Earthquake

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2003-04-29 05:49am

Okay, reports are slowly coming in. However my local radio station claims that it originated in the Fort Payne, Alabama area. Size was a 4.0-4.5. There are reports claiming it was felt from Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and as far as Kentucky.

Map to our area

Other TV stations say they don't know where, so how my radio station knows, go figure.

Personally. Yeah, the Californians get em routinely. But this part of the world doesn't. There was a minor one almost a year ago. New Madrid fault which follows the Mississsippi river. Bah, now they're going on about the thing. I know about it. I need info on the earthquake, where it was for sure, its exact size. Damn these people need to get thier priorities straight. Well, I was semi awake, but came around full swing. Laugh if you want, never know, but as soon as it ended and I was still ticking knew it wasn't a nuke strike. Also, our nuclear plant a county over reports safe. I figured it might have been the arsenal because they do obviously artillary shots. So it was either that or an earthquake. Okay, 15mi north of Fort Payne, 4.5 richter, comeing from the Geographic survey. They're saying that's weak. Holy Shit. I can't imagine a stronger one. Well, it's a time when I should be very much asleep. So back to bed I go. I'm sure you guys will find more. Durran, Nathan, did you guys feel that. Stampede woke up and got online as well. So Huntsville felt it.

CNN as of 5:05am CST claims it was over the Georgia state line, east of Fort Payne. WTF?!?

Time on the earthquake is around 3:59Am CST.

Stampede · Post by **Stampede** » 2003-04-29 05:56am

Don't forget that we have a nuclear plant less than 50miles below us. That alone has a high potential to suck ass. Imagine an earthquake damaging the plant.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2003-04-29 06:00am

Not to mention Browns Ferry. They were the ones reporting green. That map I posted though, shows Fort Payne a little south than what it is. Because it's in Dekalb County. TV is saying something about 3 mi deep. Crazy to get woke up by an earthquake. Usually it's tornado sirens.

Stampede · Post by **Stampede** » 2003-04-29 06:00am

Hell, I thought our asses were gettin bombed or somethin. i didnt see any bright ass lights outside so i took my ass back indoors.

Stampede · Post by **Stampede** » 2003-04-29 06:03am

Cal Wright wrote:Not to mention Browns Ferry. They were the ones reporting green. That map I posted though, shows Fort Payne a little south than what it is. Because it's in Dekalb County. TV is saying something about 3 mi deep. Crazy to get woke up by an earthquake. Usually it's tornado sirens.

um...dude...Browns Ferry IS the nuclear plant. ass.

Sokar · Post by **Sokar** » 2003-04-29 06:03am

Out of curiosity , how far is that from Russelville AL, my mother in law lives there.....Im sure shes okay , but I'm certain we'll get a call if it woke her up.......

generator_g1 · Post by **generator_g1** » 2003-04-29 07:45am

Once when I was in elementary school, I wondered how an actual earthquake would feel like, then after a few hours, an earthquake did happen...scared the bejesus out of me.

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2003-04-29 08:31am

Latest from USGS says yours was 4.9. That's not that bad, but it's nothing to get worried about. You guys should feel some strong ones, they're pretty fun. I can still remember Loma Prieta, even though I was in kindergarten (magnitude 6.9, surface-wave magnitude 7.1).

Oh, and they don't use the Richter scale anymore. Even the news gets that wrong, though. I guess "Richter Scale" just sounds too cool to get rid of.

So yours had a magnitude of 4.9, but it wasn't measured on the Richter scale (note that the Richter scale has almost the same numbers as the magnitude system anyways).

Zoink · Post by **Zoink** » 2003-04-29 09:07am

There was a magnitude 6 eathquake in Quebec in 1988, although it wasn't that strong where I was. Our high school got some cracks in a few walls, that's about it. I remember that my dog knew the thing was coming about 5 minutes before it happened.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2003-04-29 09:26am

Sup Tredar. I just woke back up, and the news pegged it at 4.9. Fort Payne's area was red as hell on the map. The Carolinas felt it, the map showed it extending mostly up and away. My Dad was in California once during an earthquake. Wasn't a major one, but I remember all of us watching the news after it happened wondering what was going on. LoL. People at work bought my Dad a 'I cuased the Earthquake of 92' or whatever the year was. (Oh yeah, because he's a big fellah). And Stampede Browns Ferry is in Decatur. That's WEST of us. In fact, it's a little north as well. Heh. Man, just like real life. Your just as slow with your mind as you are with your CAR!!! LoL. Road Racers!!!

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2003-04-29 09:50am

here's the lowdown from the US Geological Service:

http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_teak.html

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-04-29 10:44am

I heard about the quake this morning on CNN. 4.9 is not too big , but if it was close to the surface you are gonna notice it. Also, since it happened in part of the country where they are rare, Im sure its got some nerves rattled.

Seriously though, they can be a scary experience. The Loma Prieta quake here was so strong I started to feel a bit sea sick as I watched the street go up and down in waves.

Has there been any reports of damage? Building codes here are pretty strict when it comes to this stuff, but I dont sure about there? A much smaller quake could do a lot of damage if the structures are not built for it.
I would expect most damage is limited to falling glassware and such.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2003-04-29 10:46am

TrailerParkJawa wrote: Has there been any reports of damage? Building codes here are pretty strict when it comes to this stuff, but I dont sure about there? A much smaller quake could do a lot of damage if the structures are not built for it.
I would expect most damage is limited to falling glassware and such.

not to mention falling double-wides.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2003-04-29 11:52am

Holy shit! I'm glad everyone's okay. Perish the thought New Orleans gets a quake. This whole area would turn into quicksand and then fall into the sea, causing a nice huge tsunami...

