Welcome to the TravelPod forums

[inasia2008]

So, let me tell you good people what happened here in Northern Japan in the early hours of this morning! An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale struck and it terrified the life out of me!
We were all sleeping, bearing in mind it was around 2am and it shook the house to its foundations, knocking stuff of shelves and surfaces etc. Mike ran to get Alex out of his bed, but he was all for an "Adventure" (hmm, the mind of an 18 month old! LOL) and we headed outside, I didn't even think to go outside and was just following Mike around like a dumb person, still half asleep! He said to me this morning that is what we have to do in case the house collapses!
Anyway, 43 people were injured in the earthquake, mainly over in Hachinohe, I assume from driving cars or falling furniture etc.
Afterwards my heart was pounding like I have never felt, it just would not calm down! I have never felt anything like that in my life!
Alex went back to sleep like nothing had happened and so did Mike! My friend Joanna, told me that her baby boy slept through it but her 2 year old, she found him sitting up in bed wide eyed and shaking, he just said "hi mommy" when she went into his room, she calmed him down and his daddy called, as he is in Afghanistan right now and he told his daddy that "it all just went BOOM"!
So all in all a bit of an eventful night!

[starlagurl]

Wowie! And now we all know what to do when there is an earthquake. GO OUTSIDE!

[mmbcross]

I lived 12 years in Peru, and an earthquake is something I don't think you can ever get used to. It comes without warning, and you never know if it's going to be a slight tremor or a major earthquake. Yes...you get out of the house as fast as you can, failing that, stand in a doorway (the strongest part of the house). If you are on top of a ninety story building, you just pray! Now you know why they make paper houses in Japan.

In a big city, there are often significant deaths by being run over by a car rather than by collapsing buildings. At the first sign of a tremor, people rush out into the street. Because in a car you don't feel the movement so much, all you know is that suddenly people are running right under your tyres.

[starlagurl]

OMG, that's so frightening...Yeah, I guess the shocks in your car would prevent you from feeling the first small tremors...crazy...

[polydemic]

Wowie! And now we all know what to do when there is an earthquake. GO OUTSIDE!

NO!!! More people are killed by falling debris while running out of a building than anything else during an earthquake. When an earthquake strikes you are to get under the furniture or in a doorway (which is strong enough to hold up the wall even in that situation) & away from windows (to avoid flying glass in case they break). Panicing & running just gets you killed.

Having lived on the West Coast of the US most of my life I have gotten use to earthquakes & know many others who have as well.

[mmbcross]

That may be the best solution in California, but what about other countries where the building code may not be as strict? Your automatic reaction is to leave the building. I know the best place to be is in a doorway, but you have to have pretty strong resolve to stand in a doorway while it seems that the rest of the building may be falling to pieces all around you.

The best place to be in a hurricane is in the bathroom!

[inasia2008]

Why is that for when you crap yourself from fear?

I actually heard someone say yesterday that they had stood in a doorway, I must admit I would find it hard to if my house was falling down around my ears though!

[inasia2008]

So yesterday, more drama! Mike lost his wallet, it has EVERYTHING in there that we use to basically live, credit cards, all access to cash, his military ID, his driving licence, and some irreplaceable items such as his Chief's initiation card! Its amazing how you take these things for granted until they are gone, when you are left with no money, nothing to even buy milk! Anyway, he had to cancel all the cards and wait for new ones! All adds to the fun.... hey ho!

[starlagurl]

I guess the procedures are different in different parts of the world? Maybe that's it?

Oh man, I HATE losing my wallet...it happened to me in February but I got it back...minus $200

See blog post: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entri...94600/tpod.html

[starlagurl]

The best place to be in a hurricane is in the bathroom!

Interesting I thought it was the "root cellar"

[mmbcross]

We don't have cellars in Florida.

[starlagurl]

Well they do in Kansas! It was a thinly veiled Wizard of Oz reference...

Why don't you have cellars??? Too swampy?

[inasia2008]

May be they get some unwanted visitors, the green scaley kind with big teeth!

[starlagurl]

Who does? The people in Florida?

[mmbcross]

Are you saying that Floridians are green and scaly? The average age is so high, that might well be the case. But rather than long teeth, they are long in tooth.

I'm not sure why we don't have cellars in Florida.

[starlagurl]

I think this calls for some research on your part, Martin. Find out!

[inasia2008]

I was saying that may be why they dont have cellars as they could have some large green scaly neighbours to deal with otherwise, who decide that the cellar would make a nice new nest!

[mmbcross]

You are probably right. Florida is so flat that the cellars would probably fill with water, and our scaly alligators would find them to be an excellent residence.

Holland is also flat at or below sea level. I wonder if they have cellars in their houses? At least they don't have alligators. Do Japanese homes have cellars?

[kitkatgo]

Sorry you had a rumbler Jo! Those can be scary. We had a decent sized one here too, very close to where I live. But I was in Paris, so I missed it.

We don't have cellars in California either. And yeah, here you are supposed to get under a sturdy table, desk, or stand in a doorway. Although, even though I've lived in CA all my life and gone through dozens and dozens of earthquakes, I've never had to do that.

[inasia2008]

You are probably right. Florida is so flat that the cellars would probably fill with water, and our scaly alligators would find them to be an excellent residence.

Holland is also flat at or below sea level. I wonder if they have cellars in their houses? At least they don't have alligators. Do Japanese homes have cellars?

No they don't either, it could be because of the seismic happenings though, could be really dangerous in an earthquake I assume to be stuck in the cellar! They tend to have attics though I think!