So as some of you have heard, little ole FF had its taste of the Bay Area's infamous earth moving. Yes, we had a 3.9 earthquake last night at 7:30 and the epicenter was in Green Valley (a west end of FF for those of you that don't know). I was at YW and it definitely felt like a Mack truck had hit the Stake Center. Just one large jolt and then it was over. No big deal.
As a kid growing up here, I was always mad when I would come home from school to find out there was an earthquake and I didn't feel it. What a let down! So when I feel an earthquake, I am sort of in awe - grateful to be safe but also reminded that I am not necessarily in control of everything around me.
I remember the 1989 quake. Very scary because I had never felt an earthquake so strong and for so long before (and still haven't). I remember watching at soccer game at FF High (FF vs. Armijo). A mom was yelling at her kid to stop shaking her seat. And then we all realized what was happening. I remember that you could visibly see the earth rolling. It felt like it was never going to stop. I am sure that it didn't last too long but at the time, it felt like an eternity. I remember watching all the destruction on TV, all the commuters trapped on the Nimitz Freeway. I remember watching the old Embarcadero slowly get torn down (it used to be a raised freeway, not on the water like it is today). I especially remember a month later when the Bay Bridge reopened (a portion of the upper level westbound lanes had fallen on the lower eastbound part). A group of friends and I skipped school to go to the reopening. We walked the bridge to the fallen portion and then turned back. The cool thing was that we each got to sign a Botts Dot (the white plastic dots in between the lanes). At the time, a very cool experience.
Even after the quake, I still yearned to live and/or work in SF. I love the City and so after college, started my job in the City. I never worried (I wondered but never worried) about earthquakes for the 9 years I worked there. Even riding BART, I never worried about what would happen if a major earthquake hit. Why, I am not quite sure. I look back now and think what would I have done. I mean BART is safe in the Transbay Tube (it's in the bedrock of the ocean) but what about all the elevated portions of BART from SF to Walnut Creek. When I started working, I worked on the 36th floor at One Market and not once did I wonder what would happen. Most of the buildings are on rollers so they move with the earth but in '89, parts of SF were destroyed because a lot of SF is built on sand, not so good when the earth moves.
One thing I am not so sure of anymore, is what you are suppose to do in an earthquake. I was always taught to get in a solid doorway or under furniture ("duck and cover"). But I got an email last week, saying that was not true anymore. That you should get in the fetal position and get next to to a large bulky object (like a sofa or desk). I guess that it will compress slightly but leave a void next to it. The guy called it the "triangle of life". What have you all heard? Did the rules change? Both make sense but not sure which is right.
BTW, don't anyone have a heart attack seeing that I have posted twice in less than a week. I am really trying hard.
6 comments:
I am laughing so hard at your last sentence.
I was just thinking the same thing Wow she posted twice in a week.
Holly cow even better twice in one month.
So glad all is well in FF. I only felt the earth quake once the whole time we lived there.
Here in Alaska we have small quakes all the time 4or 5 times amonth some times more.
WOW!!! I'm more shocked that you posted twice in a row than you had an earthquake! LOL! I actually miss quakes...weird, I know, but I have the same feelings about them that you do. I was sitting in my parents recliner watching the world series when the 89 quake hit... it was the weirdest thing... I remember the rolling sensation too. I've never felt a quake like that one since. I'm sure you didn't worry about the possibility of a quake back in the working days because you weren't a mom yet. Being a mom changes the things that you worry about... I didn't used to hate flying, but now I do... I attribute that to "motherhood".
Wow!!! Good job Elise, keep it up! I never felt an earthquake in fairfield the whole 4 1/2 years that we were there. I did however feel an earthquake here in Utah a few months ago. I wasn't exactly sure that it was an earthquake until I heard it on the news. It was a weird experience. Glad things are well in fairfield! I love San Francisco, but man I always think about earthquakes when I was there. I guess I'm just a wuss!
I HATE earthquakes, even after growing up here and experiencing lots of them, including the one in 89. As to the two theories on what to do during an earthquake, I believe the better response is to duck and cover. I also got the email about the triangle of life theory. But a good friend of mine (someone I actually know) looked into this and the triangle theory is really only for a building that is at risk of collapsing on itself (pancaking), which is not likely to happen in the Bay Area because of all the building codes here.
Ooo, I was just recently remembering that earthquake we had not too far from Fairfield, several years ago when we lived there. Earthquakes keep things exciting, don't they?
Show us some pictures!
I don't know if you remember me from xanga (scrapbookqueen79) but I am so glad I found your blog! I loved reading your posts. I have a blog too, but I'm not so great about updating it. (sort of like my xanga) I'm so glad you guys are doing well. I look forward to reading more in the future.
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