has anybody here ever lived through an earthquake?
By TheRealDawn
@dawnald (85146)
Shingle Springs, California
September 11, 2008 1:51pm CST
I grew up in Los Angeles and lived through a few big ones.
The 1971 Sylmar quake was my first experience. I remember being shaken around (top floor of a 2 story house, top of a bunk bed), no school that week, picking up fish and putting them in a bucket after the fish tank crashed, broken brick walls between the houses and lots of casualties at 2 hospitals in the area.
The 1994 Northridge quake was the other big one. I woke up to a loud boom and ran for the door frame. Richard kind of got up and sauntered over but when it really started shaking, he ran. We didn't have much damage other than a cracked patio in the backyard, but a few streets over there were block walls and chimneys down everywhere. About a half mile away there was an apartment building that had collapsed inwards. And for years afterwards we could drive by buildings that still hadn't been repaired.
Not fun!
2 people like this
4 responses
@mobilecubie (820)
• Philippines
12 Sep 08
Well like in all parts of the world, we have experienced a couple of big earthquakes as well. I remember two specific events in my life one was when I was still every young and I had no idea what an earthquake was. The ground just shook and shook and all we could do was run outside our house. Thankfully none of my family members were hurt and not much of our property was damaged. The other memorable event related to earthquakes in my life was six years after. I was sleeping over a friend's house and then when we woke up the house was swaying from left to right. Instead of panicking we calmly went upstairs to their third floor, which even today I can't understand why we did it since the third floor was where their mini bar was and it was filled with glasses and bottles. After the earthquake I just calmly called home and asked how everybody was doing and when I heard no one got hurt I just went back to sleep again. I know I have a strange way of dealing with earthquakes but I guess its just because I have yet experienced one that almost took my life.
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
12 Sep 08
I haven't experienced one that almost took my life either. But both of those earthquakes did have casualties.
@mobilecubie (820)
• Philippines
13 Sep 08
Well most large scale earthquakes always have casualties. I remember watching on TV once that there was an earthquake that demolished an entire town killing all people in it. I believe they blamed the soil in that area to be the cause of many deaths and not entirely the earthquake's fault though.
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@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
13 Sep 08
Some of the casualties in the Northridge earthquake were due to buildings being on very sandy ground.
@mikinikih (201)
• United States
12 Sep 08
Luckily I've never experienced any big ones. My husband was in LA on business a few years ago, and the hotel he was staying at was evacuated because of the earthquake that was predicted; except my dh, he slept through the evacuation sirens (he's a VERY heavy sleeper, and that 3 hour time difference had him really thrown off). But praise God, no damage was done to the hotel or immediate area. Now where we live we just get the occassional tornado threat, but even those are usually south of us.
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@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
12 Sep 08
Tornadoes are scarier to me than earthquakes!
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
12 Sep 08
Earthquakes can be pretty nasty but it's normal to fear the evil you don't know more than the one that you do!
@mikinikih (201)
• United States
12 Sep 08
If I'd ever actully witnessed one up close, they might be to me, too. We're close enough to the lake (less than 5 miles away) that we're in a pretty safe area. But it seems like severe earthquakes can do a lot more damage than a tornado--the tornado usually leaves a "stripe" of it's path, but the things/people/houses not directly in the path are often left unharmed. Hurricanes scare me the most.
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@habichuelo (3100)
• United States
15 Sep 08
my live its an earthquake right now,,everything is collapsing,my heart its shaking,and i cant even walk right tru town.i always look up thinking something else could fall on me.
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
15 Sep 08
right but you have electricity to send this! lol
@BriNbai (912)
• United States
14 Sep 08
When I was about 7 or 8 I went to visit my grandma in mexico. I was there for about 2 days and there was an earthquake.I was sitting on the bed with my sister and I felt the bed shaking and I thought that it was someone moving the bed until it got worse and pictured started to fall off the walls.Then I heard my aunts and uncles yelling in spanish and everyone ran outside.As soon as we went outside it stopped.But not before everyone including me ran around freaked out.lol, It was scary then but now it makes me laugh a little
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