I haven't given much thought to earthquakes since moving to LA. I mean, it's always in the back of my mind, but I don't really worry about it. I think I worried more about terrorist attacks when I lived in NY than I do about earthquakes now. Still, The Big One is coming. Apparently, a big one hit Peru yesterday.
Are earthquakes the scariest of natural disasters? I guess it depends on where you are. If you're home, then maybe not so scary. If you're in a highrise and you can feel the building sway from side to side, then that's scary. I used to work in the tallest building in LA and was told that it was built to withstand a very powerful earthquake because it was set on rollers (whatever that means). I'm glad that I now work in a short, but new, building. I take comfort in knowing that Eagle Rock is a good 20 miles or so from the beach, so death by tsunami is highly unlikely.
There is a small town in Chilean Patagonia called Puerto Aisen that has had over 7,000 earthquakes this year. It's just been rumbling for months. None of the quakes has been as big as the one in Peru, but the locals are bracing for the big one. It's torn families apart and driven some to alcoholism.
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I have been through a tornado as a child and experienced the 94 quake in LA. Give me a tornado any day. At least you get a warning.
Did you feel the 4.9 the other night around 1 a.m.? It was spooky. I had that old feeling where you're not sure something is an earthquake until you go outside and see other people looking around.
That and the swimming pool was all choppy.
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