[flatcatch]

Bay Area roller... first post!! And first I've felt in 3 years .

Since I moved down here from Seattle I haven't felt anything at all until tonight - makes me wonder if some serious pressure is brewin' down there.

[ 05-14-2002: Message edited by: flatcatch ]

[theUpsetter]

Originally posted by flatcatch:
<STRONG>Bay Area roller... first post!! And first I've felt in 3 years.</STRONG>

I felt it here in san francisco

[G4ME]

what size was it?

I was about to kick some ass if it was that kmart site where the page jumps around, oh well

[flatcatch]

Pretty mellow... 5.2. A nice warning to finally earthquake proof the apartment bookshelves, etc.

http://quake.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Quakes/nc40133364.html




[ 05-14-2002: Message edited by: flatcatch ]

[cheerios]

y'all know where and how big? Didn't feel a thing out here in the valley.

[olePigeon]

I'm in Livermore right now, I fealt it. Only 2.5 or 3 pointer over here. Been here since 79 and I remember the 89 earthquake pretty well. There's been a couple more pretty big ones since, but this is the biggest I've fealt in a while.

Nice to know California still has some kick in it.

[CaseCom]

Earthquake Rocks San Francisco Area

By MATTHEW FORDAHL
Associated Press Writer

GILROY, Calif. (AP) � A substantial earthquake shook the San Francisco Bay area on Monday, rattling the stands at hockey and baseball games, sending frightened customers running from area businesses and knocking out phone service in parts of San Jose.

No injuries or significant damage were initially reported from the quake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 5.2. But it caused a low rumbling in San Francisco, where it seemed to last for several seconds and get stronger as it went along, and buildings could be heard rumbling in Watsonville, about 100 miles to the south.

The U.S. Geological Service reported that the quake struck at 10 p.m. and was centered 3 miles southwest of Gilroy, outside San Jose.

Danny Sharma, a manager at Rodeway Inn in Gilroy, said the motel shook violently. Coffee pots and glasses were knocked from counters.

"It was the worst one I've ever felt,'' Sharma said. "The whole building was shaking and there was just this rumbling sound. It was a bad quake.''

The USGS said weak to light trembling was felt for almost 200 miles north to south, from Carmel on the Pacific Coast up to Guerneville, a small town along the Russian River 148 miles north of the quake's epicenter. The quake also was felt to the east, with weak shaking felt in Modesto and Turlock, and a slightly stronger shock felt about 80 miles east in Merced.

People reported a rolling sensation in the Santa Cruz area, where police had calls about wires down. The quake shattered a window in Watsonville, setting off an alarm.

The quake was immediately followed by four earthquakes centered in the same area with magnitudes ranging from 1.4 to 2.5.

Gilroy seemed mostly undisturbed a few minutes after the quake. At a Lenox china outlet store, several broken plates littered the floor, and a few porcelain figurines in a window display had fallen. Most of the china was still intact.

Police in Gilroy said the quake didn't appear to cause any fires and they had no preliminary word of damage.

Customers in nearby businesses ran outside for protection, but no one appeared to be injured, Sharma said. Brent Seidel, a firefighter and paramedic with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said fire engines at the Santa Clara Fire District station in Gilroy rocked back and forth and a firefighter's car alarm sounded, but there was no damage.

As a precaution, the Bay Area Rapid Transit system was slowing trains and checking the tracks for damage.

"It was a pretty good swing,'' said a phone operator at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco who was flooded with calls from guests worried about the shaking. "One guy on the 15th floor said his room just started swaying.''

The quake jolted the Compaq Center in San Jose, where thousands were watching the San Jose Sharks play the Colorado Avalanche in a National Hockey League playoff game.

The arena's upper stands shook strongly for about 10 seconds, and light fixtures continued to sway for several seconds afterward. The game continued uninterrupted, however.

"Everything was shaking,'' said Michel Goulet, vice president of player personnel for the Avalanche, who was sitting in the stadium's upper level. "You start thinking, 'Should I run or what?' I wasn't sure what to do.''

Though photographers at ice level felt the quake, players on both teams said they didn't even realize there had been a quake until they came off the ice at the end of the third period.

