Results tagged “earthquake”

At 10:15 a.m. today, all 93 emergency sirens in San Francisco will go off. It's all part of the Great Shakeout. Millions of Californians will take part in in "the largest earthquake drill ever." Will you? Here's what you're supposed to do:

Every week at noon, we hear SF emergency sirens fill the air with their hypothetical shrieking. This isn't unusual.

As many in the local news/blog firmament will be repeating this week, Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake, which was not such a doozy of a quake in the grand scheme (a 6.9er) but was certainly big enough to be imprinted on everyone's memory and to put some much-needed infrastructure improvements into the pipeline. But what of those infrastructure improvements, twenty years hence?

This morning's 6.8 earthquake that followed yesterday's 7.6 shaker in Indonesia is the perfect opportunity to remind you to, please, get ready for the next big earthquake that will hit the Bay Area. No one knows when it will happen, but it will. Sooner rather than later, if we had to guess.

How can you get ready? Easy. Start by checking out 72hours.org. They can tell you what you will need to do for pre- and post-earthquake preparation.

However, the simplest way to start getting ready for the next big one is by making
an emergency kit. 72hours can also tell you how to do it.

After a major disaster the usual services we take for granted, such as running water, refrigeration, and telephones, may be unavailable. Experts recommend that you should be prepared to be self-sufficient for at least three days. Store your household disaster kit in an easily accessible location. Put contents in a large, watertight container (e.g. a large plastic garbage can with a lid and wheels) that you can move easily. Your basic emergency kit should include: * Water - one gallon per person per day

* Food - ready to eat or requiring minimal water

* Manual can opener and other cooking supplies

* Plates, utensils and other feeding supplies

* First Aid kit & instructions

* A copy of important documents & phone numbers

* Warm clothes and rain gear for each family member.

* Heavy work gloves

After yesterday's 8.0-magnitude earthquake created a tsunami around the Samoa islands, a tsunami advisory threatened the Pacific Coast. That threat, according to reports, has been lifted. A very slight tsunami lift was measured along the coast. "The tsunami amplitude - the measurable surge above normal sea level - measured a half-foot at Monterey Bay Harbor, slightly more than one foot at Arena Cove in Mendocino County, and about one foot in San Francisco."

Manufacturer Oyagokoro, based in Japan, just launched a new line of earthquake packs, ones "designed to keep dogs and cats safe during such events," reports The Examiner. The kits come in three sizes, and features "a padded jacket and rain hat, special boots to protect paws, and aromatherapy oils to to calm stressed-out pets." (Aw!) Each kit also comes with a waterproof capsule holding details of the animal's address and owner information. The packs can even double as a carrying case for smaller friends. The earthquake packs will be distributed in the U.S. by Rinkya, Inc. (Also, you can see what your cat might look like wearing one here. Just adorable.)

According to the scary red font at CBS 5, "A strong earthquake has just jolted urban centers of Alaska." Earthquake.usgs.gov, lists "5.7 Southern Alaska, 36 minutes ago." Which sounds like it was a big one too. Well, sort of. More info as it comes in. Update: The epicenter, reports Seattle PI, "was 58 miles from the state's largest city, Anchorage, where the rumbled continued for several moments." Also, "the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center reported the magnitude at a slightly weaker 5.3 and said no tsunami will be generated." This, of course, is bittersweet news on a relatively tepid news day.

There was a small 3.2 quake that occurred in the East Bay at 3:30 p.m. today, one kilometer Northeast of El Cerrito. We at SFist felt it in the Tendernob area (the first one we've felt in our eight years in SF), as did many Twitter users. It was quick and felt like a large truck driving by. There have been no immediate reports of injury or damage. Apparently, there was also a 5.2 earthquake in Southern Alaska early this morning and a small quake in Wales last night. Occurrences like these are always good reminders to prepare for the Big One.

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake, according to CBS 5, "has struck near Berkeley at 3:34. There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries." Tell us, readers, where were you during the Great '09 Quake?

A 6.3 earthquake killed more than 150 people in central Italy, making it the deadliest quake to hit the country in nearly three decades. According to reports, 10,000 to 15,000 buildings were either damaged or destroyed and about 100,000 people have been left homeless in the medieval city of L'Aquila.

Reports are coming in that there was a mild earthquake felt in San Francisco. We felt it too, but it could have been our the washing machine in the spin cycle. "I believe I just felt a 3-4 point earthquake just now," reports one SFist comments.

Two small earthquakes struck the Bay Area over the weekend. First, a 3.5-magnitude quake centered 10 miles north of downtown San Jose rattled Sunday morning at 7:47 a.m. Then, a 2.1 tremor hit Sonoma an hour or so earlier that morning. No damages, no aftershocks, no injuries. Boring. It's been ages since we felt a good shock here in the Bay Area, yes?

