EARTHQUAKE IN B.C.

Subject: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Lyrical Lady
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 02:26 PM

Just felt my first earthquake at 10:56 am! It's indiscribable! I hope everyone is ok in Seattle! L

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Lyrical Lady
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 02:27 PM

See...I'm still shaking ... can't spell! LL

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Dave (the ancient mariner)
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 02:29 PM

Wow... any damage?

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Lyrical Lady
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 02:35 PM

Not in the Gulf Islands ... but definately in Seattle. Airport is closed ... buildings damaged ...

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Metchosin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 02:41 PM

Whoowee!

Worried about Mousethief, when it went through here I remarked to my husband that I hadn't felt one like that since 1964. (Earthquake that is) 6.2 magnitude and centered near Olympia. The dogs here felt it first and were creating such a racket at the front door that I went to see who they were barking at and then it started. Smart dogs. If they didn't go to the front door and bark all the time I'd use them as predictors.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: SINSULL
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 02:41 PM

The online news just started reporting it here on the east coast. Stay safe, LL. Lots of broken glass and no injury reports yet.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 02:44 PM

Just found this from AP:

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2001; 2:15 p.m. EST

Earthquake Hits Pacific Northwest

SEATTLE (AP) – A strong earthquake shook the Pacific Northwest today, shattering windows in downtown Seattle and rattling Portland, Ore., for nearly half a minute. There was no immediate word of injuries. The magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit at approximately 10:55 a.m., according to federal officials at the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska. It was centered 30 miles southwest of Seattle. The quake was felt as far away as Salt Lake City. In downtown Portland, office buildings swayed for 20 to 30 seconds, and local television stations were deluged by calls from viewers reporting rolling motion across the area.

I hope everyone is alright. I'll have to call my friends in Portland. Thanks, LL, for letting us know and thank goodness you are safe.

Ebbie? You out there? Doing okay in your area?

kat

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Metchosin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 02:51 PM

I wouldn't do much phoning yet kat. Telus has asked residents in the Lower mainland not to call, as its starting to jam the phone lines. I can belive it. My daughter phoned here from town just after, it knocked all the nic nacs from her desk, and then I had three more calls from relatives after that, asking if we were OK.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Stewart
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 02:56 PM

Here in North Seattle it was a quite strong rolling quake, seemed to last for almost a full min. Strongest I've ever felt, and I grew up in So. Calif. No damage here, utilities remained intact, but internally I am still a bit shaken up. It certainly got our attention!

Cheers, S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Metchosin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:00 PM

Now they are saying it was a 7.0 building and road damage in Seattle. Some roofs collapsed.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Metchosin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:02 PM

Comeau Lake Hydro sub station down in Vancouver.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: GUEST,Bruce O.
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:03 PM

I was in Bremerton for the big one in ?1949. A car passed on the road in front of our house during the tremor. I've always suspected that the driver just thought that he'd had too much to drink. I got to Olympia to see the dome of the state capitol on the ground. It wasn't uncommon to be lying in bed an watch top corners of the bedroom going in opposite directions.

After the last big one in California that knocked down the bridge over the bay my sister and her family pitched their tent in the local schoolyard and lived there for about a month. For no logical reason her daughter decided to go home from work the long way around that day, so she was on that route rather than on the bridge when it collapsed.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Metchosin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:06 PM

Reassuring, they are telling us now, that this is not the Big One that we are supposed to be getting any time soon. Reminds me , our hot water tank packed it in this weekend after 25 years service, should make sure that the plumber puts strapping to the foundation wall to keep the new one from walking.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Metchosin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:10 PM

BruceO the biggest one on the Island here was in 1949 too, wonder if it was the same one. It did a lot of structural damage in the Qualicum area.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: catspaw49
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:18 PM

Mouse Thief?

Spaw

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:18 PM

Yikes! I just got a PM from Alex (mousethief) this morning- must have been about an hour before the quake. I hope he's all right! And that all are safe and well in the Pacific NW.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: kimmers
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:19 PM

Felt a few nice little jolts here in Salem, OR. Very startling but not enough to be scary. The cats woke up and looked around but appeared unconcerned... so much for animal instincts. Or maybe they really did know it wasn't going to be a big deal here.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Metchosin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:19 PM

Stewart I can imagine you are shook up, we're about 110 miles from Olympia, as the crow flies, and I was shaking for about 15 minutes afterward.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: catspaw49
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:22 PM

also: reggie miles....Benjamin

Spaw

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: GUEST,Bruce O.
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:27 PM

The Bremerton-Manette bridge was getting pretty old and was thought that it might be getting dangerous, and there had been a lot of talk about tearing it down and replacing it at the time of the 1949 quake. The bridge survived better than many other structues around town, so they later built a new one about a mile north. The old one is still there.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:33 PM

My friends in Portalnd just emailed me. They were ina high-rise mall and watched the merchandise dance around a bit, went out onto the street where there were a lot of people from apparently evacuated buidlings, but they heard nothing official until they got home and turned on the news.

