East coast earthquake

[skhill]

The quake apparently cracked some plaster in a city building in far eastern KY-- that's a long way for a quake to cause any damage at all! I'm just glad that it sounds like there were no deaths or serious injuries, and the nuclear power plant is OK.

Hang on for Irene! What an strange week for the mid-Atlantic states....

[pll]

Thanks nybiker. That is helpful. Here is what FEMA has to say (very similar):

http://www.fema.gov/hazard/earthquake/eq_during.shtm

The recommendation about bundling in your bed is just so bad! From experience, the biggest dangers/nuisances after an earthquake in your home are glass electric fixtures falling, and doors getting out of kilter. So, if I'm in bed, I will get up, put shoes on and open the front door of my apartment. Door areas (and elevator areas) are reinforced, so it is a safe spot to wait out the end of the shaking.

Outside, debris from buildings (windows breaking, stucco work...) and power cables are most dangerous.

[Trek420]

Door areas (and elevator areas) are reinforced, so it is a safe spot to wait out the end of the shaking.

Outside, debris from buildings (windows breaking, stucco work...) and power cables are most dangerous.

Correct, load baring walls may be your best option. If you're inside get under a desk etc, duck, cover, hold on (the desk etc might move). If there's nothing like that nearby head for a load baring wall like elevator areas, near stairwell, bathrooms tend to be reinforced. Disabled people who might not be able to get under a desk should head there too. Move away from the windows.

Once the shaking stops (the earth, not you) if you're in an office the tendency is for everyone to skeedadle out. Don't use the elevators, take your normal evacuation route but wait ....

Depending on the quake the evacuation route might be blocked debris in stairway etc. So pick a person or persons to check the route first, say a manager you don't like much They go down and see if it's safe. You don't want the entire building leaving only to find on the bottom the route is blocked.

Sometimes you may be safer in the building than out.

Once outside stay away from the building, glass etc may still be falling.

[PamNY]

Elevator areas -- does that mean standing next to the elevator would be safer in an earthquake?

My building is an old (built in 1910) office building that was converted to residential -- so I assume the original walls would be stronger than the walls that were added?

From what I've read, I'd guess the stairwell without windows and right next to the elevator would be safest -- does that sound reasonable?

[pll]

Elevator areas -- does that mean standing next to the elevator would be safer in an earthquake?

My building is an old (built in 1910) office building that was converted to residential -- so I assume the original walls would be stronger than the walls that were added?

From what I've read, I'd guess the stairwell without windows and right next to the elevator would be safest -- does that sound reasonable?

The area of the elevator shaft is reinforced -- safe to stand next to it as the doors are not open. The problem with stairwells is that they are dangerous if people are running down. When I lived in Mexico City, we huddled next to the elevator during an earthquake (8th floor of a building). In Lima, we'd open the doors to the patio/garden and stand in the patio until we could no longer hear what we call 'the rumor' (which I think simply the wave coming and going .... in Lima, you will hear the rumor before you feel the shaking; the one time I felt an earthquake in Evanston, I woke up to that distinctive sound). It's interesting how earthquakes feel different depending on where you are. In Mexico City, I recall the shaking was side to side, while in Lima is more up and down.

[ny biker]

One of my co-workers was standing near the elevators, in the center of the building, and he said he hardly felt anything. My desk is in the corner out near the windows, and I felt lots of shaking. Another co-worker was walking down the street a couple of blocks away. She felt almost nothing -- she thought maybe she had stumbled on something, then wondered why there appeared to be fire drills in so many of the buildings she was walking past.

Afterwards I wondered if the stairwells would be among the more stable places in the building.

When I got home, if I hadn't known there had been an earthquake I would not have thought anything had happened. Only a few small things fell off of the shelves/cabinets that they were on. Most important, my bike was fine.

[divingbiker]

I was never so happy to be a bike commuter as I was yesterday. Traffic was horrible, since everyone was let go at the same time, but I just pedaled along and got home in the usual time, only 2 hours early!

[PamNY]

The area of the elevator shaft is reinforced -- safe to stand next to it as the doors are not open. The problem with stairwells is that they are dangerous if people are running down. When I lived in Mexico City, we huddled next to the elevator during an earthquake (8th floor of a building). In Lima, we'd open the doors to the patio/garden and stand in the patio until we could no longer hear what we call 'the rumor' (which I think simply the wave coming and going .... in Lima, you will hear the rumor before you feel the shaking; the one time I felt an earthquake in Evanston, I woke up to that distinctive sound). It's interesting how earthquakes feel different depending on where you are. In Mexico City, I recall the shaking was side to side, while in Lima is more up and down.

Thanks for the tips. If there's another one I am heading for the elevator. Good point about the stairs -- but it would be less crowded in a residential building if people rushed down. Plus we all know each other and most went through 9/11 and the blackout together, so we are somewhat disaster-prepared.

I finally saw something in the newspaper about the fact that standing under buildings during an earthquake is a bad idea.

All of this has inspired me to figure out exactly what I would do if a hurricane hits here. With no car, evacuation is an adventure.

[ny biker]

All of this has inspired me to figure out exactly what I would do if a hurricane hits here. With no car, evacuation is an adventure.

Perhaps a Dr Zhivago-like ride on NJ Transit?

I would argue that evacuation is an adventure *with* a car. You'd go faster on a bike -- yesterday's p.m. commute in the DC area proved that. The problem is that eventually you'd get tired. And your ability to carry stuff is limited.

[PamNY]

I smiled reading about the DC commute yesterday. I'm sure the cyclists smiled, too.

I have a large, older dog to tote along when evacuating. I have a Radio Flyer wagon which would handily get him to Brooklyn -- if the bridge is open.

When we evacuated after 9/11, I scavenged a grocery cart for the dog (also an older bulldog who is no longer with us). It was missing two front wheels, so we strapped a donated furniture dolly on and it worked just fine.

The Fulton Fish Market was still operational at that time, so I found lots of materials at hand to make the cart comfy for him.

We later returned the dolly to the restaurant that donated it, along with a little plaque explaining how it was used. They still have it on the wall.

[ny biker]

I don't think I'd want to go to Brooklyn for a hurricane.

[GLC1968]

I heard on NPR this morning that the reason the earthquake was felt so far and wide out there is because the bedrock under the east coast is basically just one huge mass. Vibrations will travel the entire length of it because it's old and solid. This is in contrast to the west coast which is much newer (geologically speaking) and full of splits and fissures. Vibrations only travel to the end of the bedrock and then they dissipate, so west coast earthquakes tend to be more localized.

I thought that was interesting.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

[Kubla]

I work on the water in Quincy, near Boston MA. I thought I felt something odd while sitting at my desk, but it was even more apparent when I stood up and realized the building was not trembling or rumbling but swaying back and forth.

The PA system came on just as we started exchanging worried comments-and we were ordered to evacuate the building immediately. I never saw my co-workers take a 'fire drill' so seriously.

We really didn't know what was going on until we got outside and someone with a Smart Phone let us know there had been an earthquake in Virginia. We were able to return to work within a half hour after the Fire Department gave us the ok, but it was certainly the topic of conversation the rest of the afternoon.

[PamNY]

I don't think I'd want to go to Brooklyn for a hurricane.

Why not? Where I would go isn't in an evacuation zone and the food is great