OT -- attn SF Bay Area members

[BikeMomma]

This website page may be interesting to you. http://quake.usgs.gov/research/3Dgeologic/

I'm an earthquake geek. Any stories to tell about the Loma Prieta quake? I'm interested to hear them, your personal experiences, etc. Northridge quake stories welcome, as well, for those of you SoCal members.

The world geological events since the Indonesia quake last December have been intriguing me constantly. Awesome stuff.

-BikeMomma

[aka_kim]

BM (oops! I mean BikeMomma!) - thanks for the link, it is interesting stuff. I think I'll use the shaking hazards/intensity info to try to convince my manager why it's just too dangerous to go visit clients in SF! (I'm only half joking - the thought of being on BART or in the city, lugging around 20 pounds of laptop and assorted cr*p, when the Big One hits... shudder.)

I'm a lifelong CA resident, but I've only experienced one of the bigger quakes (Sylmar in '71). The scariest for me was Sierra Madre in '91, which was only 5 point something but the epicenter was only a few miles from where I lived. I was in the shower, without my contacts in, getting thrown against the sides of the stall. Being naked and blind in an emergency isn't fun.

[SadieKate]

Kim, where were you in Sylmar '71? I was in Oxnard getting thrown off the top bunk bed to provide a safe landing pad for the books flying off the bookshelves. Discovered that there is a downside to being a reader.

[Trek420]

can we merge this map with the one of TE members?

Trek-livin'-on-the-faultline-420

[bikerz]

I'm trying not to let this stuff freak me out too much! The last two teeny weeny quakes on the Hayward fault (3.something and 4.something) were within 2 miles of my house...

For the earthquake geeks out there: My office-mates are part of a team working on a GIS-based earthquake modeling application (in beta now with CalTrans) for the Fed Hwy Admin that analyzes and maps effects of highway and bridge collapses in the Bay Area based on statistical earthquake simulations. So there is just a little too much talk about earthquakes here in our downtown SF office! The application is called Redars - some more info here for the true geeks!

[aka_kim]

I was asleep in my bed in Glendale when the Sylmar quake hit (I was just a wee, wee thing, you know ). I learned from this quake never to put shelving directly above my bed -- in this case it wasn't books falling on my head, just the knickknacks you collect as a kid.

Redars looks interesting, but collapsing bridges (and tunnels) is another thing I'd like to remain in blissful ignorance about. More reasons to hole up at home and never come out.

[SadieKate]

That's right, you were still in a crib.

[bikerz]

Redars looks interesting, but collapsing bridges (and tunnels) is another thing I'd like to remain in blissful ignorance about. More reasons to hole up at home and never come out.

Apparently, according to some of the seismic experts loafing around our office these days, the Caldecott Tunnel is not a bad place to be in case of earthquake (I've been offered a chance for a guided tour from an old-timer who knows the ins and outs of the tunnel ventillation and so on - just not sure I want that much info!) However, stuck on a BART train under the Bay - no way!!!

After the Katrina fiasco, I've upgraded my planned earthquake kit to "suffcient to live on the front patio for a month"! Now I just have to buy all that stuff... Every weekend I say "Another weekend without getting the earthquake kit put together", to which my SO says "Another weekend without an earthquake!"

[Irulan]

Loma Prieta - we were living in Concord at the time, hubby was working in Emeryville. Being a consulting geologist, they all thought the shaking was pretty cool. BART was down, and he got a ride home in some day laborer's pickup that had a full load from the station- power broker and grunt alike.

My good friend stayed late at her office; she would have normally been on that stretch of Nimitx that collapsed. Her hubby was on the Bay bridge, just a few hundreds yards ahead of the section that blew out...he said it sounded like gunfire.

Now, all I have to do is worry about volcanic ash.

~Irulan

[BikeMomma]

I'm trying not to let this stuff freak me out too much! The last two teeny weeny quakes on the Hayward fault (3.something and 4.something) were within 2 miles of my house...

For the earthquake geeks out there: My office-mates are part of a team working on a GIS-based earthquake modeling application (in beta now with CalTrans) for the Fed Hwy Admin that analyzes and maps effects of highway and bridge collapses in the Bay Area based on statistical earthquake simulations. So there is just a little too much talk about earthquakes here in our downtown SF office! The application is called Redars - some more info here for the true geeks!

Very cool link, Z....We use Arcview at the City for most of our mapping and parcel data, and use it ALOT for sending out public hearing notices to property owners. We have older versions of ArcExplorer on our desktops, but due to licensing restrictions, Arcview is on only two computers in the department. So, I end up using ArcExplorer in most of my day-to-day stuff. Handy for answering citizen inquiries, since we have the aerial photos on there, too, and for projects, finding utility easements, hydrants, etc.

I found another link you won't like.... http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/research/seismology/wg02/ Don't freak out....maybe it won't come until 2033.....