Can't we just be grateful no one was killed in a near 6.0 earthquake

[boston bean]

on the east coast. In buildings that could be over a hundred years old. Brick and mortar structures that are prone to crumble even in small earthquakes. We haven't prepared for the big one like you west coasters have.

I was on a conference call with people who were in the VA/DC/MD area and let me tell you, I could hear the rumbling, and people's fear.

We just aren't use to this and it was bigger than many on this side of the country have ever felt, in their entire lifetime.

So get a small grip and understand it is news and it unsettled many, you holier than thou western earthquake veterans.

edit to change DA to DC

[LiberalLoner]

1. Big, freaking 2nd. My husband works downtown in those old buildings near the Mall and

because of jammed phone lines it took about half an hour for me to find out whether or not he was okay.

Not a fun time.

[sakabatou]

2. +1

[Taverner]

3. Works for me

No Death = good

But I haven't been mocking those who went through this

I can only imagine, in non-retrofitted buildings, that must've not been good...at all...

[October]

4. Really. Can't imagine mocking Californians. Jeez.

200+ year-old buildings here in these old cities.

Not cool.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Absolutely

My apologies for my fellow west coasties that are doing to you, what happens like clock work every time we have a shaker here... that is part of it.

:hi:

Stay safe, check for cracks, make sure you don't have gas leaks, and boil water or get bottled water, for at least a few days.

[Ineeda]

6. I'm very grateful, but

after a near-miss of many kinds, humor is often customary. I see it here in Florida when a hurricane goes out to sea with no landfall.

[alfredo]

7. We lucked out. East of the Mississippi is like a hard shield.

hit one side and the whole thing vibrates.

[muffin1]

8. Very scary. And very grateful.

K&R

[HysteryDiagnosis]

9. Not yet they weren't, wait til the aftershocks, the run on the banks, the rivers running

backwards, the reversal of the poles and the closing of dollar stores. Then we'll see what's up with that. I hear ya loud and clear, the glass most definitely is half full. :)

[spanone]

10. i am grateful.

[PeaceNikki]

11. It's possible to be both grateful and also have a sense of humor about it.

My favorite people in the world are all able to laugh even in the darkest hours. In fact, especially in the darkest hours.

[boston bean]

15. I laughed at the picture of the table with the chair knocked over.

That is not what I am talking about.

I am talking about those who think it isn't news and are judgmental of people who were scared.

[panader0]

12. We had an earthquake here in Southern Arizona

Around 1885. The San Pedro "River" used to be navigable by small freight boats and there were several small communities along the way. After the quake, the water went underground mostly. The San Pedro River is between 10 and 30 feet wide now. At the same time several springs came up in the area. Mountains have several huge rockslides from the quake. Wow.

[malaise]

13. +1,000 n/t

[uppityperson]

14. k&r. Thank you for posting this, was considering doing the same.

[MineralMan]

16. There's no reason for humor. People were frightened, as is

very natural. The extent of the damage won't be known until later, since it takes time to catalog what happened. Earthquakes are scary things. I've been through many of them, since I lived in California most of my life. The East Coast doesn't build for earthquakes, so structural damage to buildings may be more serious that first looks indicate.

I wouldn't make fun of this quake.

[Raine]

17. I'm ashamed of my fellow Californians if they are

mocking Easterners in any way about the earthquake. I would hate to think what would happen here if we had a hurricane or any of the things the east coast deals with routinely.

[LWolf]

18. I am glad.

5.8 is not exactly "mild," west or east.

Are building codes in the east as stringent as ours? I'd think they would be, what with hurricanes and tornadoes, but maybe you need a different kind of structure to better withstand whatever flavor of natural disaster is "normal" for an area. Regardless, citizens and emergency services plan and prepare for the kinds of events that are expected, and we can all be unbalanced by the unexpected, to say the least.

[distantearlywarning]

19. As a transplant to the east from the West Coast,

I can tell you that if you've never been out this way before, it's like a different planet architecturally. Here in Pittsburgh, a substantial majority of the housing stock in the city is pre-war housing, some of it built well prior to 1900. Some of this housing stock is already in disrepair, and not one bit of it is built to modern codes or meant to withstand any kind of substantial earthquake. I myself live in a 1925 masonry/stucco house, which while in good repair, also has an aging foundation. If the epicenter of today's quake was here, half of my house would probably have fallen into the street. A 6.0 earthquake in this part of the US is really no laughing matter.