Rumblings

I knew that a sizable earthquake hit Colorado this morning, and that it was considered unusual. I never, though, got around to reading about it or finding it on TV or online. In fact, I mostly forgot about it by this afternoon.

So, there I was, plugging away with work at my computer desk. I didn't remember starting it, but at some point early this afternoon I leaned back for a really good stretch. Really, really good. I felt a little shaking, and thought it was just me until realizing that things around me were rattling. I straightened up from my stretch, and the same items continued to rattle. As I didn't hear a helicopter, or the usual home-rattling suspects, I suspected a small earthquake. Remembering that this iPad features a pretty nice earthquake app (QuakeWatch), I ran over to it to see if the app registered anything, or might have info on the Colorado quake.
--  
Magnitude: 5.8
Location: Virginia
Time: Tue, Aug 23, 2011 1:51:04 PM EDT
GMT: Tue, Aug 23, 2011 17:51:04 GMT  
Latitude: 37° 56' 9" N (37.9360°)
Longitude: 77° 55' 58" W (-77.9330°)  
Depth: 3.7 mi  
Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=M%205.8%20-%20Virginia@37.936001,-77.932999&z=6  
More Information (while available): http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/se082311a.php 
 Data provided by US Geological Survey.
--
Brought to you by QuakeWatch, http://itunes.com/apps/QuakeWatch
--

Huh.

When I saw that a 5.8 had hit in Virginia, I figured that we were hit with a separate small one 330 miles to the north. Then I checked the social media sites, and the posts/tweets started flying in. It took a minute for me to realize that I felt the same one that friends to my north and south were feeling. I checked in with my VA-based office and learned that they had been evacuated.

As the dots became more and more connected, I was just glad to learn that frazzled nerves seemed to be the worst of it. I did take another look at the app and saw that a 2.2 had hit less than 80 miles away this morning, but I didn't feel that at all. That struck me as interesting, that one four times farther away was felt, but not one in my own backyard.

Still, all I know is that a mint stretch was shortened because of some damn plate shifting.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Comments

  1. sliced tongueAugust 24, 2011 at 8:17 PM

    Well, East Coast quakes are hip: http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/08/24/lohman.quake.east.coast/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

    ReplyDelete

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