Seen in Print

[robert.]

I was in the Baltimore convention center. Of all the places i could have been. I was sitting on the can. When i felt a rumble through the floor i thought. Hay i must be above one of Baltimore's railroad tunnels. It was a short rumble. To small for a train. Then a second. Could the guys moving safes with a forklift make that much rumble? Third one moved the floor and threw open the stall door. WTF. i finished and left When i got back to the guys i work with they said " earthquake". These guys are from Central America and know about this type of thing. 30 seconds later i guy come on the loud speaker and said " get the f out. we had an earthquake Baltimore's emergency management says to leave the building now" Everybody left except guys working for brinks. They had millions of dollars in jewelry out . It got a little heated between them and the Baltimore police. Finally brinks loaded up their trucks and drove out all of the loot. Brinks had some of the jewelry dealers screaming at them also. All these dealers wanted there items. Nobody has earthquake insurance for jewelry on the east coast.

[Roy]

I know there are some people who are seriously freaked out by earthquakes. They'll make life-changing decisions because of them, like moving to another state. I've been through so many of them, I just think of them as free thrill rides.

[Roy]

Not in print, but online. Killer phones:

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/feds-looking-teen-s-reported-electrocution-cellphone-bathtub-n782011

[webenda]

I remember the masonry(brick) buildings problem, Roy.

1933, Norwalk, California, The Front Fell Off:=>
After the Long Beach earthquake of 1933, Los Angeles County banned brick buildings.

1991, Kirki, Western Australia, 1991, The Front Fell Off:=> https://youtu.be/IOqgjh-W2ps

2014, Napa, Califonia, The Front Fell Off:=>
The deadline for installing ties to masonry buildings in NAPA was 2011. The building above was tardy, no ties yet in 2014.

[HONDO74]

Living in California for 30 years I remember going through a lot of the Quakes, especially the Sylmar Earthquake in 71 that happened at 6am that morning, Woke us up as the bed was vibrating across the room and we could hear things falling in the house.

If you were at ground level it was not much to worry about, however those people in high rise buildings didn't think to much of the "thrill" ride as the buildings were swaying back and forth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_San_ ... earthquake

[Rufus T. Firefly]

The Front Fell Off

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5qxZm_JqM

[robert.]

IMG_8196.JPG

[Rufus T. Firefly]

[webenda]

Living in California for 30 years I remember going through a lot of the Quakes, especially the Sylmar Earthquake in 71 that happened at 6am that morning,

I was working the midnight shift at Lockheed Aircraft in Burbank when it happened. I rode that one in one of the Lockheed buildings.

I heard the rumbling outside as it approached Lockheed. Then the wall I was near tilted inward, rose up, tilted outward, then settled back down over and over for 12 seconds that seemed more like 12 minutes. The rocking action of the wall caused ceiling tiles to fall out. I watched the wave that had lifted the wall (and me) roll through the building and out the far end. About half the people in the building were running for their lives. One poor guy was headed my way, from the far end. He made it to the center of the building when a light fixture fell in front of him. He made a right turn in the center of the building and headed for the door at the end of the cross isle. Just before he reached the door a piece of air conditioning duct fell in front of him. He did a 180 and headed for the far door at the other end of the cross isle. As he straight-armed the door at the other end, the earthquake ended.

In the mean time I was enjoying the ride, ready to move down into the basement below the three head mill I was working on should the ceiling collapse above me.

As people ran out the door I was standing near I could see their way was blocked by a tall (10 foot) chain link fence. They were all trying to climb it but the earthquake kept shaking them off. They would fall, get up, and try climbing again. There was a light fog in Burbank that morning. I could see through the door when someone ran out power lines in Burbank swinging together making huge flaming sparks in the fog.

Was a fun ride for me but not everyone. Besides the sheer panic I witnessed, when the dust cleared in San Fernando, 64 people lay dead and more than 2,500 lay injured beneath the rubble. Every morning after work I went over to where a bridge had fallen on a pickup truck and watched them break up and cut the bridge off the truck. It took several days. the part under the bridge was totally flat, including the engine. The press reported no remains of the driver were recoverable.



It was not over in one day. There were severe aftershocks for two months. One guy, whose cement block fence had fallen over, waited two months to have it fixed. After no aftershocks for a week, he called for repair. The mortar on the repaired fence was not even dry when one more aftershock knocked it over again.

[Seaboard Air Line Fan]

IMG_0128.JPG (213.47 KiB) Viewed 779 times

Saw this while I was looking for a photo of this legendary sign:

IMG_0129.JPG (35.04 KiB) Viewed 779 times

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Wayne, You are quite a good writer, "...no remains of the driver were recoverable..." being a prime example. Have you ever considered writing a novel, fictional or nonfictional? You have a skill with words and a light in you that creates and holds interest.

And I'll bet you have a whole lot more well worth the telling.
Murph

[Roy]

I remember the Sylmar quake, too. I was awakened by the sound of my U.S.S. Enterprise model falling off it's stand, and impacting the floor. It was the first time I was able to get the engine nacelles to mount correctly on the hull. From that experience, I learned that displaying things in So. California require special precautions.

Oh yes, and I remember reading about apartment buildings collapsing, effectively squishing their occupants.

[Roy]

Have you ever considered writing a novel, fictional or nonfictional?

There are nonfictional novels?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Have you ever considered writing a novel, fictional or nonfictional?

There are nonfictional novels?

In this age of alternate facts (and realities...), why not?

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Have you ever considered writing a novel, fictional or nonfictional?

There are nonfictional novels?

In this age of alternate facts (and realities...), why not?

Roy is right. A novel is fictional. I was thinking of a story with something of an autobiographical or biographical bent to it, like a first-person narrative, or omniscient author, something like Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird," as an option for him, too.