EARTHQUAKE!!!

[bkshopr_IHB]

Cayci, sorry about your broken stuff. Hopefully it wasn't anything expensive or sentimental.

I actually moved items in case we get an aftershock. There are some sentimental things that I hope don't break.

Thanks, CalGal. I'm sad about one of the collectables (and I may start searching on Ebay shortly to replace it), but another one that broke can be fixed (I hope) with some super glue, and the wine glass was just a dust collector anyway. I actually earthquake test the room full of My Little Pony displays, so only one fell and it's okay.

More importantly, the person who was in my house is fine.

Per bk's suggestion:

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/2311/P50/#54219

Read Cay's link it is very informative and a concise cliff note layman's version in structural engineering.

 

[BMP 309_IHB]

I am new to OC so I have been a bit shaken up, and asking around what to do. Most people say under desk or doorway, but some say that is the worst place. Google something called "triangle of life" It basically says going under the desk is not smart at all, it suggests going next to a large peice of furniture is best. If you are next to the large object and the ceiling falls it will typically create a small triangle of safe space.

I agree with awgee, there is no perfect answer because of so many different circumstances.

Stuff actually broke at my house, and if you were next to a large piece of furniture it wouldn't help protect you as the decorative plate or wine glass got tossed across the room and smashed in half (or a million little pieces as it were).

So yes, it depends.

I'm sure everyone will do what they think is best for their situation, but I would rather get hit by a wine glass than squashed under a desk...

 

[bkshopr_IHB]

I pick up few tips over the years. Thought I share with you.

1) Place a pair of shoes and socks under your bed in the event the "Big One" comes during the night and your exit maybe your window (with broken glasses around) - irrespective if you are on a second or higher floors (remember Marina in SF during 1989?)

2) Never place any art work above the head of your bed. Imagine it dropping onto the bed with you in it.

3) Place a door stopper underneath the washer. Bigger earthquake may shake the washer out of position and flood your floor.

Hey this is a good time for a feng shui lesson.

1) You are right. It is bad feng shui to have mirror or glass frame in the bedroom because frame can drop and shatter glass around the bed.

2) Never hang anything thing above and behind the bed because it can hit you on the head. Painting, ceiling beam, and ceiling fan especially.

3) Never have a water appliance and toilet above bedroom, entry, and kitchen (important spaces for life). When the waterline or sewer drain cracked guess where the filthy water will end up?

 

[bkshopr_IHB]

I am new to OC so I have been a bit shaken up, and asking around what to do. Most people say under desk or doorway, but some say that is the worst place. Google something called "triangle of life" It basically says going under the desk is not smart at all, it suggests going next to a large peice of furniture is best. If you are next to the large object and the ceiling falls it will typically create a small triangle of safe space.

I agree with awgee, there is no perfect answer because of so many different circumstances.

Stuff actually broke at my house, and if you were next to a large piece of furniture it wouldn't help protect you as the decorative plate or wine glass got tossed across the room and smashed in half (or a million little pieces as it were).

So yes, it depends.

I'm sure everyone will do what they think is best for their situation, but I would rather get hit by a wine glass than squashed under a desk...

 

[CalGal_IHB]

I pick up few tips over the years. Thought I share with you.

1) Place a pair of shoes and socks under your bed in the event the "Big One" comes during the night and your exit maybe your window (with broken glasses around) - irrespective if you are on a second or higher floors (remember Marina in SF during 1989?)

2) Never place any art work above the head of your bed. Imagine it dropping onto the bed with you in it.

3) Place a door stopper underneath the washer. Bigger earthquake may shake the washer out of position and flood your floor.

I'm 3 for 3 on Keanu's tips

Here's a CalGal tip:

Use Rechargeable NiCad Power Failure Lite. They're great for unexpected power outages. Plugged into a wall, it provides you with a 24-hour LED light that provides a continuous red glow. Automatically turning on in case of emergency, the light converts into a hand-held flashlight when you remove it from the outlet and fold the collapsible plug back into the base. Includes rechargeable NiCad battery.

I have so many around the house that my place will light up like Clark Griswold's house at Christmas time.

A friend of mine went through the Northridge Earthquake. It happened at 4:30 in the morning. She said those lights would have come in handy when their power went out and they couldn't see anything until they found their flashlights. She now has them all around her house as well.

And for my frugal blog buddies - get them at Bed, Bath & Beyond and use the 20% off coupon.

 

[Keanu_IHB]

Thanks BK,

I was thinking about you when I post the tips. "I wonder if BK would approve of these tips?" Safety and Feng Shui seems to go together.

 

[Keanu_IHB]

I pick up few tips over the years. Thought I share with you.

