Napa Earthquake

[Buddahaid]

Just got back home from my folks house in Napa. What a mess! No structural damage but the furniture moved 1-3 feet and toppled just about anything that wasn’t low. Books, knick-knacks, pictures, mirrors, etc. all busted and all over the floor. A couple of water pipes broke and I had to bypass the water softener to get water pressure again. Still no hot water as the pipe broke that feeds water to it and I couldn't fix that one. The pool lost about a good foot of water and the cover tore loose. Power was restored about 3PM and PGE will come out sometime tomorrow to check the gas lines.

I'm dirty and exhausted. Time for a shower and a big whisky!.

On a lighter note, I was able to come home with this ships plaque.

[Tango589]

Glad everyone's ok and there's no major harm done, good work on getting things fixed.

Nice plaque, where did it come from?

[Jimbuna]

Pleased your folks are okay Budda, the other stuff can be fixed given time

[Sgt_Jamez]

When I was stationed at Travis AFB, we used to ride through Napa all the time. Glad to hear your family is ok!

[vienna]

Happy to hear you and your family are in good shape, although it sound like the house took a bit of a beating. Been through a few big quakes and it is really amazing what they can do it just a matter of seconds. Hope you don't get any big aftershocks to undo what you have already repaired...


<O>

[Buddahaid]

Thanks for the good thoughts. The house itself is undamaged, which is just amazing considering how much stuff got knocked over, and I've been through many earthquakes. This one must have been a smooth roller such that it just rocked the house evenly. No cracks in the plaster even.

Good news was Dad's neighbor has a good friend of forty years who's a plumber and all the water pipes have been repaired. Now it's just getting the gas lines verified and things will be pretty much back to normal.

Funny thing is I live about forty miles away and it just felt like the washing machine was out of balance. Lasted for about ten seconds and I was just waiting for it to get worse, and then waiting for a bad aftershock which I never felt. I did know by the feel that it was a bad one for somebody somewhere.

On the plaque. Those were made by Mare Island for the ships and boats to give out to VIPs as they saw fit. I had one like it for the Scorpion many years ago, but we gave that one to the family of one of the victims after the sinking.

[vienna]

Rolling earthquakes are usually easier to ride out. I was in Los Angeles (Hollywood area) when the 1994 Northridge Quake (6.7 Richter) hit and the motion was very much a violent up and down motion and it lasted for about 30 seconds. There is an earthquake fault about a half-mile or so north of where I live and when the Northridge Quake hit, dozens of other smaller faults also let go, including the one near my home. Try to imagine the effect as sort of being in a plane with really severe turbulence. Like you, I waited for a bigger after shock, but, thankfully, it never came. However, there were lots of smaller aftershocks that happened over several days with the 24-36 hours after the main quake being the worst. Everything that was above floor level in my apartment was knocked to the floor, making a layer about a foot deep on the floor. The only item that didn't fall was a lamp clamped to a built-in side table next t o my bed. During one rapid cluster of aftershocks, the lamp wobbled, the clamp failed, and it, too, joined all the items on the floor...

The main quake often is not the most nerve-wracking experience. It's the aftershocks that will really test your nerves since you aren't sure if they will be large, small, few, or many. I remember sitting there on my bed in the darkness as aftershock after aftershock hit and wondering "Is this what it's like to be depth charged?"...

Kudos for being considerate enough to give the plaque to the victim's family. There are decent people in this world...


<O>

[Buddahaid]

Yep. I was just waiting for the intensity to escalate as it lasted what seemed like ten seconds. And then left waiting for an aftershock that might be worse.
My house is over bedrock though and I didn't feel any of the aftershocks. Even the ones on Monday morning.

I'm in the city of San Rafael marked on the shake map.

[vienna]

I'm familiar with San Rafael; used to go there once in a while when I lived in San Francisco. Very nice city. Has it become infected with the skyrocketing home prices such as in San Francisco?...

Good to be on bedrock; where I live in Hollywood, there are a few quake faults running through the area and the ground in some place is a bit unstable. When they were building the subway line under Hollywood Blvd., the ground sank several inches after the completion of construction. There is currently some developer who wants to build a pair of 30+ story high rises almost on top of the quake fault I mentioned in a previous post. The city approved the construction permits, but local citizens have banded together to fight the project. The upswing of it all was a decision to let experts such as those at the USGS and Caltech determine if there is a safety hazard. Caltech has weighed in as saying not only is the site too close to the fault, they found a couple of other faults nearby. The developer still want to build, but the question now is how they will ever get any insurance for the finished buildings...

Aftershocks can do strange things. When the 1971 Sylmar Quake (6.6 Richter) hit, I was working in bank in downtown Los Angeles. The building was actually a newer building cobbled on to an older building by opening the walls where the buildings met. When the quake hit, a gap of about 2 or so inches opened up between the two buildings; a later aftershock closed the gap as if it had never happened. In 1992, the Big Bear quake (6.5 Richter) hit and on the news there was a story about a family whose home had been knocked off its foundation; an aftershock knocked it right back on again...


<O>

[Buddahaid]

Sure has but perhaps not as lofty. I'm just happy I bought in when I did even though at the time I had to pull in all the help I could get to make a down payment.

[Aktungbby]

Still digging out here in between sailing and work and two nasty little aftershocks! The latest analysis: "Emerging data on last month's 6.0 magnitude earthquake shows it directed most of its force north toward Napa and the Napa Valley, hitting hard enough to move one side of the West Napa Fault north by 18 inches, the head of the U.S. Geological Survey's Earthquake Science Center said Thursday. Scientists' ongoing study of the quake is helping explain why the city of "The energy really pointed right on Napa," Additionally, vineyard-rich Napa Valley lies on soil and other, softer geological deposits, that shake harder and longer than bedrock," I'm built on an old orchard soilwise, so My cars moved 1 foot to the west and northward 1.5 feet as well. The slab foundation previously cracked in the other quake 11 years ago, actually provides 'give' to the slab portion of the shack. a blessing in disguise...?
"A European satellite mapped how the Napa quake ruptured the Earth's surface using a technique that highlights minute surface changes in psychedelic colors. However, the maps, known as interferograms, will never replace fieldwork, geologists said"...DAMN straight! I've been interfered with And I'm sure doing the field work!(cleaning up) I'm at the north end tip of that little white line on soft orchard soil. But hey this one was # 3 and I get to really clean house and will probably be able to talk the wife into 'off the grid' solar so we have power for the next one. All in all: still better than tornadoes (2)or hurricanes (2) IMHO.

[Buddahaid]

My folks place is near Linda Vista and Trower on clay amongst what used to be prune orchards and cattle grazing land. Must be close by.

[Aktungbby]

Two blocks from my shack to the North- I'll buy ya' a cup of chowder at Osprey Fish market on yer next visit!!! and throw in the Two Buck Chuck Chardonnay!

[Buddahaid]

You're on but will likely be a couple of weeks due to commitments. Dad built the house 57 years ago so it's one of the old ones on the northwest side of Linda Vista.. Sixth one if I remember right with a carport.