Southern CA residents, are you freaking out now?

[braga123]

Am I the only one who is freaking out over these earthquakes? It seems everyone I know takes them for granted! I have lived in So Cal for 28 years, but I still can't help but think, what if this is the BIG ONE?

 

[kenny]

Yea it sucks.
I just hope I'm killed instantly.

Last night's was a big one.
Our doggies were scared.

 

[madelise]

A bit, yes. There's been soo many in the last few weeks. My paranoia thinks it's a hint at The Big One coming shortly. I haven't fulfilled my life yet. I'm scared to die or get seriously hurt. I'm scared to have my friends and/or family get seriously hurt. I'm scared of the cellphone towers getting bombarded so that I can't even reach anyone.

 

[AGBF]

Last night's was a big one.
Our doggies were scared.

How big was it and how did it compare to others? My niece, originally from Connecticut, is now living in the Los Angeles area as she recently became a film editor and I have not even been following the earthquakes. My longtime California friends just take them in stride, so I didn't know there was anything new about recent ones.

AGBF

 

[kenny]

Last night's was a big one.
Our doggies were scared.

How big was it and how did it compare to others? My niece, originally from Connecticut, is now living in the Los Angeles area as she recently became a film editor and I have not even been following the earthquakes. My longtime California friends just take them in stride, so I didn't know there was anything new about recent ones.

AGBF

I think it was a 5.1 but we were miles away from the epicenter.
I've been through much worse quakes and the Richter scale number or even how far you are from the epicenter does not nail down the experience.
Also it depends on the nature of the soil you are on and how deep it was and the nature of the ground between you and the epicenter.
A small one right under you can feel more dramatic than a large one that was centered far away.
Generally, the longer it lasts the further away it is.

Oddly, our dogs feel it a couple seconds before we do.

 

[Kaleigh]

Hoping all of you are safe!! And really hoping another one doesn't jar you in the weeks to come. We had one in PA a while ago.It was a terrible feeling. Not like shaking jolting. But some weird rolling feeling, that meade me sick to the stomach.. BIG hugs to you all in CA Praying this was just a second jolt and not something forethcomong. Praying for you all. It must be horrible to live through..

 

[kenny]

WHOA!

Just felt another strong one.

ETA:
Preliminary estimate: It was a 4.4.

That diagonal red line is the San Andreas Fault, which has killed many Californians and will kill many more.

 

[Kaleigh]

Oh crap. Stay safe all....

 

[AprilBaby]

I would say come to Illinois but we have a fault that's as bad as yours!

 

[KaeKae]

We didn't feel the quake last night, nor any of the aftershocks. Still scarey, though.

 

[luv2sparkle]

We felt it very strongly and we live a bit away from LaHabra. My DH is stationed in LaHabra but was at another station last night. I am sure he will have a lot to say when he calls tonight! It is almost funny anymore because he is never home for any emergency. I wasn't particularly afraid but we did all sleep with shoes and a jacket close by just in case of a larger one. My friends who live in LaHabra/Brea had a lot of broken items and one had a badly damaged chimney. We lived in Whittier for the La Prieta earthquake. The earthquake last night was on the LaPuente fault not the San Andreas that everyone fears so much. There are so many fault lines that run through CA that anywhere you live you will be on top or very near one. Any of them could be deadly depending on a variety of factors.

They are a little rattling at the time but I am not afraid of them generally. By that I mean, I don't worry about 'the big one'. It would be nice for my hubby to actually be home if it happens though!

 

[VRBeauty]

There's a whole lotta shaking going on down there!

http://www.data.scec.org/recenteqs/Maps/118-34.html

Although the richter scale numbers are relatively low I know there is some serious damage being done... a friend of mine called his brother in Orange County after the 5.1 trembler to see how he fared, and was told that "the chimney is now in the swimming pool" Still, these are relatively small quakes. Let's hope they're not precursors, but that they're relieving pressure and preventing "the big one."

 

[missy]

I'm thinking of everyone in the affected area and sending good thoughts and dust for everyone remaining safe. And for the tremors/quakes to stop. (((Hugs))) to all.

 

[craighnt]

My nerves were a little rattled, Im in a tall building so there is nothing I can really do. I know its on rollers but even then they are only designed to withstand a certain magnitude. Our building was inspected about 10 years ago and it was downgraded from an 8 to 7 without major damage. So its in the realm of possibility that if the big one were to hit near by, my diamond would return to earth.

Seriously, though, taking it in stride is the best thing to do. Its part of life it you want to live here just like tornado in the Midwest, hurricanes in Florida or dust storms in Arizona.

The good news is, they have been working on an early warning system that will give you a few seconds to duck and cover. It's in the testing phase and it worked this time giving them an alarm 4 seconds in advance. I know that dose not sound like much but they think they cant get it up to 30 seconds in the future. Once its ready to roll out, you can probably sign up and get instant text or internet warning before everything goes down.

Here is thier beta test version, it will look something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpfom4x0IWo