I’m playing catchup today. I haven’t had time until now to report that I lived through my first California earthquake, on Thursday, Jan. 8. It was a mild temblor — only 4.5 on the Richter scale — but it was relatively close, in nearby San Bernadino. (Yes, that’s temblor. For years, I thought it was “tremblor” too.)
Residents of California and Nevada no doubt already know about this nifty earthquake Web site, but I’m linking to it here nonetheless. Also, here’s what the blog LA Observed had to say about the quake.
I say that I lived through my first Golden State quake because there have been a couple on the East Coast that I’ve felt in the past 30 years. This one was a lot more fun than those, which were jolts.
This one was a mild rattling that lasted about a minute. Kind of a like an amusement park ride that you didn’t have to pay for. Lest anyone think I’m making light of the destructive force of quakes, fear not.
I wanted to point out that Michael WolfStar has got a provocative item on earthquakes in his column this week at StarIQ. If you’re a West Coast resident, you might want to mark Jan. 25 on your calendar. That’s my husband’s birthday and also the day of a solar eclipse that WolfStar thinks could be the trigger for a major quake.
sfmike said,
January 12, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Glad to you enjoyed your first West Coast earthquake. They are sort of fun, but they’ve always scared the bejesus out of me.
judecowell said,
January 19, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Whoa, Monica! Jan 25 (my brother’s birthday) is almost here…yall be safe (esp since your blog is invaluable to the community!) And am sending Happy Birthday wishes to your husband. Jude in Ga
Monica said,
January 20, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Jude — Thanks for the kind words. It’s always nice to get a comment from you! — Monica