Last night, at around 10.30 p.m., a 3.0 magnitude earthquake struck, centered a few miles away from Morristown, NJ. According to reports, New Jersey citizens lost it. "It sounded like an explosion, houses shook and dogs started barking," said one tremor victim. Others said it felt like a "bomb" and one man TV reporters, "I was upstairs on my computer, and all of a sudden I hear a boom, boom, boom, then a bang, bang, bang. My monitor almost fell off of my computer desk. So I immediately went downstairs to check on my grandma and ask her if she was alright or if she fell." Harrowing, yes? In their defense, the last recorded earthquake in NJ was a 2.1 last year and a jarring 4.0 quake rocked their world back in 1985.

At around 8:55 a.m. this morning, an earthquake measuring 3.4 struck the Milpitas area, followed by a 3.0 quake at 8:38 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Did you feel? We did not. But we practically live on the bridge, so our world is always shaking. Anyway, there have been no reports of any injuries.

LAist Editor Zach Behrens was neither injured nor trapped under a pile of rubble during today's 7.8 earthquake simulation that hit Los Angeles, one of the largest earthquake drills to take place.

Did you feel it? It happened at 2:57 p.m., according to the news ticker scolling above Judge Marilyn Milian's head. More to come as we know more.

When the Hayward fault loudly declares itself to all, Loma Prieta will seem like it was just a relaxing massage. According to Wired, the fault will give the Bay Area "a Katrina-like disaster."

Small one, but we felt an earthquake over in SoMa. Did you? Looks like it was a 3.1 centered in Piedmont, which happened at 4:19 p.m.

Since there's no reason every other blog and MSM outlet out there gets to milk yesterday's 5.4 LA earthquake and not us, check out these two pieces of caught-on-tape footage fun. First we have , showing God's unmitigated gall by interfereing with Ms. Sheindlin's ruling.

We're not sure if this is painful, or exciting, or both, but MissRFTC tweets, "I am totally serious. My Ob/Gyn was IN my vagina and an earthquake started rattling the room!" See, this just exemplifies the awesome power of Twitter, for capturing special moments like this in tasty bite-size form. (LAist)

"A Strong Earthquake Has Shaken Los Angeles," or so says this jarring single headline on CBS 5. You know anything more? We'll update as soon as we do.

Well, wait no more. Both ends of the Bay Area felt two quakes this morning. Minor 2.1 and 2.2 movers. That's all. But the tiny ones, of course, are good reminders to get prepared. Because we're not sharing our Aquafina with you.

Former Marin resident and current insane person, Sharon Stone, made the following Jerry Falwell-ish quip the other day.

A small shaker hit The Geysers near the border of Sonoma and Lake counties at 6:28 a.m. this morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. No one was hurt. It was a mere wisp of a quake, really. But these small shivers are always a good reminder to get prepared for The Big One. Tips, emergency numbers, do's, dont's, etc. are as follows:

Oh, and here are some tips from the NERT (National Neighborhood Emergency Response Team), care of Ed Chu of the San Francisco Fire department. It's not the most entertaining bit of footage you'll see this year, but could be the most important. (Quick quiz: how many gallons of water per person is recommended for the 72 hour period after an earthquake? Five!)

An earthquake registering 3.2 hit the East Bay this morning, located five miles south of Antioch. The quake happened four hours ager a smaller 3.1 quake hit Reno last night..

Oh dear. A hefty-sized earthquake hit northeastern Nevada this morning. You know what that means, don't you? Time to sound the alarm for everyone in the Bay Area to get prepared.

Judging by the audiences' volatile reactions, She Wants Revenge did everything in their power to give the audience what they wanted: a spectacle (with some music). About half-way through their hour and a half set, a fight erupted. (This isn't the first time, we hear, that fights have started at one of their shows.) The lead singer, Justin Warfield asked, "Can't we all just get along?" and then continued singing their synth-pop Depeche Mode influenced...

A 3.7 aftershock in San Jose just shook the ground of Silicon Valley. According to our own Spencer Williams, it happened a little before 4 p.m. and It "only lasted a couple of seconds." So there you have it.

Readers responded with light speed and razor-sharp accuracy (more or less) when it came to detailing last night's devastating -- body-wash-plummeting-to-the-earth devastating! -- 5.6 quake. We will all look back on October 30, asking ourselves, where were we when the great 5.6 quake of '07 hit? Well, after sending out the we-hope-you're-still-alive-and-kicking call to the SFist team at large, they responded. Here are a few of the shattering moments in the lives of some...