake in Washington. Obama wanted it to be 3.4, but the Republicans wanted 5.8, so he compromised."

Err, that joke is a bit shaky.

 

[Sabrina]

I didn't evacuate the building until AFTER the quake ended, and even that I probably wouldn't have gone if the fire alarm hadn't started going off and an announcement told us to exit the building.

Apparently they wanted to check the gas lines before they let people go on with their day, an action I applaud, but I honestly wasn't considering to be an issue at the time. Still, I got to spend about twenty minutes in the nice sunshine, so I'm not complaining.

 

[Cl1mh4224rd]

Doesn't it depend on where you are? I was in a very low density area, a couple of two-story office buildings surrounded by parking lot. It's not like a skyscraper could have shed windows down on me.

Sure, but it takes longer to leave a building than to find nearby cover indoors. If the quake is strong enough to be knocking things over, trying to leave the building means you're exposed for a longer period to falling objects indoors, too.

That said, in my office there isn't anything too dangerous between most rooms and the exit (some track lighting, but that's about it). We're also on a hillside, so if a strong quake hit, I'd probably take my chances heading for the exit than hope the quake isn't strong enough to loosen the hillside.

 

[Brown]

It's been said that you should hide under tables and in doorways ...

... so that people combing through the rubble will know where to look for your body.

 

[bonzombiekitty]

Doesn't it depend on where you are? I was in a very low density area, a couple of two-story office buildings surrounded by parking lot. It's not like a skyscraper could have shed windows down on me.

Yes, but you still have to leave the building, which is more likely to be losing parts of its own facade. In an earthquake, the best thing to do is get under a table or something and cover your head. If you immediately try to get outside, not only do are you at risk of things falling off of walls/shelves and hitting you, if you got outside you'd then have to worry about things falling off the building itself. Best to just take cover and when the quake is over, leave the building if there's an immediate danger.

 

[slingblade]

Just an idle observation, but I'd imagine folks in NYC especially would be a little leery of being in a shaking building, even though it isn't actually safer outside. Not that going outside was the best idea, mind you, but I'd think it easy to understand why they would, considering.

 

[catsmate]

And now there's a 7.0 quake in Northern Peru.

 

[Alt+F4]

Just an idle observation, but I'd imagine folks in NYC especially would be a little leery of being in a shaking building, even though it isn't actually safer outside. Not that going outside was the best idea, mind you, but I'd think it easy to understand why they would, considering.

Indeed. But the earthquake is over, now we have to get ready for the hurricane. Love living on the East Coast!