Earthquake in Victoria Australia

by smiddy3 10 Replies latest social current

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  smiddy3

  I ,along with many other Victorians in Australia,experienced my first earthquake this morning about 9:15 am.

  It was recorded as a 5.9 magnitude.and an after shock of 4.0 magnitude.

  I was having a lay in bed due to the fact my wife had a bad night due to her health problems which affected my sleep as well.

  And I thought geeeze she`s making a lot of racket coming up the passage to the bedroom with her walker and then the bed started shaking like crazy . I thought my computer`s going to hit the deck along with the printer as other things started to fall over.

  Our house sits on concrete stumps and the thought went through me that the house could collapse ,but thankfully there was no structural damage that I could find.

  Apparently it was felt far and wide covering most of Victoria / NSW and even Tasmania.

  Anybody else here had a similar experience ?
• 

  punkofnice

  A few times here in the UK.

  I was working at BT on directory enquiries. A rather large lady came up to talk to me. Just at the moment she leant on my desk the tremor hit. I didn't realise it was a tremor, I thought it was because she was leaning on my desk.
• 

  Pete Zahut

  1. Yes quite a few times. ( U.S west coast) Once while driving over a bridge over a river which made it difficult to steer. Thought I had a flat tire until I realized the bridge was twisting and rolling.

  7.2 was the strongest one. It’s amazing how much a house can flex without damage. Mine is newish and is bolted to the foundation and has metal earthquake straps that were poured into the concrete and attached to the frame of the house. I ran downstairs during one earthquake and could see the walls on either side of the staircase , flexing. The kitchen cabinets flung open and the lights were swaying but there was no damage. Not even a crack.

  Unlike hurricanes etc, you have no warning with earthquakes and they leave you feeling a bit “ rattled” for a day or so. All you can do is be prepared and hope one doesn’t hit and if it does, it isn’t too bad.

  We are told to have extra food and water etc on hand in our homes and in our vehicles in case we get stuck somewhere if one of the many bridges / overpasses goes down. Most of them have been recently retro-fitted or had seismic upgrades, so fingers crossed. 🤞🏻

  Glad to hear you’re ok.
• 

  waton

  
  
• 

  waton

  metal earthquake straps that were poured into the concrete and attached to the frame of the house.

  PZ: another strategy is to build a strong house and insulate it from the shaking earth by having it float on anti friction pads. many houses were left intact by the quake in Japan, only to be carried out to see in one piece.

  metal straps are great on all joints in a wooden house. wood splits and nails pull out.

  a good way to be save afterward is to have a camping vehicle stocked with goodies at the ready, it is already on roller bearings.
  
  
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  Biahi

  Wow, I hope you are ok, earthquakes are scary. Never experienced one myself, in the Midwest.
• 

  JeffT

  I also live on the U S West coast (Seattle area). We get lots of quakes, little ones that rattle the dishes and once in a while a larger one. Biggest I've been through here was about 7.0. I was at work in a hundred year old building, on fill near the harbor. It gave us a good shake, and the facade of the building across the street fell off and landed on the road.

  It left all of us rattled for a couple days.
  
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  silentlamb_silent_no_more

  I have never experienced an earthquake, however my understanding is that they are scary. Keep safe.
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  titch

  I was born and raised in Southern California, so I have experienced my "share" of earthquakes in my lifetime. And, I never get used to them, when they happen, no matter what the magnitude is. I mean, it's just not "natural" for the Earth, underneath us, to move around. It's just not. If I were to be the "inventor" and "creator " of a planet, it would NOT have tectonic plates beneath its surface that move around to release "pressure", and cause havoc for the inhabitants of said planet, on the surface of the planet. And, if it had tectonic plates that move around underneath, the "release of pressure" would come at a predetermined time each day...oh, say at about 1:00 p.m . and it would be a magnitude of about 1 or 2, and would last for about 30 seconds, and no more. That way, we could all just expect the minor shaking to happen, and that would be it. So there, that's how I would invent a planet. But, no one asked for my input on inventing a planet. Best Regards, all...

  Titch.
  T
  
• 

  Pete Zahut

  PZ: another strategy is to build a strong house and insulate it from the shaking earth by having it float on anti friction pads. many houses were left intact by the quake in Japan, only to be carried out to see in one piece

  I recently retired after 30+ years working as a Development Inspector for a major west coast U.S. city. There were/are two such buildings in my jurisdiction ( concrete, steel & glass, 8 stories ea.) . The foundations sit on huge steel rollers (steel logs) that run the width of the building. The entire foundation and rollers were enclosed within a concrete "moat-like" structure that surrounded the foundation, that in the event of an earthquake, would allow the building to roll forward and back or slide side to side the "rollers" within the moat, in the event of an earthquake. The worst earthquake we had thus far since they were built (6.8). I was curious to see how the rollers would work but the buildings never even bugged however the other seismic dampers did help in terms of making them earthquake resistant and they were able to withstand any serious damage. Perhaps the rollers would have been activated if the other seismic dampers had not controlled the sway so well.

  metal straps are great on all joints in a wooden house. wood splits and nails pull out.

  Typically they're lag bolted in place so I haven't seen this happen from an earthquake, thus far.