View from Diamond Head, Honolulu, Hawaii. By the way, these photos were taken by my husband, David.
I read in today’s Star-Advertiser that there had been a series of earthquakes (one of them 5.0 magnitude) occurring on the southeastern flank of the Big Island of Hawaii yesterday between 4:35 pm and 4:52 pm.
Whoa! David and I didn’t feel a thing. We were sitting on our reclining sofa in the living room, watching the New York Giants beat the San Francisco Forty-Niners on television. In fact, we were glued to the TV from 10 am when we started our day with the New England vs. Baltimore football game, which New England won handily.
Earthquake? What earthquake? The house didn’t shake, rattle or roll, and the dishes stayed put in the cupboards.
Believe it or not, the only earthquake I have ever experienced in my entire life was the big one on October 15, 2006. No doubt about it, the walls of our house shook, and the floor rocked, too. There also was a terrible roar, like a jet flying overhead. And we lost power for about 9 hours that day. Pretty scary stuff!
But, you know what, those Big Island earthquakes rarely affect Oahu, where I live. If that were a common occurrence here, I probably would move to the mainland. Where? Is any place safe from natural disasters? Think about it. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. If you don’t die in an earthquake, you might die in an icy winter storm or tornado or hurricane or wildfire or…
…or you might walk out of the house and get hit by a truck.
It’s best to live and die near loved ones. So, we’ll remain where we are: in Paradise!
January 23, 2012 at 6:45 am |
Me too, no earthquake felt on the Leeward side.
L. from W.
January 23, 2012 at 7:34 am |
Our son called us about the earthquake and we were surprised since we didn’t know about it either. I remember that 2006 earthquake very well since we were in Hawaii working on our home renovation.
January 23, 2012 at 8:06 am |
I was in a writing workshop in Hau’ula listening to a discussion when I thought I felt an earthquake. After registering the thought, I I dismissed it. So it’s interesting to hear there really was one. I’ve been in a number of earthquakes and have gotten sensitized to feeling earth movements. Too much so sometimes.
January 23, 2012 at 8:12 am |
Where we live in Arlington VA is pretty safe. We had a tiny earthquake here and it generated about as much angst as 1/4″ of snow, which is to say a lot. We’re very excitable. Otherwise, it is mostly uneventful with one lovely day after another. Rainy today, but tommorrow will be clear again.
Dianne
January 23, 2012 at 8:47 am |
Glad you are all okay.
January 23, 2012 at 8:53 am |
I live in Hilo and felt it pretty good. Everything jiggled around. My cousin, who llives closer to it, didn’t feel it at all.
We missed the big quake in ’06, because we were in Paris. We got a call in the early a.m. Paris time from a friend who said, “Are you all right?” Terry said, “Huh? We’re in Paris.” Friend said, “Turn on CNN.” And so we saw it on TV.
Driving back home from the Kona Airport we saw rock walls knocked down and other signs of damage. Our retaining wall had a bulge where the soil had slipped, and that needed repair. And Terry’s copy machine must have been jarred, because it was broken.
January 23, 2012 at 9:34 am |
the thought of a natural disaster is sure scary Gigi. Just this morning there was a fatal car accident near the mall, exactly where I do a left turn regularly. Scary. Apparently it’s a very busy intersection which I consider ‘safe’ because I’m there all the time.
January 23, 2012 at 12:05 pm |
Well I am glad you didn’t feel or suffer from the quake….
I don’t blame you one bit….I’d stay in paradise too!
January 23, 2012 at 12:14 pm |
We had one this fall and another more south this winter..not bad ones though
January 23, 2012 at 2:42 pm |
No where is safe. I left Florida after being pounded on by 3 back to back hurricanes. Came to Arkansas and was out of power a week from a tornado and another week from an ice storm. Recently we have added earthquakes to our resume. Stay where you are. At least you have a climate that all are envious of.
January 23, 2012 at 6:31 pm |
I’ve experienced several big earthquakes. Fortunately, we escaped damage and injury.
Here in the earthquake zone, we pretty much feel that we’d rather have this disaster threat than hurricanes or tornados. With no advanced warning, we don’t have to sit around worrying about it until one actually happens.
January 23, 2012 at 6:58 pm |
I have only felt one earthquake ever. It wa may years ago in, of ll places, Oklahoma.
January 24, 2012 at 2:49 am |
Maybe it was a tiny earthquake. The last earthquake I really felt was quite frightening and a few months ago in PA. A friend and I were in a local casino where there was a lot of noise already. The building shook and I could feel it under my feet. No one knew what was happening, but I suspected an earthquake. That was only a month after a hurricane when we lost power for two days. I like to think of the middle states in the east coast as very quiet weather-wise, but it can be eventful. I don’t want to experience any more earthquakes. Weather drama or natural disasters are hard on the nerves.
January 24, 2012 at 3:46 am |
The biggest one I have felt is in Va. No place is immune.
January 24, 2012 at 9:27 am |
We here in NC felt an earthquake this past summer. It’s center was Virginia, closer to DC. It felt like a big truck dring by. That low rumble feel. I’m so glad it wasn’t more for both of us.
January 24, 2012 at 8:20 pm |
What a great view – always wanted to go there…
one day I will!
Enjoy your blog and will come back!!!
Beatrice from Europe
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January 27, 2012 at 4:14 am |
We experience earthquakes quite frequently being living in a high risk earthquake zone , and yes mild earthquakes do pass unnoticed and we come to know about them next day on newspapers.