Some thoughts on a few reactions to the Hawaii quake

Like a lot of people I was watching the coverage on the Hawaii earthquake yesterday. Well, my dad was watching it, I was going in and out of the front room so was watching it by default half the time. I recall one segment in particular where a newswoman was talking about how she had never experienced an earthquake and could not imagine how it must feel to have your whole body shaking uncontrollably. I stopped mid step and looked back, not quite certain how to interpret that. I live in Alaska, I've rode out plenty of earthquakes 90% of which by the time you realize it's happening it's over. The way she said it, it sounded more like she was talking about a person going through a grand-maul seizure.

So, for the ones out there that like her can't imagine how it feels, let me just say that I agree with the other segment that I caught that I can recall clearly. The newsmen on Fox News were checking blogs for information on the quake and they did not seem to be sure what in the heck to make of a blogger who had said he enjoyed the ride. I've sat at my desk where I am now and marveled at the movements of the ground underneath me, anylyzing just how it feels like it moved and grinning as the plants or other hanging things sway a bit. I can even tell fairly accurately what direction a quake was in a good percent of the time.

So what does it feel like? Well... imagine you and your desk are sitting on a sheet of plywood that is sitting on a carpet and there is a railing all around the plywood. Someone walks up behind you and grasps the railing and tugs and pushes against it a little which causes a kind of back and forth tremmor in the plywood under you. You don't actually move, but you can feel the effort to move the plywood. That is the best I think I can do for describing a low level quake.

One of my favorite points is to be laying on the bed when they hit. Then you can feel your whole body just kind of 'absorb' the tremmor as your bed seemes to lurch back and forth without actually moving.

Now, I don't want anyone to get me wrong, I am not trying to say what happened in Hawaii was by any means cool or anything. My first reaction to hearing about the quake was shock and to wonder if they were at all prepared for something that big. I know that Hawaii has to have quakes, but that was the first time I had ever seen one that made the news. I can just say that I understand the blogger that said they enjoyed the ride. There isn't a lot more a person can do when a quake hits. It's going to happen, and if it's big enough it is going to cause damage. There is nothing anyone can do to prevent either of those things. One can, however, chose to either react in panic or to enjoy the ride and worry about damages later. I'm also not saying to act stupid. Don't just sit and enjoy the ride as things crash down around you. If you have time between the start and finish of the quake to get safely to a doorway, do it. Stay away from things that might fall over and when the quake's over be aware that there might be aftershocks up to as much as only a few points lower than the magnitude of the quake. There is also always a chance, however slim, that the quake you felt could be a foreshock.

My best advice, even to those thinking they live where there are no quakes, is to learn about earthquake safety and look around your house for the best places to enjoy the ride in safety.