Last night, or rather, this morning, I had just fallen asleep around 2 AM, but I had trouble sleeping as I was having odd pre-'quake symptoms—like before the 1989 6.9M Loma Prieta, and the 2014 6.0M Napa earthquakes struck. I felt ill all over right before this earthquake. A weird musty smell was wafting from the closet. It was so strong (something like mold hitching a ride on argon, or radon gas?), but the closet door was firmly shut. What's with that? I firmly resolved to clean up my bedroom.
I buried my head under the covers, but I could still smell it. The odor was coming up from the floorboards, and from under the bed. I was so queasy so I swigged some Pepto-Abysmol. But it was more than GI indigestion. I was uncomfortable all over, prickly, as if I wanted to run away from my own body. It was just like before the Loma Prieta, and Napa 'quakes. But I was also so tired, I just wanted to sleep.
I dozed off, then the earthquake struck, practically beneath my pillow. A magnitude 4.5M, and 8 miles deep, with the epicenter under the Claremont Hotel. OK, so the earthquake wasn't under my pillow, but it was less than 4 miles away.
There was a big cataclysmic jolt, southwest to northeast, then when I ran to the door, the wooden floor was undulating, making me stumble as I headed to the doorframe.
A real bitch-slapper. It hit so hard, I thought there was no way there wouldn't be another aftershock. I was positive this was a precursor to The Big One. Nada. A one-off. I was thoroughly awake—but I found myself shakily counting quaiku syllables at 3AM. Most of the 8 million of us who call the Bay Area home, were awake at the same time.
Big 4.5M 'quake, Hayward Fault, Berkeley.
House lurched, a sharp jolt, but nothing fell.
And I was waiting for another strike.
The house lurched, and settled down.
We wait for the Big One.
The last major earthquake on the Hayward Fault was October 21st, 1868, flattening Hayward (then the Alameda County seat), and San Francisco. The estimated 6.8M temblor was called the "Great Earthquake" until April, 1906, when it lost its heavyweight title. I imagine Santa Rosa too sustained significant damage, as the Rogers' Fault may actually be the Hayward Fault. Since the Hayward Fault has erupted on average, every 140 years, we're all sitting ducks waiting for The Big One.
The last big middle of the night temblor was the 6.0M Napa earthquake, Aug. 24, 2014. I was visiting a friend in Point Reyes at the time and was flung from his couch. We thought the San Andreas Fault had ruptured. A brand new fault was discovered, much of Napa was destroyed, and a lot of wine was spilled.
You can bet I went through the food cabinets the next day to check my food stores. And I carefully restacked my wine—preparing for The Big One.
There have been earthquake swarms along both the Hayward Fault, and the San Andreas Fault during the past week/month. Micro-swarms also along the San Andreas Fault—mostly in Fremont, SJ, Alum Rock. And another large cluster of swarms near The Pinnacles. That swarm has been active for at least a couple of months. Micro-'quakes are good. Swarms tend to put us on alert mode.
And there have been tremors in some odd places. Where is Westley? Diablo Range south, inland coastal. Odd isolate. And what's with Oroville? The Geysers doesn't count, as it gets several shallow micro-shakes a day—sometimes as many as one an hour. With all that geothermal activity, whether manmade, or otherwise, it's always shimmying like a hot and bothered bellydancer.
Someone please tell Mammoth Mountain that it really doesn't have to offer sympathy shakes? We get that the Long Caldera wants to reclaim its heavyweight championship title, as life of the party. And while we're at it, tell Mt. St. Helens to STAND DOWN. We don't need no stinkin' eruption—1981 was exciting enough, thank you very much.
A lot of activity in the past day.
M 2.7 - 11km N of Oroville, CA
M 2.6 - 23km WSW of Westley, CA
M 2.6 - 3km WSW of Cupertino, CA
M 2.9 - 12km ENE of San Simeon, CA
I buried my head under the covers, but I could still smell it. The odor was coming up from the floorboards, and from under the bed. I was so queasy so I swigged some Pepto-Abysmol. But it was more than GI indigestion. I was uncomfortable all over, prickly, as if I wanted to run away from my own body. It was just like before the Loma Prieta, and Napa 'quakes. But I was also so tired, I just wanted to sleep.
I dozed off, then the earthquake struck, practically beneath my pillow. A magnitude 4.5M, and 8 miles deep, with the epicenter under the Claremont Hotel. OK, so the earthquake wasn't under my pillow, but it was less than 4 miles away.
There was a big cataclysmic jolt, southwest to northeast, then when I ran to the door, the wooden floor was undulating, making me stumble as I headed to the doorframe.
