My first earthquake. - Page 2

**WVvan** · 08-25-2011, 04:32 PM

I started this thread about earthquakes but let's move on to hurricanes. I rented a condo for the week starting this Saturday at Dewey Beach in Delaware. That condo is now directly in the projected path of Irene. The Governor of Delaware has just issued an evacuation order for Sussex County (Dewey Beach). Press Release.

I've never been chased away by a hurricane before. I wonder if I get my rental fee back? I'll have to call the realtor tomorrow and find out. If they are still there that is.

If the rain stays east of us I guess I'll go camping instead.

**macmcintire** · 08-25-2011, 06:18 PM

Your luck sounds like mine. I was evacuated from my hotel during the Northridge earthquake. I was evacuated from my hotel in Laguna Beach because of the horrible fire that destroyed hundreds of homes. I was evacuated from my hotel in Malibu because of a mud slide. I was evacuated from another hotel in Laguna Beach because of a flood. And I was evacuated from my hotel in LA because of the Rodney King riots. All of these evacuations occurred in California. The moral of the story is: 1) don't travel to California, or 2) don't travel with me.

**WVvan** · 08-25-2011, 06:34 PM

Cripes Macmcintire,
I've afraid to think of what would be next. Plague of frogs?

cygvan · 08-25-2011, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yvrr

A 5.9 quake is always interesting even here in the SF Bay area. Typically, a 5.9 quake won't cause any damage. There are two factors...the strength and how long it goes on. The news said that your quake lasted 30 seconds. If true, that is a LONG quake! The national news also mentioned that quakes along the Pacific Rim are caused by a plate diving under another one and hence, the energy is absorbed more easily and they aren't felt as far from the epicenter. But on the east coast, it is one large plate and it is felt over a very large area. (I don't think many of us would even notice a 5.9 quake which was centered 200 miles away.)

We have been building and retrofitting structures for quakes since the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. We aren't as far along as Japan but I tend to not worry about quakes. But hurricanes and tornadoes are another matter...you guys even have a season for them! No way!

i think, also, the age of the geography here plays a roll in the duration and how it feels. i think i am recalling that correctly from a college class back when. the plates out here are older and more stable and are not subduction (?) so when they collide or slide and give way and quiver it doesnt have many ways to relieve pressure so it keeps going. 30 seconds sounds about right as i felt it in like two wave for about 10 seconds each....i suppose its a good thing that the activity out here is less violent. something about a pressure cooker comes to mind and thats scary.

up here in north jersey we have had some hurricanes yeah but usually they have petered out before they get here. definitely some exception like floyd in the 90's and others.....this one on the way is an exception id say....(irene) is being described as really bad. one radio guy said that if youve lived in new jersey for 50 years youve not seen one like this.... nor'easters can be a bitch in the winter too...id say those are my least favorite weather event out here.....

ive sailed to bermuda and skirted a hurricane a few years ago. big ship so no worries but nothing will remind you of mother nature more than open ocean in a storm...it was truly breathtaking.

Nomadcat · 08-25-2011, 11:34 PM

I'm in the second zone, here in lower Manhattan. My building is about where the Hudson River shore was 200 years ago, but the river is two or three blocks away now - that is where zone A is.

The van is parked on a pier over the river, but it's at the top level, exposed, so it's only in trouble if the pier goes down, and I don't think that'll happen. I was parked way out at the end of it, a third of the way into the river, but moved it as close to the land side as possible this morning.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, so I'm going to try a bike ride. As always, I have food, water and dog food and am ready to hunker down with my radio, land line, etc.

Usually, they just rant and blare on about these events, but this one seems like it's going to hit us here in NYC. Not much to do but wait it out. I briefly though about driving to Buffalo or someplace inland, but I"m just going to hang.

**macmcintire** · 08-26-2011, 06:42 AM

Nomadcat:

You can't let anything happen to your van. You need it for your big trip coming up. My prayers are with everyone in the hurricane path. I wish you the best!

See you in October!

Mac

Nomadcat · 08-26-2011, 12:20 PM

It's funny, but such has been the media hype that half the people I know are now saying it's a load of BS, etc. I'm taking it a bit more seriously.

At Pier 40, they are letting people park in the lower level, which is indoors, for the weekend, so I feel a lot better about that. I used to park the Mighty Wagoneer down there, but only because it had a leaky sunroof. And, as it turns out, Pier 40 is so old that there were calcite leaks from the ceiling that etched the glass and ruined the paint on the mighty wagoneer. That, and saving money, is what finally got me to park on the roof.

Anyway, I'm lower, but still a good 20 feet above the Hudson. Now, Pier 40 is getting creaky, mind you. While the rest of the area has gotten rebuilt and totally gentrified, Pier 40 sits on very old pilings. It was the last working pier built, back when New York was still a busy maritime city and some people still called the Hudson the North River. I'm thinking it'll be fine, but we shall see. I parked away from any windows and covered the van with a big tarp. At this point, there's not much else to do except hang out.

I'll post a report if anything looks interesting outside starting tomorrow night.

Can't wait to hit the road. A little over 3 weeks. I'm sort of committed, as somebody is staying at my place starting then.

Paul

MikewTV · 08-26-2011, 06:07 PM

Well, I am up in the lower Hudson Valley (60 miles up the Hudson from Manhattan.) I have taken in anything that can go airborn and cleaned out my gutters. The upside here in the Hudson Highlands is it is hilly enough I do not have to worry about flooding. But, I am in a real jungle of old tall trees this time of year. It is not if we will lose power but when and for how long. And, my biggest concern? My 24 foot long, 12 foot tall portable garage from Shelter Logic. We had storm about a year ago with 40mph gusts and it ripped a few of the anchors out of the asphalt. I do not kid myself to think the remaining ones can survive sustained 40 and50mph winds and 75mpg gusts. But, I am not sure if I take the off all the canvas (a pretty major job actually) or just open both ends, accept that it will likely be damaged but - hopefully - wont travel far since it is between 3 towering norwegian spruces on one side, 2 very large hardwoods on the other and has an old stone wall behind one end. If it can figure out how to move forward lengthwise for 60 feet...well then it might run in to my house.

As for the SMB, I have considered parking it at a municipal lot many miles from here with no trees but....I want it nearby. Might be my escape pod. SO, I will back it up against my house as close as I can so it is protected on the back side and hope for the best. That is the only part of my long driveway that is not in a tunnel of trees.

It is pretty today....I wonder how pretty it is going to be when the sunny days come back on Monday and Irene has done her dirty work.

cygvan · 08-26-2011, 06:34 PM

nomadcat, you boondocking currently?

some view you have im guessing

Nomadcat · 08-26-2011, 10:23 PM

Not boondocking. I'm home. I thought I should just get in the van and head to Harrisburg, PA or west of there, or Buffalo, NY, but some friends convinced me not to and I listened to them, for some stupid reason. I guess the main one is that I don't want to have a hard time getting back INTO Manhattan if I leave it.

I DID move the van, though, from Pier 40 to higher ground, partly because I didn't' want to see footage of it floating down the Hudson - although it would probably sink really fast, given the GRVW - but also because they are closing that lot at 4pm tomorrow and would not tell me when they are re-opening it. THAT is unacceptable. I, too, think of it as my escape pod, so it's now much closer to me.

Today was a sunny, muggy summer day. The stuff is supposed to hit the fan tomorrow evening. They did a forced evacuation of the lower parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens today for the first time in history. Kind of a strange feeling. I'm hoping this loses some steam by tomorrow.

Paul