Just as I was putting together the previous blog post, everything on my desk started hopping and shaking and there was a hollow noise like Denver pounding up the stairs. It took me a few seconds to realize that it was an earthquake, but by time I ran down the stairs the worst was over. Our houseplant leaves were still quivering madly, but the roar was gone and other things weren't shaking. The leaves continued to quiver for another 20-30 seconds before they finally stilled.
This is only the second quake we've noticed since being here. The first one I barely noticed (was like the feeling of a heavy truck driving by outside), and it was a 5.0 with the epicenter in Homer. This one was substantially longer and stronger, so I'm guessing it was a 6.0. I'm heading in to the Islands and Oceans Visitor Center right now for a Family Fun Day, and they have a seismograph there so we'll go check it out!
Later....Guess Islands and Oceans doesn't have a seismograph (maybe I saw one at the Pratt Museum??), but the lady at the desk had the following website up (http://www.aeic.alaska.edu/recent/sub/index.html) and kindly let us look it over. When you follow this link, you'll discover there have been dozens of quakes in the past few days, but this one was by far the largest (most were 1.0-3.0; this was 5.73). One of the ladies was at the Visitor's Center this morning during the quake and she was scared because the cables that were attached to the beams holding up the large glass wall were twanging, something she's never seen before. They were afraid it was all going to come down! In my house, one cup fell over in the cupboard and that's it. No damage to the Spit or anything. It was bigger than usual, but still pretty mild. Of course, at our house we were a good 70 miles from the epicenter (48 miles from Homer), and it was also 62 miles deep. WOW! Amazing that we could feel it at all!
I've been reading up on the 'Quake of '64 so I am somewhat mentally pschyed for a big one, though I don't think anyone is ever truly ready for an event like that.
Any damage? How's the spit?
ReplyDeleteAre you at all alarmed at the quakes going on in the area? I went to your suggested page about the earthqakes happening in Alaska and there have been 88 quakes of varying magnitude in the last 3 days alone.
ReplyDeletePaula