1) Place a pair of shoes and socks under your bed in the event the "Big One" comes during the night and your exit maybe your window (with broken glasses around) - irrespective if you are on a second or higher floors (remember Marina in SF during 1989?)

I'm 3 for 3 on Keanu's tips

Here's a CalGal tip:

Use Rechargeable NiCad Power Failure Lite. They're great for unexpected power outages. Plugged into a wall, it provides you with a 24-hour LED light that provides a continuous red glow. Automatically turning on in case of emergency, the light converts into a hand-held flashlight when you remove it from the outlet and fold the collapsible plug back into the base. Includes rechargeable NiCad battery.

I have so many around the house that my place will light up like Clark Griswold's house at Christmas time.

Thanks CalGal!

For the time being, I will place a flashlight next to my shoe underneath my bed)..... That is, until I get CalGal's recommended flashlights...

 

[CalGal_IHB]

I pick up few tips over the years. Thought I share with you.

1) Place a pair of shoes and socks under your bed in the event the "Big One" comes during the night and your exit maybe your window (with broken glasses around) - irrespective if you are on a second or higher floors (remember Marina in SF during 1989?)

I'm 3 for 3 on Keanu's tips

Here's a CalGal tip:

Use Rechargeable NiCad Power Failure Lite. They're great for unexpected power outages. Plugged into a wall, it provides you with a 24-hour LED light that provides a continuous red glow. Automatically turning on in case of emergency, the light converts into a hand-held flashlight when you remove it from the outlet and fold the collapsible plug back into the base. Includes rechargeable NiCad battery.

I have so many around the house that my place will light up like Clark Griswold's house at Christmas time.

Thanks CalGal!

For the time being, I will place a flashlight next to my shoe underneath my bed)..... That is, until I get CalGal's recommended flashlights...

These crank flashlights are nice to have. These LED flashlights mean no more fumbling in the dark for replacement batteries. These hand crank flashlights don’t need them. Just turn the handle for 30 seconds to get 15 to 20 minutes of bright light.

 

[EvaLSeraphim_IHB]

I pick up few tips over the years. Thought I share with you.

1) Place a pair of shoes and socks under your bed in the event the "Big One" comes during the night and your exit maybe your window (with broken glasses around) - irrespective if you are on a second or higher floors (remember Marina in SF during 1989?)

FWIW, I also keep a pair of clean socks and retired athletic shoes at work. It would not be fun to go down the stairs, and if need be walk home, in heels.

 

[bkshopr_IHB]

I pick up few tips over the years. Thought I share with you.

1) Place a pair of shoes and socks under your bed in the event the "Big One" comes during the night and your exit maybe your window (with broken glasses around) - irrespective if you are on a second or higher floors (remember Marina in SF during 1989?)

I'm 3 for 3 on Keanu's tips

Here's a CalGal tip:

Use Rechargeable NiCad Power Failure Lite. They're great for unexpected power outages. Plugged into a wall, it provides you with a 24-hour LED light that provides a continuous red glow. Automatically turning on in case of emergency, the light converts into a hand-held flashlight when you remove it from the outlet and fold the collapsible plug back into the base. Includes rechargeable NiCad battery.

I have so many around the house that my place will light up like Clark Griswold's house at Christmas time.

Thanks CalGal!

For the time being, I will place a flashlight next to my shoe underneath my bed)..... That is, until I get CalGal's recommended flashlights...

Feng shui also recommended some good luck objects such as a pair of Kirin statues placed below the bed. Kirins should not be higher than 8" and the space below the bed should be just enough to fit the 8" or shorter kirins. Kirins are object of protection to ward off evil when the space below the bed is where the bad spirit will hide. For practicality I think of mistress, burglar, or wife's boyfriend. May be the 8" rule is for measuring the space so it is too tight for a person to hide.

I have always wonder about the Kirin statues. The practical application is to grab them from under the bed for defense when an intruder were enter into the room. This is why the door must be far off from the foot side of the bed.

Ten, Kirin is not the empty Asian beer bottle.

 

[Keanu_IHB]

Kirin

 

[CalGal_IHB]

.

 

[ipoplaya_IHB]

Feng shui also recommended some good luck objects such as a pair of Kirin statues placed below the bed. Kirins should not be higher than 8” and the space below the bed should be just enough to fit the 8” or shorter kirins. Kirins are object of protection to ward off evil when the space below the bed is where the bad spirit will hide. For practicality I think of mistress, burglar, or wife’s boyfriend. May be the 8” rule is for measuring the space so it is too tight for a person to hide.

I have always wonder about the Kirin statues. The practical application is to grab them from under the bed for defense when an intruder were enter into the room. This is why the door must be far off from the foot side of the bed.

