Wednesday, July 29, 2015

"I feel the earth move under my feet." Yesterday's earthquake in Alaska was a doozy.

Good Friday earthquake of 1964.
Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch News:

 A 6.3-magnitude earthquake that hit south of Mount Iliamna around 6:35 p.m. Tuesday rattled Alaska from Kodiak to Fairbanks, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center. 

The quake struck roughly 70 miles below the Earth’s surface across Cook Inlet from Homer, said Michael West, a seismologist at the Alaska Earthquake Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The epicenter was about 144 miles southwest of Anchorage. 

“It’s deep -- that’s important,” he said. “That means the shaking was not as strong, but spread widely.” 

Linda Hull of Clam Gulch, about 65 miles away from the earthquake’s epicenter, said she heard a very low rumble before a slow rolling motion started. That lasted for several seconds before she felt a jolt. 

“Pictures didn’t fall off the walls, but they are all crooked,” she said after the quake. Glass figurines fell off her shelves, but didn’t break. “Light fixtures were still swaying for about three minutes after the shock hit,” she said.

So let me first say that I am certainly not a neophyte when it comes to earthquakes. Having lived in Alaska my entire life I have felt more than my fair share.

However this one yesterday was really something else.

My grandmother once described the 64 earthquake as feeling like the ground had gone liquid, and that she could barely stand up. That was what yesterday's earthquake felt like to me.

The ground beneath my feet started to sway so aggressively that it even caused my office chair to roll with me in it, which was fairly disconcerting.

I currently live only about half a mile or so from where my other grandmother lived during the Good Friday earthquake, and her house developed a crack in the foundation that could never be properly repaired, so yeah yesterday's quake most definitely got my attention.

They have been predicting another huge earthquake up here for years, ever since the last one actually, but I think yesterday was the first time that I ever took that threat very seriously.

30 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:17 AM

    Earthquakes are so unpredictable. Glad you're ok!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous1:38 PM

      Nah, it was just Sarah stomping her feet again...
      seriously, I saw there was a biggie at the Aleutian islands and was worried for you G, then I saw the one by Redoubt. Did see this one tho. I would have a emergency kit at the ready if you don't already have one. Earthquakes are so unpredictable. Those of us who live in Earthquake country we just have to grin and bare it, there is not warning.
      You are your family stay safe G...

      Delete
  2. Anonymous9:25 AM

    Perhaps this is a good time to tell you how much you and this blog are appreciated. Thank you, Gryphen! Stay safe, my friend!

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  3. Anonymous9:25 AM


     A 6.3-magnitude earthquake that hit south of Mount Iliamna around 6:35 p.m. Tuesday rattled Alaska from Kodiak to Fairbanks, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center?


    Waiting for Sarah Palin to blame President Obama for that.

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  4. PalinsHoax9:25 AM

    Gryphen, so glad to hear that you are safe.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous9:27 AM

    6.3 earthquake? Are you sure it wasn't Bristol riding some guy's dick?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:20 AM

      Could you be anymore immature?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:48 AM

      10:20, Thank you!

      Delete
  6. Anonymous9:28 AM

    It is the sign that Sarah will be running for President.

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  7. Anonymous9:33 AM

    Wow. Glad to hear it didn't do damage or cause injuries. Heard about it, and they said it was near Redoubt volcano. The earth is shaking everywhere, reviving volcanic activity.

    If it's not hail, lighting, severe storms and tornadoes, it's earthquakes or increased meteor and asteroid fly-bys. Everyone be safe.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous9:48 AM

    We are very bad houseguests on our host planet. It has it's on reasons for weather/ earthquakes/ volcanic eruptions..... And we sure are messing with its stability with fracking and greenhouse gases.
    Im sorry Earth.
    Glad you are safe up there.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous9:54 AM

    Earthquake!
    http://www.politicususa.com/2015/07/28/donald-trump-promises-put-sarah-palin-cabinet-elected-president.html

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous10:02 AM

    I'm waiting for Sara to offer up her solution like she did with the BP oil spill

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous10:04 AM

    Glad you're alright! This article has been coming through a few times on my fb newsfeed lately. Scary! http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:32 AM

      The history of this earth is literally written in stone and those of us that study that history realize that we are lucky enough to be living in an era of relative geologic calm. The New Yorker article was a great reminder that there are massive geologic forces that are beyond our control and will manifest again at some point in the future. Whether anyone alive today will witness the next eruption of the Yellowstone caldera or another massive Cascadia quake remains to be seen, but both of these events are imminent and on a scale that we as humans cannot really imagine. I've been sharing this article with friends and family especially those living on the west coast. The Earth is very alive, which is a good thing because life as we know it could not exist on a tectonically "dead" planet.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:02 AM

      Yep, I live in Portland and it's been the talk here for the last month or so. I am not one to panic....if it happens, it happens.

      Delete
    3. I forwarded that article to my recently relocated relatives in Washington. I had mentioned that faultline before and they didn't take me seriously, because, you know, one of them lived there before, so obviously... The response when I forwarded that article was different though. I hope they are making emergency plans just in case they get any reaction time.
      M

      Delete
    4. I saw the article, and once again thought about moving, except that all my children and most of my grandchildren live in Western Washington too.

