5.9 earthquake in metro DC area

[Gen. Hothauser]

It was freaking crazy when it hit.  Anyone else in the area and felt it?

It's a record for the area.  The last and most extreme was a 4.3 or so back in the 2000's.

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[Fireboy]

like 5 topic on this?

[RedGajin]

Thats like bumping the table. loving tiny.

[Sheath]

Thats like bumping the table. loving tiny.

Uh, no. It was shallow.

It'd be a good shake that would probably scare you if it took you by surprise. But people pouring into the streets panicking is a little much. Concerning that the odd building was damaged too, those people need to get their buildings in order lol.

[Nickelob Ultra]

It'd be a good shake that would probably scare you if it took you by surprise. But people pouring into the streets panicking is a little much. Concerning that the odd building was damaged too, those people need to get their buildings in order lol.

If you read the thread which was made about 20 minutes after the quake struck, you'd find out that the east coast of the united states virtually gets zero earthquakes every year, particularly because it's not on a fault line, so earthquakes on the east coast are a really huge deal for us.

Second, the only damages reported so far are incredibly minor, ranging from "a few bricks that fell" to "an old church spire that fell off and hit nothing or no one".

Obviously you're used to this but this was a big deal for everyone on the eastern seaboard because for almost everyone it was the first time they felt that here.

P.S. There's a 20 page thread already on this, I'll link you in a sec.

http://forum.blockland.us/index.php?topic=167339.0

It would be helpful if you locked this thread and continued discussion there.

[Sheath]

Obviously you're used to this but this was a big deal for everyone on the eastern seaboard because for almost everyone it was the first time they felt that here.

Oh no no, I'm not suggesting this quake was nothing. Most people like to put on the bravado and pretend they wouldn't be scared by quakes of that size, when in person in your home city they can be quite upsetting and scary. I just find it odd there were so many people outside, although if I was there at the time I'd probably use it as an excuse to skip work and join the crowds LOL.

[Caution]

Oh no no, I'm not suggesting this quake was nothing. Most people like to put on the bravado and pretend they wouldn't be scared by quakes of that size, when in person in your home city they can be quite upsetting and scary. I just find it odd there were so many people outside, although if I was there at the time I'd probably use it as an excuse to skip work and join the crowds LOL.

Wait, where did you get the notion that anyone would say they wouldn't be afraid in an earthquake? I don't think it'd be odd people flooded the streets, I sure as hell wouldn't want to stay inside if the ground was shaking.

[Sheath]

Wait, where did you get the notion that anyone would say they wouldn't be afraid in an earthquake?

Thats like bumping the table. loving tiny.

Comments like that are common here about earthquakes from people who don't actually know what they feel like but go by the statistic only. Anything of 5.0+ can be scary, anything 7.0+ is hauntingly horrible, and 9.0+... lets hope nobody has to know here.

I don't think it'd be odd people flooded the streets, I sure as hell wouldn't want to stay inside if the ground was shaking.

Ehh, maybe thats true in a place where they don't get earthquakes much as Red said above. But running outside is rarely a good option as you have to go back inside soon anyway. If there is a big quake, people often make the mistake of piling out the door where they get stuck and killed.

[Nickelob Ultra]

Oh no no, I'm not suggesting this quake was nothing. Most people like to put on the bravado and pretend they wouldn't be scared by quakes of that size, when in person in your home city they can be quite upsetting and scary. I just find it odd there were so many people outside, although if I was there at the time I'd probably use it as an excuse to skip work and join the crowds LOL.

Yeah it's perfectly okay for everyone in New York City to evacuate the city because the entire city of New York City is literally skyscrapers and almost no one has ever been in an earthquake before and is doing it out of fear for their own safety.

I was scared stuffless too, I was ready to grab my cat and get the forget out of my building because I had no idea what might happen next.  After about 30 minutes, far after the USGS posted what happened and major news networks were broadcasting bulletins to remain calm, and about 40 minutes after the quake everyone in Towson began to go back into their buildings.  I never left, though.

[Sheath]

I was scared stuffless too, I was ready to grab my cat and get the forget out of my building because I had no idea what might happen next.  After about 30 minutes, far after the USGS posted what happened and major news networks were broadcasting bulletins to remain calm, and about 40 minutes after the quake everyone in Towson began to go back into their buildings.  I never left, though.

Harsh, during a similar sized earthquake that was about as shallow in my city I was on the fourth floor of a building, the swaying was horrible. All the phone lines were clogged. But that was an aftershock of a bigger quake so nobody went outside, although now thinking about it if it was the main shake it'd probably have had a more profound effect.

In New York I'd stay inside a building. I'd be concerned about the facades of older New York buildings falling off, that killed a lot of people here in February. :/

[Nickelob Ultra]

Harsh, during a similar sized earthquake that was about as shallow in my city I was on the fourth floor of a building, the swaying was horrible. All the phone lines were clogged. But that was an aftershock of a bigger quake so nobody went outside, although now thinking about it if it was the main shake it'd probably have had a more profound effect.

In New York I'd stay inside a building. I'd be concerned about the facades of older New York buildings falling off, that killed a lot of people here in February. :/

I was told that if aftershocks hit, just run into the stairwell which is highly reinforced concrete/steel or stand in the front doorway, which is heavy duty metal-made.

Thankfully none hit us.  It still scared me and I still keep thinking it was a dream or something.

This was also the one day I had decided to wake up early, I normally wake up around 2 PM and the quake hit 8 minutes before 2.

[RedGajin]

My point was that those would be considered small here on the west coast. Now, if we encountered something like a tornado over here, people would panic like there is no tomorrow.

[Sheath]

I was told that if aftershocks hit, just run into the stairwell which is highly reinforced concrete/steel or stand in the front doorway, which is heavy duty metal-made.

Oh forget no don't do the staircase. Unfortunately most designers use staircases as the weak point in the building believe it or not, in one of the buildings here the whole staircase collapsed weighing tonnes. Go for the doorway for sure.

[Gen. Hothauser]

My point was that those would be considered small here on the west coast. Now, if we encountered something like a tornado over here, people would panic like there is no tomorrow.

Oh ya, that reminds me.  Ontop of the biggest earthquake my area has gotten in recorded history, we have a HUGE ASS MOTHERloving HURRICANE COMING TO EAT OUR HOUSES!!

On a lighter note, if we survive that, we will have sunny days on Monday and Tuesday.

particularly because it's not on a fault line

Actually Charlottesville, VA sits right on top of a residual fault line.

[Travis [bob36455]]

Damage report: a plastic lawn chair fell over.