I was in India when the tsunami hit, in Iceland when the volcano erupted, and in Kathmandu when a military coup shut down the country. So when a 5.8 earthquake, the strongest on the East Coast in my lifetime, hit Virginia, where do you suppose you could find me? Where else, but Virginia?!
Do I cause trouble wherever I go, or do I just have a good nose for sniffing out where crazy events are going to take place?
For the East Coast, this was the strongest trembler since 1944; for the Washington area, there hasn't been one bigger since 1897. With 10 years of California living behind me, it wasn't a new experience for me, but it was definitely new for many of my East Coast colleagues. This past weekend, I visited the spectacular Shenandoah Caverns (a blog entry in the making), where I asked the tour guide whether they've ever had people in the caverns during an earthquake. "I've lived here my whole life, and we've never had an earthquake," she said. Maybe I jinxed things? I am one powerful woman.... ;o)
Even on the West Coast, I don't think I've ever felt one that lasted this long. The West Coast quakes that I recall always felt like quickies, the kind where the shaking is over before you realize what it is. This one just seemed to keep going, going, going...we could feel the shaking for almost a minute. There was minor damage throughout the area, but the only serious disruption was to phone service, as millions of people whipped out their cell phones, crashing the major networks.
Funny that after years of L.A. living, my most memorable quake will be one on the East Coast!
Recent Comments