Saturday, January 14, 2012

How to survive an earthquake


My eldest daughter has been reading my blog and suggested some events from our past that she felt would make interesting reading.  “Remember”, wrote Vavielle, “How we survived the earth quake”?  And I did remember.

5.9 Earthquake
 Were we on vacation in some foreign country?  No we were in our home in the small rural community of Fielding, New Brunswick. It was at 12:53 on January 9th, 1982, with an epicentre at Trousers Lake in remote Victoria County.  Although the earthquake was felt widely throughout the Maritime Provinces and the New England states, because of the remoteness of its location, the only damage reported was the development and extension of cracks in buildings and pavement at a few locations.  The main earthquake was followed by a long sequence of aftershocks, including one of 5.1 on the same day, another of 5.4 on January 11th, 1982 and one of 5.0 on March 31st, 1982.

However, we did not realize any of that scientific data.  My house was shaking, the dishes were rattling and my children were crying.  I gathered them together and we huddled under the arch way in the living room. Good choice?   Not!   I have now done my research and the best place to be is to find a vertical face, sturdy, like the back of a couch, or against the side of a kitchen counter (without a big lip).

It may seem like you should shelter under a table, but this is not such a good idea. If the quake takes your home, the roof and ceiling will fall down and collapse the table, leaving you a small space. There would be little place to move, no ventilation, and probably injuries. Do NOT shelter in a doorway. That is a myth. The action of an earthquake can twist a doorway and snap it like a two twigs.

5.2 eathquake
I found later that our earthquake measured between 5 and 6 on the Richter scale.  Worldwide, 1,319 earthquakes of this magnitude occur each year.


Our 1982 quake lasted only a few minutes yet it was time for me, like the broody hen, to gather my chicks under my wings.  I may not have chosen the best place to make my stand. But I acted and provided security for the girls. And now some thirty years later we can laugh together about surviving the earthquake.

But, No one asked me how to survive an earthquake.




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4 comments:

  1. valerie elkinsJanuary 15, 2012 at 8:17 AM

    I remember that day well, Brent & I were having a coffee at the kitchen table, I heard the loud roar before it started shaking the place, we both thought(we discussed later) that a transport had left the road & run into the side of our home....It was scarey, but it happened so quick (for me)can't imagine it going on for any longer.. since we lived just a mile up the road from you at that time ,we must have experienced the same tremor strength,I thought it was in the morning though!!??......yup we all survived the earthquake!!

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  2. ValerieJanuary 15, 2012 at 8:28 AM

    Thanks for the comment Valerie Elkins. Yes, that is what I thought at first - a vehicle had slammed into our house. But since we were some distance from the road, and up on a hill, I quickly nixed that. I checked all my facts with a number of reputable sources the time given was in UT - I forgot to convert. One subtracts 4 hours for Atlantic Standard Time so you are correct, it was Saturday, Jnauary 9th, 1982, 8:52am.

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  3. valerie elkinsJanuary 15, 2012 at 3:15 PM

    I thought so because we were sitting having our morning coffee, the boys must have been playing in their rooms, or of course watching cartoons!!where we lived next to the road on that blind hill...anything would have been possible......Sure brought back memories!!

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  4. SaltAndPepperMakersJanuary 18, 2012 at 8:03 AM

    I remember it as well. My little brother and I were in the bathroom, brushing our teeth. There was a little oval picture that hung on the wall just over the light switch and it started swaying. We laughed at how silly our parents were being on the other side of the door, banging on the wall and making the little picture move. Silly Mom & Dad...

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