      The 6.8 quake we had in 2001 was frightening, but still we stay. When I lived on the Gulf Coast with the devastation of hurricanes, I remember people saying, "We'll rebuild."

      Humans are creatures of habit. We don't want to leave our homes. In spite of the threat of disaster, we stay.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous10:13 AM

    Glad you're ok. We had a minor one here on the east coast a few years ago. That was enough for me to realize I'd rather deal with hurricanes at least we have some warning on those

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    1. Anonymous12:10 PM

      I moved to western NY state from the NYC area almost 20 years ago. People told me I was crazy for moving to a place with such bad winters. It's true we have a lot more snow and cold temperatures, neither of which I mind too much, than the other end of the state. However...

      We DON'T have volcanoes, strong earthquakes, tsunamis, hailstorms, wildfires, landslides, extensive droughts or hurricanes. We rarely have ice storms or serious flooding, and the tornadoes we have here every couple of years barely qualify as such. I can usually count the number of days the temperature gets over 90 degrees each summer on one hand.

      Like you mentioned about the hurricanes, most of the extreme weather we have here is predicted well in advance.

      I am more than happy to deal with a bit of snow and a cold nose in exchange for missing all those other natural disasters!

      Be safe everyone, in Alaska and everywhere else that's dealing with extremes of nature this time of year.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous10:17 AM

    The earthquake you felt was Donald telling a nursing mother/lawyer that she is disgusting.

    https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/trump-to-breastfeeding-mom-youre-disgusting-125350815777.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anita Winecooler5:44 PM

      She was interviewed on Chris Hayes, had emails proving Trump lied, there were many other depositions she took that day, and in the e-mail, the lawyers agreed on a noon break for lunch, when the day came, Trump wanted to get it over with and had them skip lunch, she already made arrangements to pump in private on her lunch break, not in front of Trump as he states.. Would love to see him argue with her.
      He was beyond vile, and he still is.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous10:21 AM

    This one was interesting, especially with all the ground movement but still didn't come close to the 2002 Denali quake which was a 7.9 but I think we felt that more strongly here in the Valley than did Anchorage. Yesterday my husband had just driven up the hill of our driveway during the quake and he noticed that my car was rolling back and forth and the trees and hanging baskets and bird feeders were all going crazy. I just kind of sat on the couch dumfounded and didn't move until it was all over :-)

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  15. Anonymous10:45 AM

    Sorry to hijack the thread but you Alaskans need to get on this
    http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/Donald-Trump-Sarah-Palin-administration-post/2015/07/28/id/659318/
    I'm sure you can do much better than I...jonmc

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous12:09 PM

    I know someone with a friend that is getting ready for the end of the world, soon. I think it is Sept. Is that what happened to Todd? Is he prepping with his prepping buddies?

    Glad all is well with Alaska quake.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous1:01 PM

    O/T This brings new meaning to "government handout" -- GOP style.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/29/us-usa-oklahoma-trailer-idUSKCN0Q325E20150729

    Oklahoma governor to move daughter’s mobile home from mansion grounds

    Local broadcaster KFOR took aerial photos of the trailer, which was hooked up to utility connections on the mansion grounds. Fallin discounted suggestions that her daughter's utilities were being paid by taxpayers.

    "Yesterday, after we received a question about regulations, I asked my staff to double check if there might be any codes or zoning rules concerning personal trailers," Fallin said.

    "We found that the Capitol-Medical Center Improvement and Zoning Commission rules prohibits living in trailers, even temporarily, on state property."

    ReplyDelete
  18. Chenagrrl3:16 PM

    YOUR grandma was right. The shaking in 1964 caused a layer of sands beneath Anchor town to separate. The best place to see where the liquid sand surfaced was in Earthquake Park. The same thing happened underground in Fairbanks (at the same time) but nothing slid because there was nowhere to slide as there was in Anchorage. I remember too well.

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  19. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Virginia_earthquake%2C_Aug_23.jpg

    I live about 50 miles from the 5.8 that hit Virginia in 2011, said to be the strongest on the east coast since WWII. It was strong enough to close the Washington Monument (further away still) for inspection afterwards.

    2011 was already punishingly hot, and along with the earthquake, two different hurricanes grazed us that August too. My husband was inside in the den and I was out on a cement patio slab, and when it started up my legs I thought, "well, what's this, heart attack or stroke? Over and out," till I realized it's everything.

    Scary as it was for us, I couldn't help thinking about people in Kings Dominion amusement part, about 25 miles from epicenter, and what it must have been like to be at the top of their observation tower, a roller coaster or their ski lift ride :O

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  20. Anita Winecooler5:50 PM

    Glad you're safe. We've had small tremors on the east coast, nothing compared to yours. Years ago, I was on a business trip to California, and freaked out when I felt the earth move, the road outside our hotel buckled up, and windows were breaking everywhere. The locals waited awhile, then went about their business, saying "it's probably around a five...." I suppose it depends on what you've experienced and heard before, I was worried about aftershocks, but they were relatively few and minor.

    ReplyDelete

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