Easter Earthquake In California

Click For Summary
A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck Baja California on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010, felt as far north as Santa Barbara, with reports of strong shaking in San Diego and Los Angeles. The quake occurred at 3:40 p.m. and lasted approximately 40 seconds, causing chandeliers to sway and streetlights to swing. While no major damage was reported, some people experienced varying intensities of shaking, with some not feeling it at all. Discussions highlighted the instinctive reactions of people during the quake, including indecision on whether to stay indoors or go outside. Overall, the event prompted reflections on earthquake preparedness and the unpredictability of seismic activity.
  • #31
DaveC426913 said:
I find this interesting. If the ground simply shook, one might expect some choppy waves but, ultimately, no displacement.

You describe a tsumani-like effect, which I'm going to go out on a limb and assume means a large sloshing back and forth.

It seems to me, this is a strong indication of, not just lateral oscillation (where the net movement is zero), but of lateral displacement (where the net movement is significant).

In the Chile earthquake last month, one of the tdibits that was reported was that the city of Concepcion and its surrounding countryside is now 10 feet to the left of where it was.
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/chilequakemap.htm

Heh. Anyone got a high-end GPS? I wonder if your house is still sitting where it was before the quake...

Well, this is a Strike-Slip fault, so the displacement shouldn't be too significant. I suspecpt the "pool" effect had more to do with the depth of the quake.
 
Earth sciences news on Phys.org
  • #32
DaveC426913 said:
Heh. Anyone got a high-end GPS? I wonder if your house is still sitting where it was before the quake...

no...

my house moved, and...

is still moving...

at about 100,000 mph
 
  • #33
rewebster said:
no...

my house moved, and...

is still moving...

at about 100,000 mph

Relative to the geosat coordinates?? You better go catch it!
 
  • #34
DaveC426913 said:
Relative to the geosat coordinates?? You better go catch it!

Am I the only one who immidiately thought of "Is your refrigerator running?..." :-p

Hey... and wouldn't a "highly accurate" GPS be a military GPS?! Scaaary forum! :smile:
 
  • #35
Frame Dragger said:
Am I the only one who immidiately thought of "Is your refrigerator running?..."
You nailed it. :smile:
 
  • #36
Ivan Seeking said:
Checkout the dust cloud generated in the desert hills of Mexicali [presumably].
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-428979?hpt=C2
I just became aware today that Calexico had major damage. Video on TV showed split roads, traffic lights fallen over onto cars, buildings shaken to funny angles.

No people seriously injured, but the economy was already bad there, so now they're thinking it's going to be depressed for years. The downtown businesses and the city infrastructure suffered major blows.
 
  • #37
Frame Dragger said:
What I find amusing is that the same people who take this in stride, might be the same people who think strangers always kidnap children...
You mean the candy people? I like the candy people!

But seriously, I have lived here all of my life. I have yet to be in an earthquake where, in my immediate vicinity, there was more damage than a picture that fell off the wall.

I know that there are big earthquakes and they can cause some serious damage but the vast majority of them are nothing but a bit of a shake up. Its like freaking out every time it rains because hurricanes do lots of damage.
 
  • #38
TheStatutoryApe said:
But seriously, I have lived here all of my life. I have yet to be in an earthquake where, in my immediate vicinity, there was more damage than a picture that fell off the wall.

I know that there are big earthquakes and they can cause some serious damage but the vast majority of them are nothing but a bit of a shake up. Its like freaking out every time it rains because hurricanes do lots of damage.

The thing is, geologists have been saying that San Diego is overdue for a big one. The geological record indicates this area is the epicenter of a 7. + quake every hundred and something years, and we're about 30 years overdue. This is why each one I can feel alarms me till it's over.
 
  • #39
zoobyshoe said:
The thing is, geologists have been saying that San Diego is overdue for a big one. The geological record indicates this area is the epicenter of a 7. + quake every hundred and something years, and we're about 30 years overdue. This is why each one I can feel alarms me till it's over.

Indeed, especially as "overdue" often means a larger energy release. Of course, what the news doesn't cover (not horrifying) is that faults can have that same potential sapped by a number of smaller quakes.

So.. this could be very VERY bad, or it could be you never have to see more than pictures fall. I hope (I'm guessing as you do!) for the latter.
 
