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Whole lotta shakin goin on


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Wow, central Oklahoma had two pretty big earthquakes this weekend. This is a new experience for us. Rocking and rolling for about 30 seconds with the second one big enough to do a little damage. I didnt feel the second one because we have season tickets for Oklahoma State Football and the stadium was rocking and rolling as well. But I knew it was pretty big because I was talking to my wife on the phone when it hit and she was a little panicky. You dont think 58,000 people yelling, screaming and stomping their feet trying to save a football team from loosing could have caused the earthquake, do you? We did sqeeze out a win but, well I don't know.

 

My wife and I like to travel a little and when folks ask where we are from, when they hear we are from Oklahoma, they typical response, "Oh they place with all the tornados". Are we now going to be from the place with tornados AND earthquakes?

 

Can you folks in California give us some instructions on what to do during these things? Where should we go if we are in our home or in a stadium with 58,000 other people? Should we make a fun noises like when we were kids crossing railroad tracks? Can we get earthquake insurance?

 

Oh by the way, the weatherman this morning says we are under a server thunderstorm and tornado watch today and tonight. Ah! That feels more normal.

 

Have a great Scouting Week.

 

Barry

 

 

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What! You guys haven't completed the new "Camping in Earthquake Country" supplemental training you need to go camping?

 

Hie thee to "MyScouting.Org" ASAP!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the way --- this is a joke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At least it is today.

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For little rattles like those we simply smile and keep doing what we were doing. LOL

 

Seriously; stay away from windows, especially big ones, and get under a doorway arch if possible. If you choose to exit the house, or are outside, stay away from anything that might have pieces fall off that could hit you. Generally, anything around 5 or under will do little or no damage; but in areas where they are not common, some damage might occur in the way of cracks of facade crumbling; or if at the epicenter, possibly collapse of older, less sturdy structures. Inside a car is almost always safe, unless something falls on you.

 

Survivor of a half dozen truly big quakes.

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Earthquakes, tornados and flooding, Oh My!

 

Exciting night, we had a 4.7 earthquake, a pretty good tornado and lots of flooding from the torrential rain. I didnt feel the earthquake because I was driving home in the rain, but my wife did and she said it felt like a slightly smaller train than the one this weekend.

 

I will have to do some research because I dont have a good feel for the Richter scale numbers. Apparently this 4.7 did enough damage to close a school.

 

I really cant complain about the four inches of rain, Oklahoma is in its worst drought in recorded history. So we take what we can get and are glad for it.

 

I could do without tornados, but that just seem to be part of Oklahoma.

 

Still, I wonder whats next, a volcano eruption in a nearby wheat field?

 

Barry

 

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Barry,

 

It's all just a prelude to the world ending in 2012. ;)

 

I didn't feel the earthquake last night. I was sitting on the patio watching and listening to the light and sound show of the thunder and lightening. My wife opened the back door and asked me, "did you feel that, I think we just had another earthquake." I didn't. And I missed the BIG one Saturday night. I was in Dallas for the Southern Region NYLT Course Directors Conference. We did have a few participants who had already gone to bed and felt a slight shake in their beds when it hit though.

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Generally the best advice is to jump up and down, wave your arms in the air and scream loudly.

 

Oh Wait.. .sorry, you were talking about earthquakes, I thought this was a political thread...

 

Here in SF Bay Area, if the shaking is less than say about 20 seconds, we just yawn a little. Over 20-30 seconds, it gets worrisome. The Loma Prieta in '89 was an E-ticket ride I'll tell ya...

 

 

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CA Scouter;

 

Jumping up and down reminded me of 1971. I lived in Riverside then, and there was a Wisconsin couple from March AFB living upstairs across from me. Right after the shake, I got up (thought my ex was shaking me to get up) and opened the door to the walkway when I heard this screeching across the way. The wife was running down the stairs to the lower level where she shrieked to her husband that she was going back to Wisconsin "NOW". It was quite a scene, especially as I watched the little tsunami in the pool sloshing end to end. Think she got over it, but cannot remember for sure.

 

Had another Midwestern waitress actually try and climb into a cupboard in the work area behind the counter when we had one in the 90's. I was having breakfast with my high adventure ASM when the light on long stems started swaying in sync after the jolt. Paul and I simply smiled and said, a quake; but she was in a total panic. She was really small, and almost managed to get in. Took her a half hour to calm down.

 

We have a number of extinct (are they ever?)volcanoes nearby, and at least three steam vents I know of that are always hot. So, I suppose we could have a volcano explode unexpectedly, though is remote probability currently. But up at Mammoth, they have had a number of years of signs something is building. Would not be surprised to see a major quake or a volcano appear; and Shasta is possibly the next Mt. St. Helens.

 

Personally, I still prefer our overall great weather and so on to always worrying about tornadoes, hurricanes, or floods, as well a coping with freezing weather regularly and the high heating and cooling costs, especially heating.

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Barry,

 

Our troop was camping this weekend in Cleveland, OK. I almost missed the earthquake. The wind on Saturday was so strong there that when the quake happened, we thought it was just a strong gust. It explained the train sound that my wife says she heard at home in Tulsa. Monday's quake happened when we were sitting watching TV. I felt that one for sure.

 

BTW, don't say that stuff about the volcano too loud. This is Oklahoma, after all. As you know, in this place, anything goes. So, I figure we should not tempt the powers that be with any more "novel" natural conditions.

 

 

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What to do in an earthquake? Mostly just ride it out. Usually by the time you recognize what's going on, there isn't enough time to do anything useful. Especially if there are 55 thousand people between you and any place you might want to go. If you're by a big window, move away. Stand in a doorway if you have time to get to it. If you're downtown with lots of skyscrapers, um, rub your lucky rabbits foot that nothing lands on you.

 

Best way to avoid being injured in an earthquake is probably to be outdoors camping! So there's a good excuse to plan more camping trips. You're keeping the Scouts safe! Besides, if you're outdoors, you might have a chance of seeing a ground wave...

 

Thus spake a native Californian and survivor of 4 7.0+ quakes...

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