Ten, Kirin is not the empty Asian beer bottle.

In Boston, we use baseball bats as our Kirins ;-P

In the IE, this is a more common Kirin:

 

[bkshopr_IHB]

In Irvine this the Kirin:

 

[Keanu_IHB]

In Boston, we use baseball bats as our Kirins ;-P

Make that a golf club in OC.

 

[bkshopr_IHB]

In Westminster Little Saigon this is the Kirin:

 

[ConsiderAgain_IHB]

We'll see that last 20% drop in prices now!

The event is over and damage appears minimal, thankfully. Will we see rickhunter’s 20% drop in prices? What effect will the quake have, if any?

I would assume it would not have a large impact just due to the lack of damage and the media coverage mostly centered on shaken nerves.

 

[CalGal_IHB]

I pick up few tips over the years. Thought I share with you.

1) Place a pair of shoes and socks under your bed in the event the "Big One" comes during the night and your exit maybe your window (with broken glasses around) - irrespective if you are on a second or higher floors (remember Marina in SF during 1989?)

FWIW, I also keep a pair of clean socks and retired athletic shoes at work. It would not be fun to go down the stairs, and if need be walk home, in heels.

Great suggestion. After 9-11, I had many friends in New York that had to walk miles to get home. All transportation was at a halt, so you only had your two feet to get you home. Sneakers came in very handy.

Also, on a separate note, my husband's co-worker (and really good friend) had to entertain their boss for a week because he couldn't get home to Texas. Imagine having your boss live with you for a week. Ugh!

 

[CalGal_IHB]

Here are some more CalGal Earthquake Tips:

Fasten large furniture and those flat-screen TVs with QuakeHold.

Keep pictures attached to the wall with A-Maze-ing Picture Hooks.

Hold down collectibles with Museum Putty.

I also use the Museum Putty behind my pictures to keep them straight on the wall.

No more crooked pictures.

I think I purchased all of the above at Lowe's.

 

[graphrix_IHB]

Cayci, sorry about your broken stuff. Hopefully it wasn't anything expensive or sentimental.

I actually moved items in case we get an aftershock. There are some sentimental things that I hope don't break.

Thanks, CalGal. I'm sad about one of the collectables (and I may start searching on Ebay shortly to replace it), but another one that broke can be fixed (I hope) with some super glue, and the wine glass was just a dust collector anyway. I actually earthquake test the room full of My Little Pony displays, so only one fell and it's okay.

More importantly, the person who was in my house is fine.

Per bk's suggestion:

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/2311/P50/#54219

Actually... I was outside the house. For this Cali native, who has been through many a quake in both NorCal and Socal, this was quite the experience compared to being inside. I had just stepped outside and started to walk down the elevated (in between the ground floor and the first floor living space) pathway between the rows of townhomes. I heard the first boom and my brain said earthquake, but it did not fully comprehend it until I heard some girl scream (gawd, I hope it wasn't CalGal, because that would be some serious scream to travel that far) and when I looked up at the townhomes shaking like a surreal camera shot from an independent movie. My brain did react in a good way to not run towards the street for fear the quake could get worse and how I could be sucked into the ground opening up. I just grabbed onto the stairway railing leading to one of the townhomes, and thought I really hope those cheap thinly dual pained windows will just flex and not shatter the glass to come flying down impaling into my skull. All the while I was thinking hurry up and be over with so I can get back inside to see what damage was done and where this was centered. As soon as it was over I headed back inside and dumb a$$ here (never again because calls couldn't go through, and if I do that again EvaL has permission to smack me across my head) started making phone calls to find out if SO and mom were safe. BTW, no wine met an unfortunate death at the Trader Joes in Orange per mom who was there at the time, and thankfully all others were safe as you know.

Maybe it was because I was outside for this one, or where I was was not the most stable soil, or the drama of hearing someone scream, or not being able to contact the people I cared about (last time this happened to me was 9/11), that made it worse, but I was kinda shaken up by this one. Normally I just shrug it off and say, eh... it's just a quake, but not this time. Ironically, I remember reading what Cayci's dad had mentioned in the posts before and feared that this was a fore shock, or it was centered much further away than where I was. I remember watching the world series when the Loma Prieta quake hit and losing the feed, then minutes later my chandelier shaking. So while 5.4 isn't all that bad, and I have felt worse, there was something unique about this one, at least for me.

The wine glass is already headed to the next landfill we will talk trash on and hs_teacher will defend even if he doesn't live there. But, I found the collectible on Ebay already, so at least it can be replaced. The other good thing to come of this are some of the ideas or preventing damage and being prepared when it happens again, because it will happen again. Hopefully not anytime soon.