  • #40
Frame Dragger said:
Indeed, especially as "overdue" often means a larger energy release. Of course, what the news doesn't cover (not horrifying) is that faults can have that same potential sapped by a number of smaller quakes.

So.. this could be very VERY bad, or it could be you never have to see more than pictures fall. I hope (I'm guessing as you do!) for the latter.
Yes, the "overdue" seems to indicate things have gotten stuck on a particularly difficult spur, as it were, which would mean a much larger quake when that finally gives way. On the other hand it could mean that the past regular quakes already succeeded in grinding down a particularly difficult spur, and that is the reason there has not been another big one in the series. In any event, I once saw a map of all the faults under San Diego. It looked like a peanut butter cookie that someone had sat on: it's in a million pieces.
 
  • #41
zoobyshoe said:
Yes, the "overdue" seems to indicate things have gotten stuck on a particularly difficult spur, as it were, which would mean a much larger quake when that finally gives way. On the other hand it could mean that the past regular quakes already succeeded in grinding down a particularly difficult spur, and that is the reason there has not been another big one in the series. In any event, I once saw a map of all the faults under San Diego. It looked like a peanut butter cookie that someone had sat on: it's in a million pieces.

I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't, but that last sentence had me in stitches! Of course you're absolutely right, and here's to hoping that this 100-130 years just missed a "big one" or that this fault will be less... energetic. Unlike a subduction zones, slip-strikes can have much longer periods of "calm".
 
  • #42
Frame Dragger said:
I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't, but that last sentence had me in stitches! Of course you're absolutely right, and here's to hoping that this 100-130 years just missed a "big one" or that this fault will be less... energetic. Unlike a subduction zones, slip-strikes can have much longer periods of "calm".

Yeah, I guess that sounded funnier than I meant it to.

I certainly hope any large buildup of potential energy is frittered away in small quakes.
 
  • #43
zoobyshoe said:
Yeah, I guess that sounded funnier than I meant it to.

I certainly hope any large buildup of potential energy is frittered away in small quakes.

I'll drink (well.. ok, I don't, but I WOULD) to that!

On a related note, the prediction now is for a very strong Atlantic hurricane season. That is NOT going to be good news for Haiti, and if we had a major quake in the USA, we would divert resources even more from those who literally couldn't live without it. Hell, they may not anyway. :sad:
 
  • #44
zoobyshoe said:
The thing is, geologists have been saying that San Diego is overdue for a big one. The geological record indicates this area is the epicenter of a 7. + quake every hundred and something years, and we're about 30 years overdue. This is why each one I can feel alarms me till it's over.

Sorry Zoob. I do not mean to demean your, or anyones, concern regarding earthquakes. For those who have never experienced them I'm sure that even a small one is rather surprising to say the least.
 
  • #45
TheStatutoryApe said:
Sorry Zoob. I do not mean to demean your, or anyones, concern regarding earthquakes. For those who have never experienced them I'm sure that even a small one is rather surprising to say the least.

What can I say? The ground should not be moving around.

I'm not a fan of volcanoes either.
 
  • #46
zoobyshoe said:
What can I say? The ground should not be moving around.

I'm not a fan of volcanoes either.

Yeah... the latter really can be terrifying, especially the notion of something like Yellowstone blowing its top. :eek: Then again, that probably is the answer to my earlier question: you can't run from nature in the end.
 
  • #47
zoobyshoe said:
What can I say? The ground should not be moving around.

Duct tape to the rescuuuuuuue!
 

Similar threads

Mt St Helens - More than 400 earthquakes, yet no imminent eruption
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
M7.5 Earthquake, near Anamizu, W Japan
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
4K
M5.5, Lake Almanor near Chester, California
  • · Replies 0 ·
Replies
0
Views
2K
Low magnitude earthquakes in Scotland, Highlands and Inner Hebrides
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
4K
M 5.9 - 37 km WNW of Linxia Chengguanzhen, China
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
Mag 2.7 earthquake in Cornwall, 19 Nov 2023
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
M6.8 Earthquake, 40 km SSW of Bartolomé Masó, Cuba
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
M 4.8 - Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, US
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
4K
Mag 6.4, Triple Point -Juan de Fuca (Gorda), N America, Pacific Plates
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
Magnitude 6.9 Earthquake in Hawaii versus on the Hayward Fault -- What am I missing?
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
15K