A real bitch-slapper. It hit so hard, I thought there was no way there wouldn't be another aftershock. I was positive this was a precursor to The Big One. Nada. A one-off. I was thoroughly awake—but I found myself shakily counting quaiku syllables at 3AM. Most of the 8 million of us who call the Bay Area home, were awake at the same time.
Big 4.5M 'quake, Hayward Fault, Berkeley.
House lurched, a sharp jolt, but nothing fell.
And I was waiting for another strike.
A rockabye shakeBig 'quake slapped us awake
from a 4.5 earthquake
it doth murder sleep.
The house lurched, and settled down.
We wait for the Big One.
I invent a new poetic art formJack Gilder asks: So, how's that insomnia coming along? I had to laugh as I got a rare 8-hours'-worth of sleep NYD eve, only to be up all hours last night. Again. We're a right buncha loony nightowls on FB. I wrote back:
quaiku haiku—after the quake—
to measure a magnitude of words.
Good news: I slept 8 hours last night.The problem is that the Hayward Fault north of Berkeley has not budged in more than 175 years, meanwhile the bottom end of the fault from Fremont to Oakland is creeping north at about one-fifth of an inch a year. And the San Andreas Fault, which moves north about 1.5 to 2 inches a year, is dragging the Hayward Fault along with it. This can't end well.
Bad news: It's now 2:30 in the morning.
So, how does the full night's sleep thing work?
The last major earthquake on the Hayward Fault was October 21st, 1868, flattening Hayward (then the Alameda County seat), and San Francisco. The estimated 6.8M temblor was called the "Great Earthquake" until April, 1906, when it lost its heavyweight title. I imagine Santa Rosa too sustained significant damage, as the Rogers' Fault may actually be the Hayward Fault. Since the Hayward Fault has erupted on average, every 140 years, we're all sitting ducks waiting for The Big One.
The last big middle of the night temblor was the 6.0M Napa earthquake, Aug. 24, 2014. I was visiting a friend in Point Reyes at the time and was flung from his couch. We thought the San Andreas Fault had ruptured. A brand new fault was discovered, much of Napa was destroyed, and a lot of wine was spilled.
You can bet I went through the food cabinets the next day to check my food stores. And I carefully restacked my wine—preparing for The Big One.
And there have been tremors in some odd places. Where is Westley? Diablo Range south, inland coastal. Odd isolate. And what's with Oroville? The Geysers doesn't count, as it gets several shallow micro-shakes a day—sometimes as many as one an hour. With all that geothermal activity, whether manmade, or otherwise, it's always shimmying like a hot and bothered bellydancer.
Someone please tell Mammoth Mountain that it really doesn't have to offer sympathy shakes? We get that the Long Caldera wants to reclaim its heavyweight championship title, as life of the party. And while we're at it, tell Mt. St. Helens to STAND DOWN. We don't need no stinkin' eruption—1981 was exciting enough, thank you very much.
A lot of activity in the past day.
M 2.7 - 11km N of Oroville, CA
M 2.6 - 23km WSW of Westley, CA
M 2.6 - 3km WSW of Cupertino, CA
M 2.9 - 12km ENE of San Simeon, CA
M 2.5 - 19km NNE of Tehachapi, CA
These are considered micro earthquakes, nothing to worry about. If they were double that in size, then yes, there would be cause for alarm, as 5M+ means take notice, or duck and cover.
See TREMOR AT 3 AM (Napa 'quake poem)
and my indepth blog on the Hayward Fault, Living Between Faultlines
Bay Area dodges (another) bullet when a powerful quake fails to do much damage
The Hayward Fault
The Hayward Fault: Its History "Looking back hundreds of years, seismologists have found 12 major earthquakes with an estimated magnitude of 6.3 or greater. The last five of these occurred with an average interval time of 138 years. It appears that it takes about 140 years for the Hayward fault to accumulate enough energy to produce a major earthquake. With the last major event 144 years ago (1868), it is reasonable to believe that the next big one could happen at any time."
USGS
Recent Earthquakes Near California, United States
These are considered micro earthquakes, nothing to worry about. If they were double that in size, then yes, there would be cause for alarm, as 5M+ means take notice, or duck and cover.
See TREMOR AT 3 AM (Napa 'quake poem)
and my indepth blog on the Hayward Fault, Living Between Faultlines
Bay Area dodges (another) bullet when a powerful quake fails to do much damage
The Hayward Fault
The Hayward Fault: Its History "Looking back hundreds of years, seismologists have found 12 major earthquakes with an estimated magnitude of 6.3 or greater. The last five of these occurred with an average interval time of 138 years. It appears that it takes about 140 years for the Hayward fault to accumulate enough energy to produce a major earthquake. With the last major event 144 years ago (1868), it is reasonable to believe that the next big one could happen at any time."
USGS
Recent Earthquakes Near California, United States
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