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Title: 5.8 Quake near D.C. Post by: Ghambit on August 23, 2011, 11:03:20 AM I'm on a boat just south of D.C. and it was strong enough to shake the boat. On the damned water! The marina is milky and bubbly (there are methane pockets down there actually)... I thought someone had rammed the damned boat. Never felt a quake on a boat before.
Shallow quake epicenter was located near Mineral, VA. This is actually where my boss' summer home is located and also the location of a very large nuke plant. Stay tuned for this one. :oh_i_see: The DMV area is basically shut down right now btw. Jesus. Title: Re: 5.8 Quake near D.C. Post by: Ingmar on August 23, 2011, 11:05:54 AM 5.8? This will be out of the news cycle in a day.
Title: Re: 5.8 Quake near D.C. Post by: Hawkbit on August 23, 2011, 11:07:25 AM Colorado just got hit as well. I think it was in a remote area, but weird. Plates are a shiftin'.
Title: Re: 5.8 Quake near D.C. Post by: Trippy on August 23, 2011, 11:09:00 AM 5.8? This will be out of the news cycle in a day. It would if it was in Title: Re: 5.8 Quake near D.C. Post by: MuffinMan on August 23, 2011, 11:09:18 AM It's obviously God punishing America for not being on the right Christian path.
Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Sky on August 23, 2011, 11:10:15 AM Co-workers talking about it right now. I didn't feel it, but several others did feel a slight tremor.
Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Nevermore on August 23, 2011, 11:11:53 AM USGS is calling it 5.9.
Edit: nice topic edit. :oh_i_see: Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Ghambit on August 23, 2011, 11:12:14 AM 5.8? This will be out of the news cycle in a day. Doubtful. The capital is effectively shut down today now. Everyone is outside. Phreaky. It was a powerful fuckin quake man, felt like an old wooden roller coaster (a quick shake, not a slow roll) - on a boat! At one point I was like "make it stop!" Didnt last long though, not even 30 seconds (as the news says.) My biggest worry is the Lake Anna (summer vacation spot, nice homes, and nuke plant) and Richmond area. That's ground zero. Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: craan on August 23, 2011, 11:12:45 AM My first earthquake. Luckily I was home and ran around catching/preventing stuff from falling.
I am woefully unprepared for a disaster and if it was zombies I would probably be dead by now. Also its such an eerie feeling to feel a whole building swaying and being basically stuck. Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Mrbloodworth on August 23, 2011, 11:13:41 AM Just felt it, ran out the building like a kid. Someone needs to tell the earthquake this is the wrong coast.
Earthquake, hurricane, So much for nags head this weekend. ( Hampton roads, VA, if your curious, also know it was felt as far as VA beach ) Title: Re: 5.8 Quake near D.C. Post by: Ingmar on August 23, 2011, 11:14:18 AM 5.8? This will be out of the news cycle in a day. It would if it was in Big enough to get you over to the door frame, not big enough to remember a week later. 5.8? This will be out of the news cycle in a day. Doubtful. The capital is effectively shut down today now. Everyone is outside. Phreaky. It was a powerful fuckin quake man, felt like an old wooden roller coaster (a quick shake, not a slow roll) - on a boat! At one point I was like "make it stop!" Didnt last long though, not even 30 seconds (as the news says.) My biggest worry is the Lake Anna (summer vacation spot, nice homes, and nuke plant) and Richmond area. That's ground zero. Ceiling tiles and cabinets full of drinking glasses beware! :oh_i_see: Now if it turns out to be a foreshock or something, that gets more interesting. Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Sand on August 23, 2011, 11:24:25 AM Wife is in Baltimore, MD area on work. Just texted me that she felt it. And another friend in Gaithersburg also reported feeling it.
And there was one in Colorado at the same time apparently? Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Xilren's Twin on August 23, 2011, 11:25:01 AM Well, that was the most interesting way to prematurely end a web meeting I've ever been in.
"Sorry, we have to go, we appear to be having an earthquake". Was rather disconcerting and I'm several hundred miles away from richmond. Large local companies all evacuated their buildings; our group, not so much :) Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Ghambit on August 23, 2011, 11:25:37 AM Kinda phreaky we had a shallow quake with an epi. right below a nuclear power plant. :oh_i_see:
I tweeted over there to find out their status. Maybe they lost a reactor and that caused the quake. :awesome_for_real: At this point I doubt nothing. And now, escuse me while I go to the store to prepare for a go'ram Hurricane. :why_so_serious: Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Surlyboi on August 23, 2011, 11:27:01 AM Felt it up here in NYC.
