by Southland 7 Replies latest social current
Whew - this was a strong one - felt all the way south to Los Angeles.
I called my mom to tell her we were all okay. She just couldn't resist adding, "oh, bible prophecy coming true! Another sign showing that the time of the end is near!"
So, do the regular and faithful still believe that earthquakes have been increasing in the last century? I remember reading on here that the Society has backed down from this line of thinking.
Hmmm....
The Society's backdown was very subtle. Most of the R&F probably didn't even notice it.
Hope all board-members in the affected areas are doing okay!
Now the faithful members will read in a future Awake! that the local witnesses helped rebuild old peoples homes and donated plywood and the sisters cooked breakfast for the city! When I use to read these kinds of stories when I was a kid I use to wonder how did they help worldly people when they wouldn't even give rides to the older sisters to get back and forth from the meetings and home.
Hope everyone is ok.....
Never heard anything about it today, except on here.....
I just saw something on yahoo about it. 6.5 is pretty decent sized:
| Quake Topples Central Calif. Buildings |  |
| 31 minutes ago |
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CAMBRIA, Calif. - A powerful earthquake rocked a wide swath of California on Monday, collapsing downtown buildings in one town not far from the Hearst Castle, causing some injuries and a widespread blackout in the remote area.
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The quake struck at 11:16 a.m. It was felt as a sustained but gentle rolling motion in downtown Los Angeles. In San Francisco, it rocked the 20-story federal courthouse, with its upper floors swaying for about 30 seconds.
The U.S. Geological Survey ( news - web sites ) gave it a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 and said it was centered north of the tiny coastal town of Cambria. Cambria is in San Luis Obispo County, about 185 miles northwest of Los Angeles and an equal distance from San Francisco. The county has a population of around 250,000.
"It was pretty sharp," said Sharyn Conn, receptionist at the oceanside Cypress Cove Inn in Cambria. "It really went on and on. I just got everyone under the door frames and rode it out."
The site is only a few miles from San Simeon, William Randolph Hearst's castle. The popular tourist attraction was evacuated as a precaution but reported no major damage.
A block of old buildings in downtown Paso Robles collapsed onto their first floors, police Sgt. Bob Adams told KNBC-TV Los Angeles. Initial television images from the scene showed the buildings slumped but still standing amid debris.
The quake struck on a series of faults that run parallel to the San Andreas Fault, said Lucy Jones, scientist in charge of the U.S. Geological Survey office in Pasadena.
The quake likely ruptured along roughly 20 miles of a yet-unknown fault, Jones said.
"It's luckily on the coast ? there is not very much nearby. That's a good thing," Jones said.
The last one of a similar size in the area was in 1952, said Ross Stein of the USGS ( news - web sites) in Menlo Park.
The agency listed several smaller aftershocks, the largest magnitude 4.7.
"We'll expect quite of few of them in the next couple of days," Stein said.
San Luis Obispo County sheriff's Sgt. Pete Hodgkin said damage reports were trickling in.
"It's the usual stuff, broken glass and stuff. Haven't heard anything serious," Hodgkin said. "Some people are hurt at the Wild Horse Winery, some wine barrels fell over. I don't know anything more.
"It's kind of hectic," he said. "It felt like a big one, like the San Francisco earthquake years ago. The lights went out. We're on emergency power here."
John Nelson, a spokesman for Pacific Gas and Electric, said approximately 10,000 homes and businesses were without power in the San Luis Obispo area.
The utility reported no major damage at its Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant; it was being checked for minor damage. Another utility, Duke Energy, said there was no substantive damage at its two coastal power plants, Morro Bay and Moss Landing.
Hearst Castle reported no obvious damage and no injuries, said Roy Stearns, spokesman for the state Department of Parks and Recreation. A crew was to go over its 150 rooms in detail; the only damage found immediately was a blown transformer at a campground, Stearns said.
The castle is particularly popular this time of year because it is decorated with the Hearst Christmas ornaments.
"People come from far and wide to see that, because it's pretty spectacular," Stearns said.
According to callers on local news radio in Fresno, the earthquake also was felt throughout the San Joaquin Valley.
Superintendent Pamela Martens of the Coast Unified School District in Cambria said school had been closed for the holidays, but there are "things off the shelf and all over the place. Computers are down."
A magnitude 6 quake can cause severe damage under a populated area, though damage is often much less in places with strong building codes.
Tom Marshall, spokesman of the California Highway Patrol in Sacramento, said the timing, coming just after the nationwide terror alert was raised, "does present its challenges, but fortunately the information we're receiving on the earthquake right now so far hasn't caused any drain on our resources."
Wow that was a strong quake - it shook my A$$ right outa bed! I frantically stumbled to the bookcase and grasped for one of the Watchtowers my mom sent me in the mail. It got really intense then, and when I looked down my hands were on C of C! The blood red letters were screaming at me and the sight of Ray Franze's name on the cover made me panic! Disgusted I threw the book across the roomed and knocked over the box that housed my old field service book bag. The contents spilled all over the floor. On my hands and knees I saw the field service records I had falsified to cover for the time I was at the Kid Rock concert. I rifled through the bag looking for something to highlight. I opened a thin red book and the scene of Armageddon nearly jumped off the page. I heard the house creaking and knew the Angel of death was hunting me down like the sick Aposto-dog that I am. I ran outside careful to avoid any of the 4 horseman making their rounds. To my extreme relief there was only the ice cream truck driver pulled off the side of the road smoking a joint. Birds were flying over head. I spied a chicken hawk with what looked like an intestine hanging from his beak grinning as he flew by. I swear a saw a couple of crow's giving me the evil eye as they circled about. I knew my time was short. Sobbing pathetically I threw all the money in my pockets into the street. Amazingly the Ice Cream truck driver opened the door, waved away the smoke and said "Wow dude.... was that coool or what"? He then picked up the money and tossed me a Superman pop. I greedily gobbled the treat knowing it would be my last Earthly delight. Then it began. A piercing pain was ripping apart my skull. In utter desperation I dropped to my knees and cried "Please Puulease Gawd noo...I repent, I repent"! Just then the neighbor kid came over and said " you gotta eat them slower mister, or you'll get a headache". In retrospect I think he was a Demon and distracted the Angel who was gripping my skull. I always knew that little bastard was evil. Anyway, the pain subsided and I made a break for it. I took off for the hills and found some rocks to hide me from the impending slaughter. Thank God I opted for the Mobile Email plan on my cell phone. I'm getting pretty good at typing with the number pad but my batteries are running low.
If I'm still here in the mourning I'm gonna try to sneak down to the local coffee shop at around 10 am and hook up with the pioneers. I'll just tell them I'm from a neighboring congregation doing some street witnessing when the big A struck. I still remember most of the lingo and I?m forging a blood card out of that Ice cream wrapper I saved. With any luck they will show me where that narrow twisty trail to the New System is. I?m pretty sure I can hop over the gate once I get there. If I only kept one of my ties ? damn! Oh well, I never did like fruit or farming, but I guess that?s better than a gut full of maggots. Plus I?ll be able to finally learn how to play a guitar or build that sailboat I daydreamed about during the public talk. Maybe I?ll volunteer for burial duty near the old video store so I can dig up a few porn DVD?s for when I?m sailing to Fiji. Wish me luck, this won?t be easy.
I'm not sure if there is anyone is left out there to read this. If so all I can say is WE SHOULD HAVE LISTENED!!!
FreeWilly, that was cute! Errr I mean "hilarious"! Ice cream headaches can be a bitch!
~Aztec
LOL, Free willy! That was too funny!
I felt it too, but I just thought a was just getting dizzy.
