now, i am told by locals that they have 'much larger' quakes, but this one was big enough for me. i can die in peace and not worry about having to check that little item off the list....
it started as a 'vibration' like someone walking behind you and pushing your chair, or the kid in the seat behind you on the flight kicking your chair. then the entire room sort of 'rolled.' it wasn't a massive up and down bounce or side to side shake. more like being on a boat and having a small swell of ocean waves lift you and set you back down. this 'wave effect' happened several times and we all looked at each other - at dinner saying "we're having an earthquake!" then pretty soon it was over. we laughed and talked about 'the big one.' it wasn't scary. (it didn't go on long enough or wasn't violent enough.) i'm lucky that way.
-skip the pirate
.from near the epicenter
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Quake near LAX is felt across wide area
By Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
10:32 PM PDT, May 17, 2009
A 4.7 earthquake struck southeast of Los Angeles International Airport this evening, causing significant shaking across Southern California.The temblor hit about 8:40 p.m. near the South Bay community of Lennox. A 3.0 aftershock occurred a few minutes later near Lennox.
The temblor started about 8.4 miles below the surface, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Residents in the Lennox area said china fell off shelves, but there were no reports of more serious damage.
"It was pretty strong but over in about 15 seconds." -Los Angeles County Sheriff's
The earthquake was "a bit deep," said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough. "That tends to make it less sharp – less of a jerky, abrupt motion," Hough said. As a result, most of the region felt the quake largely as a rolling motion.
