This morning at 2am, my city block and all others within a kilometer-wide radius were subjected to a level 2 quake on the richter scale. I almost fell out of my chair, the sound was immense, like standing in front of a large amplifier at a rock concert. Me and about a bunch of folks in my building got out on the street and started looking for the cause, was it a gas rupture, our boiler in the basement, or something with our subway?
Except for the initial experience, it didn't seem too strange, until we went up the street to look at the peninsulas around our blocks and saw apartment lights coming on everywhere, real spooky. The police and emergency center had no answers but confirmed that they'd been getting calls from all over our area.
Apparently, although Sweden rests on a very solid foundation of rock risen into place about ten million years ago, we get about ten quakes every year, mostly undetectable without instruments according to some seismological expert on TV.
But a surface quake of this magnitude and in a populated area of Sweden hasn't happened since 1904, and it had its center in Russia. We're only nine million people on a landmass of 450 000 km�, so there are a lot of trees falling that no one hears.
Needless to say, all this was a shock, I never thought it remotely possible. The experts said follow-up quakes are rare, but another one could occur tomorrow or in ten years, there's no telling. I've been on really shaky boat cruises and turbulent plane rides but this is the first time I've ever had to think about survival while in my own home.
Oh yes, the best part, what caused it? The chief reason seems to be the melting of the glaciers above us. Natural tectonic shifts rarely make themselves heard up here.
So, time to buy that Prius? Maybe start stuffing newspaper into my trousers and stocking up on unobtanium.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Wow you were near the epicentre?
Actually interesting... in 2004 I think we had an earthquake with it's epicentre within 1km radius of my house!! It too was roughly a 2. Thing is Australia pretty much lies smackbang in the middle of the Australian plate so there isn't a lot of earthquakes. That's not to say there haven't been Earthquakes there was one in Newcastle, NSW in the late eighties that collapsed buildings and killed people.
Anyway in 2004 night time I was lying on two ottomans (tee hee) close to the TV. It was late and Stargate was on - and it was a repeat and then I thought "what is wrong with the sound" and then "hang on why isn't any one on SG1 reacting to that roar noise!?!" (It was a talky bit). Then I realised that the noise was surrounding me and I think me lying on the cusioned ottomans meant I didn't feel a lot of it - but it must have gradually built up because when I sort of removed my focus from the TV could FEEL the rumble and hear the low rumble. It was like everything became sort of muffled. Anyway I put it down to a possible sonic boom (never heard one of those though) and then I started worrying that some large explosion had occured so I got on the net - but there was no news of anything. So I forgot about it and went to bed. Next morning - go get the paper - front page "EARTHQUAKE!" - the epicentre wasn't very far away. There is some very ancient semi-fault or something (I'm sure that's not the name) nearby that runs up through the North-western suburbs of Brisbane. Last Earthquake of noticeable magnitude was back in the 60's up in the ranges West of Brisbane. I'm sure this long-winded account bores those who live on the Nth American west-coast, Japan, New Zealand, Indonesia, Iran etc. It was an interesting experience.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Huh. We get earthquakes around magnitude 3 here every few years (Yakima and to a lesser extent Kennewick are what count as "here" for me specifically) and I've never felt one. Supposedly the last big one in Seattle (the Nisqually earthquake) set our hanging plants and light fixtures gently a-swing, but once again, I didn't notice.
Posted by bX (Member # 419) on :
Bay Area, California here. A two, eh? Hmmph.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
Sol: Apparently the Nisqually quake broke at 52 kilometers depth. This one in Stockholm, though weaker, was close to surface level, it felt like a mad scientist botched an experiment in the apartment under mine. I actually entertained the notion that it was a bomb, for a few minutes after it happened.
A new article puts the epicenter four blocks away from me, right under the local Teacher's College. Apparently the primary cause of this quake was the ground slightly recovering from the last glacier that passed this way, 9000 years ago.
The seismologist repeated that this was the strongest quake ever in the Stockholm region, affecting the most amount of people.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
There was an earthquake in the Delaware/Pennsylvania area about fifteen years ago; it was around a Richter 2.3, IIRC. I couldn't describe it, though, 'cause I slept through it.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
So, do you now love random destruction? It could be a Stockholm Syndrome quake...
Hmm...no earthquakes here- Hurricane season is starting though and we hada severe storm today- hail chips for a few minutes even! I'd never seen hail before. Freaky.
Then it was clear, 100% humidity and 90 degrees again.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I remember an earthquake at about 2am one morning in 1993 in Brussels. . .
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
But you just smiled and ate your vegemite sandwich. Does England get earthquakes? I remember not remembering if they do. I know you get landslides, I saw one when I was in Brighton.
Jason: I did feel sad for the quake, lamenting why it had to be persecuted by those angry firemen who don't understand its glory.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
I felt a magnitude 2 earthquake in St. Louis a couple of years ago, but the epicenter was a little far from me, so it ended up about a 1 where I was. It was kinda freaky, since the house started creaking and I know I felt some kind of movement, but there wasn't any rumbling sound. That was the only one I've experienced.
B.J.
Posted by tricky (Member # 1402) on :
The UK does get the occational earthquake but very few are noticed, however our exploding petrol depots register higher on the richter scale. There's a sunken munition ship off the coast of Kent which would make a bigger bang if it goes up, the tidal wave generated would take out Southend in Essex, which probably explains why no-one sorted it out yet....
Posted by tricky (Member # 1402) on :