2012 man, 2012. :drill: Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Stormwaltz on August 23, 2011, 11:31:20 AM Felt it at the workplace in central MD. Californians on my team dove under desks. The wife and kids felt it in PA, and said stuff fell off my office bookshelves (though to be fair, that happens when the kids jump around in there).. Jeremiah apparently thought it was caused by Endermen taking blocks from the ground under the house. :facepalm:
So! How long until the Republicans blame it on Obama? Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: KallDrexx on August 23, 2011, 11:32:29 AM From a CNN article
Quote Traders in the New York Stock Exchange felt the shaking and shouted to each other, "Keep trading!" CNN's business correspondent Alison Kosik reported from the floor at 2:20 p.m. E.T. Not sure why I found that funny Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Ingmar on August 23, 2011, 11:34:27 AM Pictures of this are cracking me up:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/n/a/2011/08/23/national/w110531D99.DTL&object=%2Fn%2Fp%2F2011%2F08%2F23%2Fcdbca142-0cac-4064-81eb-e40527f8604f.jpg THE HORROR EDIT: http://jmckinley.posterous.com/dc-earthquake-devastation Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Mrbloodworth on August 23, 2011, 11:34:38 AM How long until the Republicans blame it on Obama? To late. Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Bzalthek on August 23, 2011, 11:35:34 AM All my friends from when I lived up in Northern VA are posting about it on facebook. They're funny.
Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Ghambit on August 23, 2011, 11:37:51 AM I broke the nuke plant story (ive been to this plant before actually) to CNN and lo and behold they FINALLY decided to report on it. Check this out also:
Quote The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission has ranked the earthquake damage risk at all 104 nuclear power plants in this country. The pair operated by Dominion Power, at Lake Anna in eastern Louisa County, come in at 7th most 'at risk' on the list. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, North Anna 1 and 2 face an annual 1 in 22,727 chance of the core being damaged by an earthquake and exposing the public to radiation. The national average for U.S. nuclear plants is a 1 in 74,000 chance. The top five most at-risk plants are all on the east coast: Indian Point, north of New York City; the Pilgrim Plant south of Boston, Limerick outside of Philadelphia, the Sequoyah plants near Chattanooga Tennessee and Beaver Valley near Pittsburgh. These five plants are at a higher statistical risk than those along fault lines in California, for example, because they were not designed for and built in presumed strong quake danger areas. Since they were constructed the federal government has revised upwards the quake risks where they are. According to Jim Norvelle with Dominion Power, North Anna was designed to withstand a magnitude 5.9 – 6.1 earthquake. update: they just started shut down procedures on those 2 reactors Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Khaldun on August 23, 2011, 11:38:28 AM Felt it pretty noticeably near Philly. Knocked over a pile of books.
Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Ingmar on August 23, 2011, 11:47:05 AM The nuclear plant thing is basically a non-story. They shut down as a precaution because they lost their electric power (which I'd guess is a regulatory requirement when that happens), all their backup diesel generators kicked off fine.
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/aug/23/10/58-earthquake-rocks-virginia-other-parts-east-coas-ar-1256961/ Sounds like some unreinforced masonry might have fallen over right near the epicenter. Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Samwise on August 23, 2011, 11:48:54 AM Californians on my team dove under desks. Hey, the earthquake drills in grade school paid off. :awesome_for_real: I wonder if I'd have the same reaction. It's been a long time. Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Ingmar on August 23, 2011, 11:50:12 AM Californians on my team dove under desks. Hey, the earthquake drills in grade school paid off. :awesome_for_real: I wonder if I'd have the same reaction. It's been a long time. Not too long til http://www.shakeout.org/drill/ day! Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: MuffinMan on August 23, 2011, 11:50:50 AM http://jmckinley.posterous.com/dc-earthquake-devastation Laughed pretty hard at this. The horror, indeed.Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Mrbloodworth on August 23, 2011, 11:52:11 AM Quote The Washington Post's Dylan Matthews: In retrospect, I resorted to cannibalism rather fast after the earthquake. Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: proudft on August 23, 2011, 11:53:10 AM The nuclear plant thing is basically a non-story. They shut down as a precaution because they lost their electric power (which I'd guess is a regulatory requirement when that happens), all their backup diesel generators kicked off fine. http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/aug/23/10/58-earthquake-rocks-virginia-other-parts-east-coas-ar-1256961/ Sounds like some unreinforced masonry might have fallen over right near the epicenter. Yeah, the building codes here in sunny/shaky California are (obviously) much more prepared for things rattling around. It's a tough call - is it worthwhile to have requirements to withstand a once-every-300-years earthquake, or just eat the costs when it eventually happens? Especially if no one got really hurt this time (though brick facings on buildings are like the #1 thing to run the fuck away from in an earthquake and if no one got hit by a falling one this time it was pretty lucky - closely followed by brick chimneys. Chimneys falling through roofs killed a ton of people in the 1906 SF quake since it was early early morning and everyone was in bed). Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Ingmar on August 23, 2011, 11:56:07 AM Yeah brick facades make a mess. If it is true that the nuclear plant is only built for a 6.0 that's pretty retarded given that the *really* big ones can happen basically anywhere, not just on strike-slip faults.
Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Ghambit on August 23, 2011, 11:57:16 AM The nuclear plant thing is basically a non-story. They shut down as a precaution because they lost their electric power (which I'd guess is a regulatory requirement when that happens), all their backup diesel generators kicked off fine. http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/aug/23/10/58-earthquake-rocks-virginia-other-parts-east-coas-ar-1256961/ Sounds like some unreinforced masonry might have fallen over right near the epicenter. I wouldnt say it's a non-story, because what's now going to happen is they're going to re-evaluate the "smartness" of putting those reactors there (in a quake-prone area) and building them in that fashion. As quoted, this quake was at the limit of its construction. Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Ingmar on August 23, 2011, 12:03:10 PM I just heard someone claim the Washington Monument might be tilting, maybe we can get Pfizer to put up the fee to straighten it out.
Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: ghost on August 23, 2011, 12:06:54 PM More pictures of the damage (http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/stunning-photos-of-damage-caused-by-the-east-coast).
Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Reg on August 23, 2011, 12:09:28 PM I felt it all the way up here in Toronto. I thought it was my imagination but then heard about it on the radio.
Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Sand on August 23, 2011, 12:37:58 PM Place my wife is working at got evacuated due to potential gas leaks.
Title: Re: 5.8 Quake near D.C. Post by: 01101010 on August 23, 2011, 01:34:53 PM 5.8? This will be out of the news cycle in a day. It would if it was in Yeah, I went through 2 quakes while living out in Northern California and I can concur, but around here in Pittsburgh, especially in my office, people were literally freaked out. They were actually a bit annoyed I was not more amped by it and to be honest, I was walking back to my desk and did not really feel a thing. edit: to add this (http://www.barktees.com/Earthquake-2011-082311.htm;jsessionid=6F93F99270FBCD5E875DF2333D1285B2.qscstrfrnt02)- Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: WayAbvPar on August 23, 2011, 01:52:19 PM Saw this on Twitter and it made me chuckle-
Keith Olbermann Irony: 3/14 Eric Cantor pushes for cuts to US Geological Survey, NWS, NOAA. 8/23 5.9 quake felt by 1/3 of us. Epicenter: Cantor's district Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Ghambit on August 23, 2011, 01:54:15 PM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AnNlyDcySY
Gonna see a lot of this type stuff around here with the way things are constructed. I'm supposed to go into Olde Town today actually and I'm gonna guess some of the places there will probably be shut in. Still waiting to here how the house near Mineral faired. Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: CmdrSlack on August 23, 2011, 02:19:17 PM Place my wife is working at got evacuated due to potential gas leaks. I thought I felt it here in Illinois, but it turned out to be an actual uh, "gas leak." Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: JWIV on August 23, 2011, 02:21:54 PM Was a bit more interesting since the building I was in (Ashburn, VA) actually did the nice little sway and shake thing thing. Just enough to freak everyone the fuck out, but not enough for an immediate stampede. Regardless, everyone still got kicked out of the building.
Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Merusk on August 23, 2011, 02:33:05 PM It's obviously God punishing America for not being on the right Christian path. Funny you should say that. The national cathedral took some not so insignificant damage, it seems. The spires fell and the central tower is reported to be leaning. http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/23/quake.landmarks.developments/ Those mocking in California should remember the soils conditions are vastly different on the East Coast. The large amount of sand will make the soil liquify with less vibration than the loam & clay at the foothills of the Rocky Mtns. Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Nevermore on August 23, 2011, 02:43:08 PM They can't hear you. They're too busy being smug.
Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Ingmar on August 23, 2011, 02:44:37 PM Huge parts of the Bay Area are liquefaction zones, actually:
http://gis.abag.ca.gov/website/LiquefactionCGS/ EDIT: Found some pictures of the damage to the National Cathedral: Crack in flying buttress: http://ow.ly/i/gb6b Damaged pinnacle http://ow.ly/i/gb57 (basically the tip broke off and shifted a bit, on 2 of the other corners it broke off and fell all the way: http://ow.ly/i/gb4K) Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Cheddar on August 23, 2011, 03:56:55 PM Just felt it, ran out the building like a kid. Someone needs to tell the earthquake this is the wrong coast. Earthquake, hurricane, So much for nags head this weekend. ( Hampton roads, VA, if your curious, also know it was felt as far as VA beach ) Yup, in Hampton also and we felt it. Pretty wild. Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Strazos on August 23, 2011, 04:00:03 PM When we felt it up in Arlington, my thoughts of what it could be were approximately:
1) Someone moving heavy equipment through the hallways 2) Plane crash 3) Massive explosion/industrial accident 4) Terrorist attack 5) ...Earthquake? In VA? Title: Re: 5.8 Quake near D.C. Post by: TripleDES on August 23, 2011, 04:10:46 PM Yeah, I went through 2 quakes while living out in Northern California and I can concur, but around here in Pittsburgh, especially in my office, people were literally freaked out. They were actually a bit annoyed I was not more amped by it and to be honest, I was walking back to my desk and did not really feel a thing. Unless it caused mad destruction and death, I don't see what's there to be stressed about, to begin with. Some people. That's how the fucking planet works, deal with it. Not green. --edit: And yeah, we had a six on the scale where I live in Europe a couple of years ago, too. It was mentioned casually on the news that day.Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Merusk on August 23, 2011, 04:19:55 PM Was a shallow & long quake. We felt it in Ohio, apparently, though I didn't feel a thing downtown.
Title: Re: 5.8 Quake near D.C. Post by: Sjofn on August 23, 2011, 06:21:51 PM Yeah, I went through 2 quakes while living out in Northern California and I can concur, but around here in Pittsburgh, especially in my office, people were literally freaked out. They were actually a bit annoyed I was not more amped by it and to be honest, I was walking back to my desk and did not really feel a thing. Unless it caused mad destruction and death, I don't see what's there to be stressed about, to begin with. Some people. That's how the fucking planet works, deal with it. Not green. --edit: And yeah, we had a six on the scale where I live in Europe a couple of years ago, too. It was mentioned casually on the news that day.There is something extremely unsettling when the earth, which generally stays still and you take for granted, starts shaking. I do not enjoy it, even though I've only been in baby ones that do nothing more than make my cats unhappy. For me there's always this initial "wait, what the fuck?" when one happens, although now I will remember to shuffle towards a door and away from a window of it's more than one good shake. Strongest one I've felt was a 4.something that was centered in San Jose. During a Karazhan raid. I enjoyed typing "afk earthquake." :why_so_serious: Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: NiX on August 23, 2011, 06:24:18 PM I wouldnt say it's a non-story, because what's now going to happen is they're going to re-evaluate the "smartness" of putting those reactors there (in a quake-prone area) and building them in that fashion. As quoted, this quake was at the limit of its construction. What's now going to happen is a bunch of people will point to Japan and say "SEE! IT CAN HAPPEN HERE TOO!"A lot of people will laugh and it'll be forgotten in a week. Title: Re: 5.9 Quake near D.C. Post by: Xuri on August 23, 2011, 06:42:55 PM I felt it all the way up here in Toronto. I thought it was my imagination but then heard about it on the radio. Also, downtown Montreal. At first it was all "ugh, I don't feel too well - bits of the world are starting to move around/swim before my eyes" - which in hindsight was kinda suspicious considering I had been feeling perfectly fine up until that point - then eventually I saw mentions of earthquakes and godzilla-invasions and nuclear powerplant shutdown protocols and such, and wheels finally started turning in my head. Anyway, that was my earthquake story posted and now promptly forgotten! First one since I was..uh.. six or something.Title: Re: 5.8 Quake near D.C. Post by: Margalis on August 23, 2011, 08:53:21 PM A 5.8 quake is major news on the east coast. In California it's a Wednesday.
Title: Re: 5.8 Quake near D.C. Post by: luckton on August 24, 2011, 07:12:56 AM My mind is already :uhrr: over the number of FB posts attributing the quake to 'our founding fathers rolling in their grave over (insert the political party you hate here)'.
Title: Re: 5.8 Quake near D.C. Post by: Mrbloodworth on August 24, 2011, 07:48:51 AM The Washington monument cracked, look what they say about that.
Title: Re: 5.8 Quake near D.C. Post by: Teleku on August 24, 2011, 10:14:28 AM Heh, had a 3.6 last night here in Oakland at around 12 AM. I thought somebody had accidently slammed their big rig into the side of the building. Then backed up and did it again. Only found out it was an earth quake this morning. :awesome_for_real:
Then we just had another minor one about 15 minutes ago that shook our desks at the office a bit. Earthquakes are fun! Title: Re: 5.8 Quake near D.C. Post by: Sheepherder on August 28, 2011, 10:02:44 PM The joys of living on the precambrian shield, where the earth stays where you left it and only causes a few genetic abnormalities due to excessively high uranium content.
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