Illinois Earthquake 5.2 this morning

Ed

Ed

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So we had a little earthquake in Illinois this morning. I live a couple of hundred miles away from the epicenter but felt the bed shaking and heard the windows rattle at 4:37 a.m. My parents and brothers families live maybe 80 miles away or so from the epicenter and most of them slept through it.
 
Ed: Scary - hope nothing was broken around you. I've been through two really strong quakes here in SoCal, both over 6.0 and both within 13 miles of the epicenter. Not fun. DAVE
 
Sorry 'bout that. I'll try not to play the bass sax so loud next time. :emoji_rage:

Seriously though, scary stuff. The last time we had a big one, There was broken pottery, pictures, and such around the house. And the dog was upstairs hiding and shaking!

Merlin, that's a way cool avatar pic. Bass flute?
 
We're fine. I don't think it did much more than rattle our windows. I talked to my dad at lunch time and he said that he felt like he was in a massage chair for about ten seconds! No damage for them either and they're 80 miles from the epicenter. I saw in the newspaper coverage that some people had minor damage to houses near the epicenter but that part of Illinois is not heavily populated. I guess people in Milwaukee and Indy also felt it. St. Louis is pretty close (probably a 100 miles if that). Now dealing with a 6.0 and being as close as Dave doesn't sound like fun.

For what it's worth, it felt like what I always thought an earthquake would feel like.
 
Sylmar, CA, 1971 . . . 6.8 depending on who's scale one uses. Six miles from epicenter

Northridge, CA, 1994 . . . 6.6. or so. 13 miles from epicenter.

As I understand it, those numbers are logarithmic, so a one-tenth increase means a huge increase over the previous number's strength (or whatever - math was NOT my favorite topic). Suffice to say both were very strong and caused a lot of property damage and many deaths.

In the Sylmar quake we lived right below the Van Norman dam and it came close to bursting. Everyone was evacuated. I was an L.A. police sergeant at the time and ended up patrolling my own neighborhood, not knowing where my family was located. I took the opportunity to secure all my horns and guns which were left behind. Our house took a beating but remained standing.

The Northridge quake happened long after I'd retired from police work but I was still working in the San Fernando Valley. That quake destroyed the highways serving my neighborhood, so we had a year of clogged alternate routes in the commute. Our house suffered very little damage. As one friend described it, earthquake damage depends a lot on where the dragon comes up. DAVE
 
We felt it north of Detroit here too

I remember in college - approx 1986 I was meeting with my Italian professor on the 3rd floor of the MLB and then the walls seemed to have started shaking for about 10-15 seconds. There was an earthquake i believe in Ohio that time.
 
The epicenter is not necessarily the spot where things are the worst. In the great New Madrid quake in the early 1800's, most of the problems were encountered at several points further away (in a series of concentric rings).

Southern CA is far more severe when it comes to the actual effects (more severe shocks), but the whole New Madrid fault system (centered on the Mississippi River 100 miles or so south of Saint Louis) has regular jolts. Nothing huge, but a constant progression of little shocks.

There are those who say that the New Madrid fault is "loaded up" and ready to let go with another "big one". When the last "big one" happened, there was little development in the area, but now there is Memphis and Saint Louis, large concentrations of folks in tall buildings. Memphis is way ahead of most areas in securing the place against a large temblor, and as you drive down the highways you can see much of the massive abatement efforts on the overpasses. Sadly, Saint Louis is nowhere near as ready.
 
When I was in High School we did a special project on the New Madrid and possible evacuation scenarios if a large earthquake hit. We basically figured St. Louis was screwed. If the New Madrid had another 7.0 there would be major destruction through a lot of Missouri.
 
This quake really should be a wake up call for those of us who live along or near the fault lines...Jim...Have you got your earthquake supplies? We started putting our together when we first moved back to the left coast 3 years ago, but the process stalled along the way. Time to restart the process....
 
Yes and most my friends say they are coming to my house if the big comes and they survive. I've six months of food that I rotate in the house. I have a generator that runs the house, first aid supplies, my German Sheppard, water tanks, and cash in the safe in low denominations to tide me over. I always feel that if you are prepared, it won't happen. I know, wishful thinking.
 
No earthquake supplies here. There was an earthquake that occurred near Chicago about 20 years ago. It was a 4.5. I'm more worried about a tornado but if you're house is hit you just have to find the safe that blew away :)
 
Dave Dolson said:
Sylmar, CA, 1971 . . . 6.8 depending on who's scale one uses. Six miles from epicenter

Northridge, CA, 1994 . . . 6.6. or so. 13 miles from epicenter.

As I understand it, those numbers are logarithmic, so a one-tenth increase means a huge increase over the previous number's strength (or whatever - math was NOT my favorite topic). Suffice to say both were very strong and caused a lot of property damage and many deaths.

In the Sylmar quake we lived right below the Van Norman dam and it came close to bursting. Everyone was evacuated. I was an L.A. police sergeant at the time and ended up patrolling my own neighborhood, not knowing where my family was located. I took the opportunity to secure all my horns and guns which were left behind. Our house took a beating but remained standing.

The Northridge quake happened long after I'd retired from police work but I was still working in the San Fernando Valley. That quake destroyed the highways serving my neighborhood, so we had a year of clogged alternate routes in the commute. Our house suffered very little damage. As one friend described it, earthquake damage depends a lot on where the dragon comes up. DAVE
Click to expand...

Yes, I remember the Sylmar quake, I was living in south central LA when it hit. For a kid who had just moved to the west coast from Jersey, it was quite the eye opener. My house felt like it was rolling down the street at 50 mph, then it would screech to a panic stop, and start back up the street at 50 mph again. I was in the bed holding on for dear life. It was very scarey.
 
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