I have gotten an almost incredible amount of email from people asking me about the 7.9 magnitude quake, here in Alaska, November 3rd, 1:12 p.m.---that I decided to put up a web link (rather than answer them all :) ).
I hadn't announced my site/link on this for two hours--before the corrections started pouring in---BUST-ED! :) To see them, click here, 'n stuff.
First, some pictures---I really like this next one. -Not only is it MY ADVISOR and his wife in the photo--but I was the one that suggested to the photographer (John Hagen---nice guy (Most people associated with the American press you wouldn't want to wipe your butt with---but I really liked this guy. :) )) that he might want to take a picture of Antonius' office. :) (The saddest part of this picture--is that it looks as if "Antonius' famous coffee machine"---may well have become a "casulty of war." :(
*ADDENDUM* Antonius' coffee machine survived! -Apparently, it has a few broken plastic pieces, but it still works. Whew! :)
*ADDENDUM* APPARENTLY, this photo not only made the front page of the Local New-Miner---it also seems to have made the first page of the LA Times! -And it's all my "fault!" :O Antonius says that this is a good thing, though: "Now, whenever the office gets into this shape--I can always blame it on the earthquake." :)
Photo credited to John Hagen.
Picture taken from the Daily News-Miner.
The quake was SOO SEVERE that it not only damaged bridges--but also ROADS!
Photo credited to Donna Gilbert.
Also taken from the Daily News-Miner.
Here is another picture of a damaged road:
Photo credited to Jimmy Tohill.
Picture taken from the Anchorage Daily News.
And here is a picture of Raj - Dude--fleeing his office, 'n stuff.
Photo credited to John Hagen.
Also taken from the Anchorage Daily News.
Did you know? Did you know? ("Utena" fans will recognize. . . .) -Sunday's quake was the second largest in the recorded history of North America:
Chart credited to Ron Engstrom.
Taken from the Anchorage Daily News.
The power of the quake was . . . mind-boggling. It tore boats loose from their moorings in Seattle, and even tossed someone from their boat---IN LOUISIANA!! (!!)
Here are some more pictures of damaged road(s). These pictures just boggle my mind!
Photo credited to The Alaska Department of Transportation.
Taken from the Anchorage Daily News.
Photo credited to The Alaska Department of Transportation.
Taken from the Anchorage Daily News.
Click here to see an awesome picture of the offset of the Richardson (The one that connects the Steese [Highway] to the "Al-Can" [Alaska Highway].) Highway
And here is a picture of the Alaska Pipeline--knocked off its moorings. Although I'm not overly fond of "petroleum testaments to man's endless capacity for greed" . . . the Alaska Pipeline is truly a marvel of engineering. It took no small amount of force to do this:
Photo credited to The Assoicated Press.
Taken from the Anchorage Daily News.
My experience of the Quake:
The quake was positively awesome. I was working on the 7th floor of the G.I. (Geophysical Institute). (I know, I know--working on the Sabbath. . . . :( ) At first I only felt a little shaking--I wasn't even 100% sure that it was, in fact, an earthquake. Then, there was VERY LITTLE room for doubt. I saw that my plants were in danger of falling, so I went over and tried to keep them up. Things were rocking pretty good (okay--well :) ) by then. Then, I heard someone pretty much screaming out in the hall--so I made my way in that direction. That's when things started getting a little bit . . . interesting. Books were coming off of shelves, furniture was walking, the lava lamp became a sad casulty, and it was difficult to even WALK across the floor to the hallway. It was, quite literally, like something out of a science fiction movie. I couldn't believe the power of this quake. I didn't know it at the time, but it was ~80 miles away, and still managed to toss around an eight story building as if it were nothing but a rag doll.
When I got out into the hall, I found Dr. Reddy--obviously in a near-panic--asking me, "What is that??!! Now I like the big quakes, so I told him it was an earthquake, gave him a double thumbs up, smiled, and told him to enjoy it. "Ride the wave!" :) -I don't think it helped. Then "***" came out of his office. I have never seen him display any emotion---beyond irritation with his work. I probably shouldn't say this in the this world of fascist mind control--"political correctness"---but I didn't even know that somebody Chinese, could look WHITE. (It was a disturbing thing to see, and I felt bad that--here I was, greatly enjoying what was going on--with these guys obviously deeply terrified.)
Now, as I've previously mentioned, I enjoy the big quakes. This one, however, caused me some concern. I wasn't at any point concerned for my safety--but I was concerned with just how much damage "the Ol' G.I." could take. I had been told--credibly--that the G.I. could take a "direct hit" from an 8.5 (!!) quake. (Shortly after the quake, I called it at a 7.5, and--at 7.9, wasn't far wrong.) However, this is what it could take---and still only be standing. Now, there's no Mob in the Interior, and thus the buildings are awefully strong, but there was a fair amount of damage: quite a few new cracks, and a water main broke. There is still no water on the 8th floor--as all the water meant to be on the 8th floor, is now on the 7th. :)
The "aftershocks" were something pretty fierce, too. This may be difficult for some peeps to relate too, but there were SOO many of them, that I was--quite literally--getting "motion sickness," working on the seventh floor of the G.I. :P While reassuring my dad on the phone, there were 3 3.5+ quakes---in 30 seconds!!
After the quake, I couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be two distinct ways that people related to the quake. Most people described a deep, visceral terror while the quake was going on---followed by days, if not weeks, of uneasiness. (Raj - Dude, for instance, was genuinely afraid to be in the G.I. long enough to even scan in these pictures for me. :O ) Then there was the way the other people reacted: The head of the physics department (a one Dr. Watkins) said that he was at "Pike's [Landing]" (a local restaurant), and when the shaking started, women started screaming, and people started running. "I just kept eating. My champagne glass didn't tip over--so I didn't mind." (Now there's a man after my own heart. :) ) *****, an office-mate of mine, said that when the other people in the coffee shop all ran, he just took advantage of the situation, and moved to the front of the line. Dr. Scott Bailey (This was his first earthquake.) said, "I was amazed when I saw my office--but while it was going on, it was an adventure. I enjoyed it." Then there was me: out in the hall, giving the double "thumbs-up," yelling, "Enjoy it! -Ride the wave!"
How did I react to the quake (I have been repeatedly asked)? I enjoyed it. I feel privileged---that I was within 80 miles of the epicenter of the second largest quake in the recorded history of North America, 'n stuff. :)