louisgray.com - Latest Comments in louisgray.com: No, I'm Not Your SF Bay Area Earthquake Expert

Re: louisgray.com: No, I'm Not Your SF Bay Area Earthquake Expert

Peter San Filippo — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 01:34:00 -0000

I was in the '89 one when I was living in the Marina, and it was one of the worst experiences in my life.

Last night I happened to be on the 6th floor of a downtown SJ loft, and I felt this thing for about 4-5 seconds.

And I must say that it took me about a minute or two to stop shaking--the big ones don't come 'round often enough for you to become acclimated.

Yep, better get your preparedness together, but you can never tell where you're going to be when the big one comes.

I'm all set at home, and in my car, but last night I just happened to take the bus to my friend's place. If something really bad had happened, I would've been s*** outta luck.

Re: louisgray.com: No, I'm Not Your SF Bay Area Earthquake Expert

louisgray — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:48:00 -0000

Webomatica, while we missed this one, being a thousand miles away or so, the strongest earthquakes I've felt were when I lived in Berkeley in 1999 and one in Palo Alto in 2002.

The Berkeley quake measured around 5, and sounded like a freight train was coming. If I remember correctly, the one I felt in Palo Alto in 2002 was centered nearer San Jose and took place during the Sharks game!

I've yet to see an earthquake do any real damage though. Just startling or amusement. There's always a feeling of "is this going to get stronger?" or "is this a foreshock and more are coming?" Usually the answer is no.

Re: louisgray.com: No, I'm Not Your SF Bay Area Earthquake Expert

Webomatica — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:28:00 -0000

It was a needed reminder that yes - there are earthquakes around these parts. Personally it was the strongest one since I moved to the bay area in 1999 (therefore, I wasn't around for Loma Prieta or Northridge).

While nothing fell down at our place in san mateo, it was enough shaking that I said "It's an earthquake!" to my wife, and it went on long enough that we started asking, what do we do? And not having any immediate answers.

I really need to revisit our earthquake emergency stuff that I think is in the garage - hasn't been updated since we moved last year :|