An Earthquake Anniversary

   One year ago this week, the Great Virginia Earthquake of 5.8 occurred on  August 23, 2011.  Since then, more than 10 million dollars worth of damage was found in a neighboring county, and their fairly large local school had to be demolished due to the serious amount of damage.  The local real estate market here has been decimated, due to fear of buying following the quake, and the damaged and ever lack luster economy. This is said to be the largest earthquake in this region ever to afflict the entire East Coast of the US.  The Washington Monument in DC was damaged, and so was the National Cathedral in DC and buldings attached to Jefferson's Rotunda at the University of Virginia. It also shut down the North Anna Nuclear Power Station for quite a time. Significant shaking was felt even in high rise office buildings in Toronto. (No, Virginia does not have a Toronto. This is THE Toronto in Canada !)  The quake was also felt in Florida.  More than 450 aftershocks have been detected since, and many of those continued to do damage to chimneys, roads, houses, wells, schools, and monuments. Significant changes also occurred to ground water levels following this quake.
    On a personal level, I now have higher radon levels within my home following the quake.  I have a lower well static water level now. My water was slightly muddy for six weeks afterward and still has more iron in it than it did.  My livestock is now perennially neurotic following so many aftershocks. I am not joking when I say the cat could use some treatment for post traumatic stress.
     Seriously though,  this is the year in which many families locally became intimately familiar with FEMA, their propaganda, and their iron grip once you have enlisted their aid and appear on their rolls.  This is also the year many people particularly in Louisa County, Virginia simply walked away from homes and mortgages when their homes simply split in half, the result of that one sunny Augist day.    This was also the day when people thought I might not be a naysayer, but that I might actually know something when I talk about preparing for both natural and man-made disasters.  Personally, I wish there had been another way.


Additional information:

http://www.usgs.gov/blogs/features/usgs_top_story/one-year-anniversary-magnitude-5-8-virginia-earthquake/?from=textlink

Widespread Earthquake in Mexico

 In the interest of creating a blog in which learning occurs rather than creating a log of adverse events here on Earth, I try to alter the tone of the posts. I try to balance home life, with data we can learn from natural disasters, how others might be preparing, to medical management of things which are possible in a home setting.  I try to keep the politics to a minimum because it's so polarizing and can leave us frustrated, but it can seep into why we do what we do, and why we have concerns for our governments being able to provide aid when needed, wherever we are.  Sometimes the choice is made for me, as it is today.
        Yesterday, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck in Mexico’s western Guerrero state, shaking buildings and causing panic reaching all the way to Mexico City and all the way to the resort of Acapulco.Damage is said to be relatively light, although three people are known to have died as a direct result of the quake.  One was the driver of a tractor trailer truck who was hit by falling rocks from a highway.  Please check on any loved ones you have in Mexico today.  There are also likely to be aftershocks.  Please pray for those in areas impacted, as Mexico can be a difficult place to live and a difficult place in which to plan ahead for disasters.

Oklahoma Earthquakes

Photo is the work of Sue Ogrocki, AP

Oklahoma is a state in which inhabitants are usually well acquainted with preparedness and preparedness issues. Annual tornadoes can be so severe there that many of us, when looking for a lovely rural low population density area in which to raise our children, simply pass due to the summer tornadoes. Still there is much to recommend it. It is not known for an abundance of earthquakes. In truth, very small tremors have occured in Oklahoma all along. According to the US Geological Survey, 1047 earthquakes occured in Oklahoma in 2010, most of which were not even large enough to be felt by human beings. This was not the case this week, when on November 5, a smattering of lower intensity earthquakes were felt there. The initial quakes were about 2.7-3.4 . These were disconcerting enough, until later that night a 5.6 occurred in Central Oklahoma. It turned out that the cluster of earlier earthquakes had been pre-shocks leading up to a more serious event. This concept is important, because sometimes clusters of earthquakes do lead up to a more severe event. Perhaps we should use lesser earthquakes to take a last minute glance at our homes and rectify anything which should be adjusted in anticipation of a more severe quake. The 5.6 quake in Oklahoma, buckled a highway, did damage to brick facing, homes and kitchens, and did pretty serious damage to Benedictine Hall, in Gregory University. The damage in Oklahoma has not yet fully been assessed and numerous aftershocks are continuing. Ten of these aftershocks have exceeded 3.0 . It is conceivable that, these aftershocks, just as they did in Louisa County, Virginia, will also cause cumulative damage to roads, schools and homes.

UPDATE:  On Monday evening, an aftershock of 4.7 occurred, damaging additional homes in Central Oklahoma. Residents there have been told to expect aftershocks for weeks to months.

Photo AP/ Sue Ogrocki

These are pictures of earthquake damage to Benedictine Hall, at St. Gregory's College in Shawnee, Oklahoma which occurred following the 5.6 earthquake this week.
Photo AP/Sue Ogrocki