should have stayed in South Texas... another earthquake

10 years ago

4.2 earthquake shook my bed this morning at 5:40 AM. My daughter is researching other places to move to. She is afraid. :(

Moni

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morz8 - Washington Coast

10 years ago

Moni, we are in earthquake zone but have had two strong enough to be upsetting in my adult life - 1999, and 2001. The shaking in 1999 sent candles tumbling, broke the gas seal in my 8' dining room insulated window, damaged a neighbors chimney....we were all in the lane at the back of our houses hanging on to each other, not happy.

I'd been in the bathroom, seated (!) when I started hearing something that sounded like a train passing through but no tracks there. When I realized what it was, I jumped up from under a 4' skylight to get away from the glass, then saw that put me in front of the 72" vanity mirror. My next hops got me through the hallway into the kitchen where I stood in the doorway with one hand on the door frame and one the refrigerator to keep it in place. DH wasn't home. All in all, my then 1925 house held up pretty well with just a few additional plaster cracks. Our county courthouse a few miles away was heavily damaged.

I discovered I don't like things of nature that are not in my control. But we made few changes. I no longer have heavy wood framed art over the head of our bed. I think this house would handle the jolts well, it's heavier construction than where we lived a few blocks away in 1999 and 2001. But like you, not much here is built to earthquake specs.

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Comments (16)

satine_gw
10 years ago
Hope you are ok and that your home didn't have any damage. Satine
User
10 years ago
Is this a common thing?
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OklaMoni
Original Author
10 years ago
No, it didn't used to be a common thing. I live in Tornado Alley, and knew it was, when I moved here in 72. But we also have violent thunderstorms, flood causing rains, high heat, very cold, and now, because of fracking we have earthquakes. Quite strong ones too. Tuesday, 4.3, this morning, 4.2 Our buildings are not built to Earthquake standards! This isn't what I signed up for, but I am not as near the epicenter so far. My daughter however is, and it is creeping her out. My bed shook for heavens sake... and it wasn't because of any fun action either!

but so far, no damage at my house. I will have to think about my pictures.. if I want them off the walls... and a couple of nice things on shelves??? Like I said, not what I signed up for...

Moni
OklaMoni
Original Author
10 years ago
Morz, where are you? I am right dab in the middle of Oklahoma, in OKC.
PKponder TX Z7B
10 years ago
Earthquakes are really scary to me, living in a seismically-inactive area.

I like in a small city outside of Fort Worth that suddenly started getting many earthquakes in 2013. It went on for a couple of months with couple of days that were very active. They stopped just like they started, suddenly. I only felt one, a 3.6 and we were 3 miles from the epicenter. I was looking out my front window and it and the wall sort of bowed in and back out, there was noise, it scared the crap out of me.

A university (SMU) study determined that it was the fracking causing all of the earthquakes, but Texas Railroad Commission had previously declared that they were not caused by oil and gas activity. We are still allowing fracking. My understanding of the practice is that it is done by pumping a high-velocity stream of water into a fault in the shale and pumping it back out at the other end, fracturing the shale and releasing natural gas. Logic tells me that it could not be good for the earth to do that.

Dallas and Irving are having earthquakes again too again too. I'm pretty sure other areas where fracking doesn't take place are also having earthquakes.

A song is playing in my mind right now as I think about what we are doing to our planet, Pink Floyd's 'Take it back'.
morz8 - Washington Coast
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
15 minutes from dipping my toes in salt water on the Washington coast. My dad was born in Butler, OK, but I've never been there.
OklaMoni thanked morz8 - Washington Coast
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
10 years ago
I talked to my best friend in Midwest city she is scared too and now has multiple cracks in the walls of her new home. Nothing in Oklahoma was built for earthquakes, tornadoes are a totally different animal. I was just amazed when I looked at that earthquake website that shows how many quakes are happening a day! Omg I am glad I am not there now. I went through one fairly strong quake when we lived in Memphis everything came flying out of the cabinets, I saw the wall in the bathroom doing the wave and I ran into the living room screaming earthquake! No one else knew what was happening we were all in shock. I don't want to experience that ever again!

I just can't believe they are still fracking! What will it take to stop the crazy a**holes. I guess people will have to die. Insanity.
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
10 years ago
Just take a look at the number of quakes are happening daily in Oklahoma! I just can't believe this insanity.

http://earthquaketrack.com/p/united-states/oklahoma/recent
OklaMoni thanked ravencajun Zone 8b TX
User
10 years ago
move closer to Tulsa or anywhere to get away from that.
jemdandy
10 years ago
Another oil producing activity can cause small earthquakes and that is "water drives". It does similar things to the deep earth structure, but may not as severe as fracking. However, water drives continue over a long period of time. Waste liquid from producing wells is forced down a spent well or wells at the edge of an oil dome forcing flow through the strata toward the upper part of the oil dome. This drives the remaining oil toward the producing wells and gets rid of the crappy liquid left over from a producing well. The waste water is supposed to be put back into the oil bearing strata from whence it came, but I suspect there are instances where it goes elsewhere. Water from an oil well is filled with noxious crud and will ruin water wells if it escapes into the aquifer supplying these wells.
Amazing Aunt Audrey
10 years ago
If it goes as usual we'll have another one in the morning. Moni have you seen these earthquake proof beds?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vgVboyyeHIw&feature=youtu.be
sjerin
10 years ago
Money rules sanity, Raven. :) AAA, that would freak me out! But perhaps it is a good idea in very prone areas.
pudgeder
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I live in OK as well. Have most all my life. I don't like the earthquake scenario one bit, but like the tornadoes, there's nothing I can do about them.

Now that they're happening in more populated areas, and more damage is showing up, the Corporation Commission is finally doing something about the fracking/waste well disposal process. Whether or not it's enough, only time will tell.
OklaMoni thanked pudgeder
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
10 years ago
Oh no those vault beds would never work for me I am freaky about confined spaces. I would die of a heart attack if I was locked down in that tomb looking thing.
OklaMoni
Original Author
10 years ago
YIKES, AAA, not sure... my main gripe is: Quit that crap with the "disposal wells". Let the earthquakes go away.

should have stayed in South Texas... another earthquake

morz8 - Washington Coast

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should have stayed in South Texas... another earthquake

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