Sure would like to hear from Alex and the rest of the Mudcatters up there.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: SINSULL
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:33 PM

Metchosin - any chance your water tank death can be attributed to the quake? Heh Heh.

Keep us posted.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Metchosin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:40 PM

naw, it gave up the ghost on Saturday, but just prior to the quake today, I was busy cleaning around the old tank and emptying our containers of emergency water supplies and refilling them. Maybe I'm better at predicting them than the dogs.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: GUEST,hoolet
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 03:49 PM

hope all in Campbell River are safe and well

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Lyrical Lady
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 04:03 PM

Phonelines are down and jammed .. as well as hydro in Seattle. Probably won't hear from Mousethief for a bit. As time goes on, things are looking grimmer ... mudslides, elevator shaft collapsed in an old hotel, 10 people unaccounted for...

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Amergin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 04:04 PM

Boy, I was sitting here chatting with some one when I felt my house start shaking. At first I thought it was the washing machine, but then realised it was too strong for that....here in Saint Helens (just thirty miles from Portland) we got it worse than Portland did....

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: GUEST,Gary Owens
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 04:06 PM

Metchosin - Securing the water heater is a good idea, but don't get the plumber to do it unless he knows how to do because it may worsen the situation. Esentially, the tank exterior, if cylindrical, should be braced vertically about the circumference and the strapping should be placed at least at the upper and lower quarter points. The tank should be butressed to the foundation wall. Braces and butress should be wooden or similar, to absorb some crushing. The straps should be designed based on the mass of the tank and contents in order to resist .... I am sure that there is some info on a government website somewhere that would have some details, but I think you can see why I have some trepidation about a plumber starpping it down. I know it sounds like I am making a big deal out of it, but in my 25 years in engineering and construction I have come to realize that everybody knows how to to everthing better than an engineer except stamping and signing the drawings.

g

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Bill D
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 04:11 PM

I have friends in Bremerton...might hear something later today...I'd imagine that phone lines and email are humming right now...

The thing about super-fast modern communications is that everyone thinks they can run and use them at the same time....traffic jams can get as bad online as at rush-hour on the freeway.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: JenEllen
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 04:20 PM

Been keeping an eye on the NWCN since the quake. We did get a bit of a roller.

Seems to be business as usual for those on the ground, but the hi-rise folks look a bit shook up.

Best of luck to those close to coast.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 04:21 PM

Good to hear that you are okay, Nathan/Amergin.

I just got another email from my friend, he said the best news updates they have are available at www.nwcn.com. He is hearing lots of helicopters and sirens.

Good thoughts going out to all.

kat

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: radriano
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 04:23 PM

The earthquake was in Seattle (7.0). No deaths, three serious injuries. Lucky, lucky, lucky.

I work for the California Division of Mines and Geology, California's State Geological Survey. Shows you how different earthquakes can be. The Loma Prieta quake was around 7.0 as well and caused a lot more damage.

Richard

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Metchosin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 04:23 PM

Thanks Gary I'll pass that on to my husband, he is usually the doer of such things but has been so busy this week that he was going to relegate. I think most of the plumbers do the strapping now because there is a lot more requests for it and perhaps the Code has changed from what was required 25 years ago. Interesting I've never heard about butressing though, I'll see what Hydro recommmends. Thanks again.

My father-in-law was just suggesting that I construct a supporting floor for the new one, as the place in the crawlspace where the new tank is going has a slope to the concrete. Now I'll have to rethink how I am going to attach the framed section below the pan to the concrete groundseal. hmmm.....major project for me....

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Amergin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 04:31 PM

Ok, all the phone lines and such are tied up right now, so that's probably why we haven't heard from Alex/Mousethief....I have been calling trying to get ahold of my friends in Sumner, WA....so far no such luck....

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Metchosin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 04:32 PM

Ah forgot to mention Gary, designing houses is our business here, but if it is beyond the scope of existing building codes or we have some concerns, we always get get them engineered.

hoolet, don't worry about Cambell River, its quite a bit farther north on the Island so I don't imagine they felt much.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: GUEST,Gary Owens
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 04:35 PM

Metchosin - Actually there is no such thing as butressing. That should be buttressing. I usually proof my hunt n' peck before I send it, but I was between e's from relatives in Seattle and just forgot. Anyway, If there is a standard for this type of thing, I would love to see it. If you come across any standard drawing, I would appreciate knowing the name of the authority who drew it so I can search for it.

