Earthquake in D.C.

[Sapphire225]

Okay, I don't want to seem lacking in compassion, because earthquakes are scary regardless of magnitude. I'm sorry you guys had to experience something so frightening, and I hope it wakes up the east coast (and the rest of America) and they do a better job at reinforcing buildings for earthquakes. I hope there aren't any more.

But I've seen articles that call it "devastating" and show pictures of people's tipped over yogurt cups and collapsed cd shelves and whatnot. Again, I'm sorry you're frightened, but suck it up, America. You don't get to use the word "devastating" until at least one person loses their home.

...also, I'm afraid if I tell my earthquake stories it'll sound like I'm trying to one-up you guys, which I'm definitely not. So I'll just say again that yes, earthquakes are scary, and I'm definitely not lacking in empathy for you guys or thinking that you're wimps or anything because you're scared. I remember when 2 pointers used to scare me.

Wow, this is new. I think most people are just shaken to feel their first earthquake that they tend to blow the magnitude (pun intended) of the experience to greater proportions. But yeah, as of yet, there are no serious reports so devastating is an awfully strong word to use for this event.

[Yuki-Anne]

Oh, wait, I get it. I must have seen an article by someone on the West Coast making fun of the East Coast, and I just didn't understand that it was tongue-in-cheek.

My bad. I tend to take the word "devastation" very seriously these days... O__O

EDIT: Now that my sense of humor has been resurrected that article is HILARIOUS.

[ashfire]

I am just waiting to see the security cameras shots of our people running out of the building.

[Nate]

Oh, wait, I get it. I must have seen an article by someone on the West Coast making fun of the East Coast, and I just didn't understand that it was tongue-in-cheek.

My bad. I tend to take the word "devastation" very seriously these days... O__O

EDIT: Now that my sense of humor has been resurrected that article is HILARIOUS.

Yeah, a lot of it is people from the west coast making fun of the people here for going "OH GOD HOUSE IS SHAKING WAT DO?" that was going on when the quake hit, because it was a 5.9-6.0 which isn't really that big of a deal honestly. So the one I saw was one where a guy was like "LOOK AT ALL THE CARNAGE AND DESTRUCTION THIS QUAKE HAS WROUGHT" with a picture of some plastic picnic chairs and a table with one of the chairs fallen over.

Also, the best one I heard from Twitter:

"MSNBC says the Washington Monument is leaning to its left. Fox News says it's to the right."

[TopazRaven]

In all fairness we really don't know how to handle an earthquake here on the East coast. This isn't a common occurrence for us after all. I didn't even realize what it was until it was over. Once I found out what it was, yeah I got a little freaked out and scared. I'd never experienced something like that before.

[Radical Dreamer]

Oh, wait, I get it. I must have seen an article by someone on the West Coast making fun of the East Coast, and I just didn't understand that it was tongue-in-cheek.

My bad. I tend to take the word "devastation" very seriously these days... O__O

EDIT: Now that my sense of humor has been resurrected that article is HILARIOUS.

Oh my gosh can you please link the article? XD I saw a few similar jokes earlier, and it is MY NEW FAVORITE JOKE. XDD The first one I saw was a link to a picture, with the caption saying something like, "DC is in devastating condition. Viewer discretion is advised." The picture that the link took you to was of an outdoor dinner chair tipped over on the lawn, and I burst into so much laughter. XDD Another version was as follows:



I love the internet. XDD

[LadyRushia]

I'm pretty sure nobody is taking this seriously and if they are, that's really sad.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I love the internet. XDD

My friend showed me this today. I giggled much.

So where was I when it happened? I was at work (at uh... Gamestop...). Suddenly the building and all the display game cases and stuff were shaking. Some lady was going "omg what was that? I thought it was a store promotion going on or something!"

Yeah. It was pretty crazy, especially cause I've never experienced an earthquake/tremor in my life.

[Yuki-Anne]

I love the internet. XDD

BAHAHA! I love it too.

As for the article, I think it's the same one Nate is referring to. Someone shared it on facebook and I feel like an idiot for not getting it right away. XD I seriously thought they were in earnest.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/stunning-photos-of-damage-caused-by-the-east-coast

Some of it is legitimate damage which is why I was a little confused.

This one is also golden: http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/20-inspiring-photos-from-the-earthquake-cleanup

[Ally-Ann]

But I've seen articles that call it "devastating" and show pictures of people's tipped over yogurt cups and collapsed cd shelves and whatnot. Again, I'm sorry you're frightened, but suck it up, America. You don't get to use the word "devastating" until at least one person loses their home.

Exactly. I mean, I know it was a freak thing, but come on. Devastating? They said no one was even hurt and there was hardly any damage. Surprising, yes. Devastating? No. I was just freaked out for awhile, but hey. Continents are on tectonic plates, so even if there isn't an active fault line, there're going to be a couple shakes once in awhile on the east coast and anywhere else that doesn't have an active fault line.

[Davidizer13]

Continents are on tectonic plates, so even if there isn't an active fault line, there're going to be a couple shakes once in awhile on the east coast and anywhere else that doesn't have an active fault line.

That's the weird part about this earthquake: the East Coast isn't anywhere near any tectonic plate boundaries. The North American plate extends out into the middle of the Atlantic, so you wouldn't expect to have many earthquakes that far inland. That part of Virginia is known to have magnitude 5 earthquakes every so often (the last one was around 1890), so something's going on there. It's probably caused by something like an old failed continental rift (like the New Madrid seismic zone) or accreted terrane that's still doing some settling, or even that the rocks are still rebounding from the weight of glaciers pushing down on them during the last ice age.

[Warrior4Christ]

I heard about it on the news (said it was a 5.8).
My boss from work is on a holiday in the north east, and he was on a ferris wheel in New York at the time and didn't feel anything...

We had our first 3.8 earthquake last year, and someone already did the outdoor plastic chair fallen over picture.. XD (although, the earthquake was at night, and the photo was in daylight, and it was posted before the next morning...)

[LadyRushia]

Exactly. I mean, I know it was a freak thing, but come on. Devastating? They said no one was even hurt and there was hardly any damage. Surprising, yes. Devastating?

That's the joke.