US: 5.8 earthquake hits Virginia

I've been waiting for the New Madrid fault to go. That will be some serious, serious loss of life...you can say goodbye to Memphis, for a start. It last blew in a big way in 1811/12 and it's only because the US was so sparsely populated that it wasn't a huge tragedy.

The earthquake was the scariest moment of my life, handily eclipsing car accidents, plane wobbles, and Baltimore crime.

I have a good friend who lived in California, and she wasn't scared though she admitted that she was just as shaky and freaked out during her first quake.

It's interesting to me that humans can get used to things like earthquakes. "Oh, the ground is shaking, and houses might collapse, it's fine." And of course here we are all, "Oh, hurricane... maybe I should get some snacks?" Not to mention our classic, "Oh, two guys were shot today in broad daylight. Oh well."

And, well, a regional favorite, "Oh, UK's not far - it's just a seven hour flight and you can get tickets as low as $600 sometimes." Insert wall eyed stare here.

I'd like to see LA deal with 15 inches of snow.  When that happens they can get back to me about earthqueakes. 

 

There was an earthquake yesterday in Colorado and then late last night there was a quake in the San Francisco bay area.

I'd like to see LA deal with 15 inches of snow.  When that happens they can get back to me about earthqueakes. 

Who needs 15inches! Give this place 15mm and it'll be mass hysteria! Dogs and cats living together! Besides, it's going to be over 100f today so we've already got our payback for the smug messages. 

I'd like to see LA deal with 15 inches of snow.  When that happens they can get back to me about earthqueakes. 

 

Once I was in the very south of South Carolina when they got a random hard frost.  School openings were delayed and the weather man was showing people how to scrape frost off the windshield of their cars!

I've been waiting for the New Madrid fault to go. That will be some serious, serious loss of life...you can say goodbye to Memphis, for a start. It last blew in a big way in 1811/12 and it's only because the US was so sparsely populated that it wasn't a huge tragedy.

St. Louis too.  It is not as if they don't know, but money and all that. 

Funny incident.

The earthquake was felt in New York City, where my family lives.

My mother is 84 years old. She is homebound and uses a wheelchair.

After the earthquake, my sister was worried about her, thinking she might have got knocked over without being able to get up again,  and possibly injured.

So my sister called my mother, and nobody answered the phone. (My brother lives with my mother, but he was at work.)

So in a panic, my sister rushed over. When she got to my mother's apartment, my mother was fine. She had been  in the loo when my sister called.

So my sister asked my mother why she didn't call back to say she was OK.

My mother said she had been afraid to call my sister.

She felt the floor shaking, saw closet doors opening and closing, saw the window curtains coming down and thought she had developed dementia.

She was afraid if she told my sister my sister would have had her put in a home.

the weather man was showing people how to scrape frost off the windshield of their cars!

This literally made me laugh out loud...too funny. 

Once I was in the very south of South Carolina when they got a random hard frost.  School openings were delayed and the weather man was showing people how to scrape frost off the windshield of their cars!

My parents were from NYC and Chicago and before I got it, my brother took the car to New Hampshire with him to uni - I swear I was the only girl in SF with a window scraper. I even got to use it a couple times a year, when all the other drivers on my block were either just sitting with the engine running or trying to scrape off a patch with a credit card 

NoseOverTail, once I was in South Carolina when they got an inch and a half of snow. The whole place shut down! No one new how to drive in it, there were no plows and no salt trucks. My folks had to call work and explain that they were stuck because the interstate was closed... you can bet that went over well. I think they brought home news papers to prove it.