Comments on: Weather Thesaurus Entry: Earthquake

By: Marion

Marion — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 11:46:30 +0000

I was a tourist many years ago in San Francisco and knew about earthquakes from hear-say/stories. Here in Germany, we have the tiniest tremors every 10 years or so, you wouldn’t even notice if they weren’t mentioned in the news later on 🙂
I was in Walgreens and suddenly felt this vibration under my feet and ran. I was terrified. I was nearly out of the shop with several items in my hand (and a security guard right behind me), when I realised that some builders were using jackhammers across the road. I turned right around and marched back inside with a red head and rolling eyes at myself. The security guard asked me what happened and when I told him, he went into hysterics. Thanks, dude 🙂 Boy, was I embarrassed…

By: Heather G. Davis

Heather G. Davis — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 22:54:25 +0000

Another California resident here. One thing I’ve found is that I’m never frightened when the quake is actually happening – and I’ve experienced some big ones. Afterwards though, I have a strange sort of vertigo. The ground just isn’t solid anymore.

By: Christy Olesen

Christy Olesen — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:55:01 +0000

I'd like to add some observations.

I lived in So Call for many years. Once I was standing at a window when a rolling quake hit and the block wall fence bordering my yard, and the house behind it rose up and down on the waves. That was freaky!

The neighbors' pools sloshed out a lot of water

A small rolling quake can make you feel nauseous until you realize what it is.

A quake doesn't have to be local to be felt. I now live on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains and I felt the San Francisco quake in 1989. That's hundreds of miles away.

When a quake hits, what goes through you mind is, will this be the big one? How long will it last? Will it get stronger? You brace yourself, and usually it's small and done before you have a chance to react.

By: Jeff King

Jeff King — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:36:58 +0000

You never fail to inspire me.

By: Becca Puglisi

Becca Puglisi — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:16:11 +0000

As scary as hurricanes are, I'll take them over earthquakes any day. At least we have warning when a storm is coming. Freaky.

Great job, Angela!

By: Carrie

Carrie — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:26:57 +0000

Great post! This is very helpful to someone from Ohio who’s never experienced it firsthand. 🙂

By: Kristen

Kristen — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:13:32 +0000

I was in two small ones in Seattle and I was amazed how loud it was--a big crash! But quick. I was only scared because the locals were terrified. We all had to run outside.

Great post!

By: The Pen and Ink Blog

The Pen and Ink Blog — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:17:58 +0000

Very Good post. I would add to it:
sight. a strong earthquake at night leaves you in an impenetrable blackness. There is no ambient outside light.

Sound. A large earthquake sounds like a freight train roaring through your house.

There is a exercise on my Earthquake Book website http://www.earthquake-book.com/ for a tactile exercise on what The numbers on the Richter Scale look like. I think you might find the accompanying pictures interesting.
The site also has a good emergency list.

By: Lisa Gail Green

Lisa Gail Green — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:23:47 +0000

Now I’m frightened. Mostly because I live in So Cal and I’m so totally unprepared for a big one. But wow, what a great thing to add to a book if appropriate!

By: Shannon O'Donnell

Shannon O'Donnell — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:07:26 +0000

This is excellent! Good choice, too, considering all the quakes this past year.

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:11:10 +0000

This one gave me chills! And made me think that maybe I need to add in a natural disaster to one of my novels… Thanks!

By: Julie Musil

Julie Musil — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:58:41 +0000

Great stuff, guys. I live in CA and have experienced several of these bad boys, including the Northridge quake in '94.

Sometimes it feels like a rolling quake, like you're on an up and down ride of a roller coaster. And sometimes it's jarring, like you're trapped in a martini mixer.

Weird and scary stuff.