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-04-29 12:58pm

I slept right through it.

Nathan F · Post by **Nathan F** » 2003-04-29 01:00pm

We ARE sitting on a fault line, here in eastern Tennessee, northeastern Alabama, and northern Georgia, with an active (well, semi-active) fault line in western TN and SW KY.

Knoxville is literally on top of it. And very few buildings are designed to withstand an earthquake, either. I only know of a few very old buildings that have bolts between floors to help with any damage. However, in west TN, bridges are designed with earthquakes in mind. In fact, iirc, the most powerful earthquake recorded happened in the US in 1814 (I think that was the year...), and resulted in the creation of Reelfoot Lake and caused the Mississippi River to flow BACKWARDS for a short time.

So yes, we are on top of a fault line, and this doesn't really surprise me. There was one here in Knoxville just a couple years ago. Didn't cause any damage, but it was felt.

And yes, I slept right through it, as I have 7 floors of dorm between me and the ground as a bit of a shock absorber.

Of course, that is a long ways to fall...

<Edit> Here is a link to the Knoxville CBS station's report on it: News Report

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-04-29 01:03pm

I would think the Earthquake was as unsettling to those of you in the area, as a Tornado might be for us Bay Area SD.Netters.

*** Imagines Neeolong, RobertT, Raxmei, IRGCommandoJoe, and others running for cover, dodging flying debris and screaming like Chris Tucker ***

Stampede · Post by **Stampede** » 2003-04-29 02:07pm

Cal Wright wrote:Sup Tredar. I just woke back up, and the news pegged it at 4.9. Fort Payne's area was red as hell on the map. The Carolinas felt it, the map showed it extending mostly up and away. My Dad was in California once during an earthquake. Wasn't a major one, but I remember all of us watching the news after it happened wondering what was going on. LoL. People at work bought my Dad a 'I cuased the Earthquake of 92' or whatever the year was. (Oh yeah, because he's a big fellah). And Stampede Browns Ferry is in Decatur. That's WEST of us. In fact, it's a little north as well. Heh. Man, just like real life. Your just as slow with your mind as you are with your CAR!!! LoL. Road Racers!!!

Dammit Cal...north, east, west, south...WHO GIVES A FLYING FUCK!! if you wanna get all fuckin technical about it...Browns Ferry is in ATHENS! not Decatur. ass

and the only slow RRMC memeber on this board is Tropen.

ass

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-04-29 02:16pm

Stampede wrote:Don't forget that we have a nuclear plant less than 50miles below us. That alone has a high potential to suck ass. Imagine an earthquake damaging the plant.

The foundations are required to be able to take a magnitude 10 earth quake as I recall, as are those of most dangerous industrial plants like steel mills.

Stampede · Post by **Stampede** » 2003-04-29 02:18pm

Sea Skimmer wrote:
Stampede wrote:Don't forget that we have a nuclear plant less than 50miles below us. That alone has a high potential to suck ass. Imagine an earthquake damaging the plant.
The foundations are required to be able to take a magnitude 10 earth quake as I recall, as are those of most dangerous industrial plants like steel mills.

ah. never knew that. you never know with the folks in Alabama.

russellb6666 · Post by **russellb6666** » 2003-04-29 06:27pm

you know the weird thing i slept right through it didn't notice a damn thing

could be because i live in Northern Ky but i no know

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-04-29 07:06pm

Stampede wrote:
Sea Skimmer wrote:
The foundations are required to be able to take a magnitude 10 earth quake as I recall, as are those of most dangerous industrial plants like steel mills.
ah. never knew that. you never know with the folks in Alabama.

Well, it doesn't mean the plant would be knocked out of service, the transformers and high-tension lights are unlikely to have protection to that standard. But the reactors and cooling system are completely safe. Just look at Japan, the nation is crawling with reactors and earthquakes.

you know the weird thing i slept right through it didn't notice a damn thing could be because i live in Northern Ky but i no know

Not surprising, this simply isn't a very powerful quake.

Nathan F · Post by **Nathan F** » 2003-04-29 07:20pm

I got to thinking, the reason I most likely slept through it is there are train tracks near my dorm that are VERY heavily travelled. I have grown used to that rumbling through the night, and the quake probably phased me about as much.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-04-29 07:59pm

Nathan F wrote:I got to thinking, the reason I most likely slept through it is there are train tracks near my dorm that are VERY heavily travelled. I have grown used to that rumbling through the night, and the quake probably phased me about as much.

I have railroad tracks about 100 ft away so , its the same with me. I will sleep through a small quake no problem.

But quakes are tricky, underlying soil structure can greatly influence what you feel.

Stampede · Post by **Stampede** » 2003-04-30 01:23am

TrailerParkJawa wrote:
Nathan F wrote:I got to thinking, the reason I most likely slept through it is there are train tracks near my dorm that are VERY heavily travelled. I have grown used to that rumbling through the night, and the quake probably phased me about as much.
I have railroad tracks about 100 ft away so , its the same with me. I will sleep through a small quake no problem.

But quakes are tricky, underlying soil structure can greatly influence what you feel.

hell, there are tracks right behind my house. at first i thought a train was commin...but then i remembered that it was 4 in the morning.