"I didn't feel anything. This building is pretty loud, so it's shaking anyway,'' said Colorado's Milan Hejduk.

The quake also jolted Pacific Bell Park during a game between the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants.

Glass panes in the front of the press box rattled in the ninth inning, but there was no noticeable reaction from the players or the crowd of 36,331 and play was not interrupted. After the bottom of the ninth ended with the score tied, the stadium sound system played Jerry Lee Lewis' song "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On.''

"I was sitting upstairs and it was a good jolt,'' fan Jenny Hsin said. "At first I thought it was the guy behind me kicking my chair, then I looked and saw the whole row shaking with me. At one point I was going to turn around and tell him to stop. That's when I saw the whole row.''

Pacific Bell Park's predecessor, Candlestick Park, was rocked by an earthquake on Oct. 17, 1989, about a half-hour before the scheduled start of the Game 3 of the World Series between the Giants and Oakland Athletics. The quake left cracks in the concrete. The stadium was evacuated and the World Series did not resume until Oct. 27.

The 1989 earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0, killed 63 people and caused an estimated $6 billion in damage.

[ 05-14-2002: Message edited by: CaseCom ]

[maxelson]

And there it is, folks, reason number 837- why I love living in New England. We got no earthquakes (save the VERY occasional piddly tremor).
Sandwiched right there between # 836: I can go camping and not worry about a scorpion in my sleeping bag
and 838: When sh*tting in the woods, I have no fear of a rattler kissing me bum.

I'll take six perfect storms, a blizzard of '78, Hurricane of '38 and a Worcester, MA twister of '53 rather than endure one friggin' MINUTE of Earthquake. I KNOW my limitations. Jello earth under my feet is one of my limitations.

[valeriam01]

Originally posted by maxelson:
<STRONG>
I'll take six perfect storms, a blizzard of '78, Hurricane of '38 and a Worcester, MA twister of '53 rather than endure one friggin' MINUTE of Earthquake. I KNOW my limitations. Jello earth under my feet is one of my limitations.</STRONG>

or you could be me...with those being part of the top ten reasons i am FLEEING this godforsaken coast after college!!!

[maxelson]

One of those things about California I simply cannot abide: Did you know that if you face north in San Diego, the ocean is, like, on the LEFT out there? I mean, what the hell is up with that? The sun actually SETS over the water?!?! Hey, a snow storm is a snow storm, but a screwed up internal compass can land you in MEXICO, for crying out pete's sake!

[CaseCom]

Originally posted by maxelson:
<STRONG>838: When sh*tting in the woods, I have no fear of a rattler kissing me bum.</STRONG>

Don't be so sure ...

Crotalus horridus

[maxelson]

Originally posted by CaseCom:
<STRONG>

Don't be so sure ...

Crotalus horridus

</STRONG>

DAMMIT!

[ort888]

Yeah, I was watching the San Jose/Colorado game last night and they commented on it. I don't think anybody noticed it too much though, because the arena was so loud and lively.

[Demonhood]

Originally posted by maxelson:
One of those things about California I simply cannot abide: Did you know that if you face north in San Diego, the ocean is, like, on the LEFT out there? I mean, what the hell is up with that? The sun actually SETS over the water?!?! Hey, a snow storm is a snow storm, but a screwed up internal compass can land you in MEXICO, for crying out pete's sake!

hey, i got the ocean on the west, south and east. how do you think i feel!

oh wait, it's actually pretty cool.

[maxelson]

Originally posted by Demonhood:
<STRONG>

hey, i got the ocean on the west, south and east. how do you think i feel!

oh wait, it's actually pretty cool.
</STRONG>

When I lived in RI, I, too had three sides to water. LOVED it. Hated what it did to various parts of the car, though.
Now I got lakes, no ocean. Sigh. Still, I can always just head off for the Cape- just a land hook- water to the north, west, east- no more than a mile in any of those directions! Again, hell on the car.

[osxii]

Whoops... sorry. The guy at the store warned me to turn down my new subwoofers before I started up Quake. I won't be forgetting to do that again, anytime soon