As for buttressing, it's really just filling the space between the tank and the foundation so that the tank doesn't smack the wall.

g

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Metchosin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 05:00 PM

So 2X4's on the flat, lagged to the concrete between the tank and the wall would suffice as a buttress? Still haven't checked out B.C. Hydro's site for recomendations, but if I find anything appropriate I will send it along. I noticed your spelling as well, but figured if that was the way you spelled it, who am I to question it, after all you're the Engineer.*BG*

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Metchosin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 05:05 PM

some of the historic buildings in Seattle have been reported as damaged, quake has now been determined as 6.8, 12 injured, 3 seriously. Only reported damage in BC, some downed hydro poles in the Langly area.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: SINSULL
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 05:11 PM

And does the other side of the world have a tidal wave to look forward to?

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: GUEST,Gary Owens
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 05:13 PM

Metchosin - If you have never seen it before, it goes " For yeers ago, I coodn't even spel ingineer, now I are won."

I'll search BC Hydro. By the way, I will probably never use it as I am in NB. We only get little shakes here and they are once in a blue moon. Although.... they say that long periods of time w/o one means it may be building up. If that's the case, strapping be on the water heater be d***ed. We'd better strap LePreau - come to think of it, we may have to strap LePreau just to keep the plutonium inside on a ca'm day !

g

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Amergin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 05:16 PM

Last I heard, Sins, was that no one knew for sure....

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Sorcha
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 05:53 PM

Glad to know everybody seems to be OK, but we're still waiting to hear from Alex..........

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Metchosin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 06:04 PM

The Governor of Washington has declared a state of emergency, from what I heard a few minutes ago the damage in terms of money is quite considerable. Do hope mousethief and others are safe.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Ebbie
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 06:05 PM

No problem here, so far as I know. I didn't feel it.

In April 1949 I was a kid in school in Amity Oregon when the 7.1 Olympia Washington-epicenter one hit. The first one I ever felt- frightened me for a very long time.

In the 1960s, there were a number of minor ones in Oregon- again all from the north, I believe.

Juneau obviously has had major ones in its past- these sharp mountains around here came from somewhere- but it doesn't have a history of large earthquakes, very different from 600-mile-away Anchorage, for instance. Officially Southeast gets two quakes a year, not necessarily big enough to feel. These come from north about a hundred miles, as a rule.

I can sympathise with the mudcatters from the BC and Washington and Oregon areas. It's a really scary feeling, like the earth itself has betrayed you, that there is nothing to hang on to.

They're saying that there haven't been any reported deaths but there are at least 25 injuries, some of them serious.

Can you imagine the feeling in the Seattle Space Needle restaurant and observation deck!! They say there were more than a hundred people up there, swaying back and forth above the city...

Ebbie

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Sarah2
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 06:06 PM

MSNBC is saying right now that lots of electricity is out in the area and it will be "some time" before it's all restored. Wish he'd call someone...

Sarah

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: JenEllen
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 06:08 PM

Billions of $ in damage. State of Emergency. Our news says the number injured is riding about 30+ with the majority of serious injuries being from a few pressure injuries and a lot of cardiac emergencies. There was also a mudslide that took out the 101. It was only a 6.8, and amazingly enough, almost in the exact same spot at the quake in '49.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: catspaw49
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 06:16 PM

Heard some reports that the "Needle" was basically fine, some elevator problem that wasn't structural is what the news reported. I gotta' tell you, being up in that thing during an earthquake??? I believe I would have just bent over and kissed my ass good-bye!

Some of the biggest problems seem to be in the SeaTac area and that's where Alex is I believe, so it may be awhile before we hear anything at all. Hope all is well with him and his family.

Spaw

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: kimmers
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 06:22 PM

How are all of the lovely old buildings in Seattle's Pioneer Square? Did any of them get badly damaged?

And I hope they weren't taking a group through the Underground Tour at the time of the quake...

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Deckman
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 06:24 PM

Everythings O.K. here in the Pacific Northwest. A couple of dozen in the hospital, a few serious. A fair amount of damage, mainly old building facing coming down. The older and weaker bridges and viaducts are closed for inspection. A couple of majoy highways are shut down to serious bridge problems, including Hwy 2 over Stevens Pass. But basically, we are O.K. I was building a second story deck in Mukilteo ... we were rockin' and rollin'! CHEERS, Bob (deckman) Nelson, Everett Wa.

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Amergin
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 06:25 PM

Spaw, you can reach your own arse with those lips? Now that's what I call talented....I've seen my dogs chew on theirs many times.....but never seen a human do it....

Subject: RE: EARHTQUAKE IN B.C.
From: Sarah2
Date: 28 Feb 01 - 06:31 PM

Deckman, so glad you've checked in okay! One piece of good, good news. (I'm sitting here hitting this thread every time I see a new post, hoping to hear from each of you in that area.) Thanks for letting us know you're all right.

Sarah