Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Crap.

Well, I'm definitely not used to earthquakes yet. We had a 4.7 one 15 km south of here about a half hour ago and I'm still freaking out. I almost fainted. Which might make for fun headlines: "Stupid American earthquake n00b freaks out and dies over minor earthquake".

10 comments:

bryan-in-greece said...

Didn't feel anything here in Kilkis, thirty miles from Thes/niki, Mel, but that could be down to the fact I was sitting on one of those old cheapo raffia-arsed wooden chairs at a souvlaki place - that sort of chair is so rickety that I suspect an earthquake of a factor of 8 on the Richter scale might pass unnoticed... I remember one which hit Kilkis back in 1989 and which was strong enough to knock crockery off horizontal surfaces, and the eeriest part of which was the swishing sound from the ντεπόζιτο (cold water tank) for a few minutes after the shaking stopped. Wouldn't fancy experiencing a really monster quake, though...!!

Anonymous said...

Do I or do I not remember a certain someone once blogging that they hadn't felt an earthquake?

CaliforniaKat said...

Earthquakes take some getting used to for some people. Lots of people here get freaked out over minor tremors. My friend Karen once ran outside without her clothes on and got to know our neighbors quite well.

I'm from Cali, where earthquakes are a way of life, and tourists come to the state and wish for a big one (which I think is rude). So I think it's just what you're used to. Your reaction is a lot more normal than mine.

Anonymous said...

earthquakes r devastating

Anonymous said...

I still remember my first earthqueake while living in California. It was a 3.5 on the Richter scale but i was TERRIFIED. Of course the natives didn't understand my fear. In all the years I lived there I was always a little afraid of them too.
Earthquakes are scary. I don't know how/why anybody ever gets used to them.

Anonymous said...

Scary scary scary. I know. I was here during the big one. I still wobble at the thought! Take care!

Anonymous said...

Don't feel bad. We had a minor one when I was living in Oregon, and I was left feeling unsettled for weeks after.

See it started early in the morning, and I was asleep. My dog, Rummel (not Rommel people) who slept with me started whimpering and barking out of the blue like in some scary movie. Then the whole house shook. I just held my dog and prayed it wasn't THE BIG ONE they've been waiting for to split the Beaver State in two (no pun intended).

It is some scary shit. I was nervous for weeks after.

Anonymous said...

zardoz says :


dont worry about it MEL

ITS JUST NATURES WAY

OF REMINDING US ,, OUR TRUE NATURE

were really very fragile ,

Hope you find a way to deal it out of your system . =z=

melusina said...

Lol, Bryan, those chairs are the worst. You were probably too far away to feel it. It was small, short lived (probably just a few seconds), but very shallow, so that is probably why it felt so scary. Let's hope none of us experience a monster quake!

EllasDevil, you remember right, but you've forgotten that within a few days of me making that post we had two earthquakes here!

Kat - it is rude for people to wish for an earthquake. Are they crazy? I can't imagine what it is like in CA feeling them all the time. I can't imagine getting used to it - the lack of control, being on the 6th floor of a 7 story building doesn't help either. And the idea that another might come. Ugh. But I *really* freaked, a bit irrationally. Ah well.

Scott - indeed they are

J.Doe - I don't see getting used to them either. I will feel much better when we are in our house up on the mountain far, far away from tons of tall buildings. Sure, we might get hit by falling rock from the top of the mountain, but at least no buildings will collapse on our heads. Plus our house was designed by a civil engineer to sustain I think up to a 7.5 quake.

DeviousDiva - I can't imagine what it was like to be in Athens for the big one. Gosh, if I was terrified at this baby one, that kind of earthquake will probably give me a heart attack. Here's hoping Greece stays major earthquake free.

Onward and Upward - I didn't know there is a prediction to split Oregon in half! Earthquakes are just weird, unsettling things. With zero predictability. I hate that the most.

Zardoz - Yes, you are right. And I know, with all the weight the earth is carrying, it needs to stretch once in awhile! Just as long as it doesn't kill people in the process. =p

Cheryl said...

Mel,
I didn't feel it either, but I did feel lots of aftershocks in Kozani 12 years ago. It is very unsettling. For nearly a week I would just watch a glass of water or something just to make sure that I hadn't gone crazy. At the time, my cat was my aftershock sensor...her ears would go down and she would pace back and forth before one. I'll probably be there for the next one!