My First Earthquake (felt)

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 2:59 pm

I experienced my first quake that I felt. I've slept through the ones before. It's rumoured to have been 5.7 and located 50 KM from Ottawa. I was at work and the entire building shook left/right and up/down. Was a bit scary since I wasn't sure if it was a bomb since I work for Foreign Affairs.

Felt as far as Ohio, NY, Michigan.

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 3:21 pm

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/ ... 80.-70.php

and data here:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/ ... 10xwa7.php

USGS SAYS! 5.0

Nice little shakeup.

Xamindar · Post by **Xamindar** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 3:55 pm

Was this earthquake on a fault line? It originated in Canada right?

How does it feel?

I always laugh when people from the midwest and east say things like \"I would hate to live in California with all those earthquakes and such\". I always think, \"wouldn't it be easier to go to a place where nothing can fall on you in an earthquake than to find shelter where you will be safe in a hurricane?\"

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:31 pm

There is a History of minor quakes in this area.

phx13 [POC] · Post by **phx13 [POC]** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:42 pm

I felt my first earthquake a few months ago. It happened when I was playing Descent and I began getting dizzy. I thought I was getting motion sickness.

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:50 pm

Yes we've had many minor ones below 4 but this was wild. I can't imagine anything bigger. I was standing at the time and felt like I was drunk I wobbled. The entire building shook.

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 6:26 pm

I've been in a couple of 6+ quakes. That was exciting.

Hunter · Post by **Hunter** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 7:08 am

Felt a small quake in Seoul a few months back - Was my first too, and quite an experience.

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 8:50 am

I heard about the Toronto quake on... CBC or CTV, I can't remember. (I was volunteering in a hospital at the time, so I had other things on my mind).

It seemed hilarious to think of an earthquake in Toronto, especially because there was no damage there (though I heard there was a little bit in Ottawa).

As for California, I've heard that brush fires are more of a problem in the chapparal (I think that's how it's spelled). That and mudslides... and earthquakes, too I guess... hmm... is this really a good place to build billion dollar homes for celebrities?

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 10:00 am

Toronto didn't have much. The quake was centered 50KM north of Ottawa. We had no damage but one guy who had property slid 100 feet and the hole was 50 ft deep.

Tunnelcat · Post by **Tunnelcat** » Sun Jun 27, 2010 8:58 pm

When I lived in Sunnyvale, CA, I went through 3 quakes over 5.0, one a 5.7 as well, 2 that were around a 4 and a lot of 3's, all in the space of 2 years. All that activity was the prelude to the 7.1 Loma Prieta Quake in the Bay Area. 2 different faults were active then, the Calaveras and the San Andreas. I got pretty good at telling which fault had let go because of the direction my home would sway during any particular quake and the time difference between the P and S waves. The P wave felt like someone kicked the bottom of the building and the secondary S waves made the building sway back and forth. The closer the waves were spaced to each other, the closer we were to the fault break. Fortunately, we moved away 6 weeks before it hit. Lucky us.

Anything over a 5 and it's hard to get used to. My husband and I charged outside just AFTER the first 5.7 quake. But we couldn't walk WHILE it was going on because we were on the third floor of our building and things moved around so bad you could barely keep your footing. I just stayed in bed for one of the 4's that happened at night and stood in the kitchen watching the building across the way sway back and forth for the other one. I didn't even feel the 3's because I was outside and didn't notice. The only reason I knew it occurred was because a new-to-California neighbor ran outside of her home, yelling hysterically that there had been a quake. Noob.

BAAL · Post by **BAAL** » Sat Jul 03, 2010 1:41 pm

It was the 4th quake ive felt, two when i lived in the ottawa area and two when i was in British Columbia. I'm currently in kingston and it as a low rumbler that we felt for about 15 seconds (the quake Merlin felt)

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Sat Jul 03, 2010 5:58 pm

OMG it's BAAL. Dude, WTF you doing in Kingston? How goes it?

Send me a PM.