A matter of perspective
At 1:51 on Tuesday, August 23, 2011, I was having a late lunch in DC when the floor did a wave during a 5.8 magnitude earthquake. I had the same reaction this guy did:
We covered the event last year: Worse Than We Thought!
Alex Capece from Raising Ladders captured the flavor.
While the Washington Monument and the Washington National Cathedral were damaged, the reaction to the trembler exceeded the devastation. This remains my favorite FaceBook momento of the event:
Followed by the hilarious NextMedia animation, with the observation:
"Tweets from DC reached New York City 30 seconds before the actual shock waves."
While east coast inexperience was a factor in the outsized reaction, the last trembler of this magnitude occured in 1897.
The comprehensive USGS report included this graphic:
How did you commemorate the Mineral, Virginia, trembler?
Mike "FossilMedic" Ward
Also on FireGeezer…
- Faulty Circuit Smokes Crabs – October 9, 2012
- Is EMS REALLY a calling? – May 20, 2012
- My Hometown Heros – September 21, 2012
- A Night of Heros – October 30, 2012
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