Earthquake 5.9 Washington DC area Members Check In Please!

[gcvmom]

Glad to know everyone is o.k.!

What would be most worrisome to me, if I lived there, is the fact (correct me if I'm wrong) that most of the buildings on the east coast (and likely in the midwest as well) are not built to withstand too much shaking. The building codes out here have been changed a lot over the past 40 years to take seismic activity into account. Thanks to those changes, my addition, built 11 years ago, will likely remain standing even if the rest of my house collapses!

[TerryJ2]

Yes, I'm expecting to see cracks in my house at some point. Of course, if Hurricane Irene hits, the leaks will show me exactly where.

I heard that because it was a shallow quakeand our bldgs are not tall, that most of us will be okay in the long run. We'll see.

[StepTo2]

Strangely, we're hundreds of miles away, and lots of people here felt it. They actually evacuated the big buildings downtown. I work right on the flight line, and thought it was a cargo plane taking off, except... No noise. Trust me, they're LOUD.

Friend E thought his blood sugar took a nosedive. I think that's humorous...

[Hound dog]

The waves of the earthquake travel much better and uninterrupted in the East as opposed to the west, and it also makes for more shaking ect for a smaller earthquake. Less quake= more effect. And no, older buildings in other areas of the country are not built for quakes of any sort. It's just not expected. But I believe now they do it for everywhere.

When I was a kid we had one along the fault (small fault I believe) in central Illinois. It wasn't really a large one in any sense. That it came right after a major explosion in the city.....was weird. But it still shook us up pretty bad and I recall my aunts dishes tumbling out of her cabinets and breaking. Having this happen after that explosion that took out a large chunk of the east side of town and damaged many other hundreds of houses.......really had people jittery. At first they thought it was another explosion. That was when I learned (I was about 9-10 yrs old) that earthquakes can happen east of the Mississippi too.

This one I felt nothing. Animals didn't act odd either, which they usually will when something like this happens.

[DDD]

Sven, your twelve year old neighbors comment put a huge smile on my face this morning. How funny is that? Suz, I can't get over the elevator use. It's understandable since it's based on fear but...wow.

I'm so glad everyone is aok and now am hoping the hurricane manages to avoid all of us too. DDD

[keista]

And no, older buildings in other areas of the country are not built for quakes of any sort. It's just not expected. But I believe now they do it for everywhere.

Yes, as much as possible. Especially with public buildings because that same building 'technology' is effective in many situations including explosions.

[keista]

My friend had this on his FB page:

Paul Tibbert wrote: VA BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!! The USGS has determined that the epicenter of the earthquake was in a cemetery just outside of DC. The cause appears to be all of our founding fathers rolling over in their graves.

[StepTo2]

LOL so did one of mine... And I just reposted it...

[Lothlorien]

Well, we did have some slight damage. The apron outside our garage doors is lifting from inappropiate gutter drainage (we have since fixed the problem). Well, after yesterday, it REALLY lifted. Dh couldn't close the garage door last night. Guess it's time to redo that concrete.

Sven, I wasn't in a high rise and I felt dizzy too. I have a friend who was on the 57th floor in his Manhattan office. He was pretty freaked out.

[Wiped Out]

I just read an interesting article that some people felt it here in Madison (I didn't though). The scientist mentioned in the article could prove they really did which really surprised me. Even one of our judges felt it.