Earthquakes?

[mufc99]

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/

 

A few weeks back I came across this cool site.

Interesting to note that the Big Island gets its fair share of earthquakes.

 

In a freaky way, it would be cool to be there when they have one! :-)

 

Anyone ever experience one whilst on their travels there?

[CruiserBruce]

The earthquakes are regular. They have to do, mainly, with the movement of magma. They signify an active volcano.

 

Being a California resident all my 55 years, have experienced many earthquakes, including a couple "serious" ones. "Cool" is not the word that leaps to mind.

[tip]

It sounds as though we should pack a bag with a change of undergarments for our day trip to the big island!;)

[mufc99]

Cool if you have never experienced one, and nobody gets hurt & nothing gets damaged :-)

[Princess Patches]

 

Being a California resident all my 55 years, have experienced many earthquakes, including a couple "serious" ones. "Cool" is not the word that leaps to mind.

 

I second this. Having lived through two 7.0 quakes in California I can tell you they are very frightening and deadly. There are in no way cool. You are most fortunate you have never been caught in one.

 

The smaller quakes (5.0 or less) where no one gets hurt and nothing is seriously damaged you cannot even really feel unless you are sitting quietly and are very observant. If you can feel it, there are damages and injuries.

[Cruisin' Chick]

The earthquakes are regular. They have to do, mainly, with the movement of magma. They signify an active volcano.

 

Being a California resident all my 55 years, have experienced many earthquakes, including a couple "serious" ones. "Cool" is not the word that leaps to mind.

 

I too have been in my share of strong quakes, including two (with epicenters within 10 miles of where I lived) that have killed over 60 people. I imagine if you google the Northridge quake, you'll find a photo of the apartment building in which 16 people alone died when the three story building was reduced to a half story in a matter of seconds. Or how about the Loma Prieta in the Bay Area in which the upper tier of a freeway collapsed upon the lower tier, trapping many people.

 

Even though I never have been in a hurricane (closest was back in 1994 when we managed to get out of Miami just hours after one hit), I would never say it would be cool to experience one.

[hill6]

interesting

[mufc99]

I wasn't aware that the 5.0 and less that the Big Island seems to get each week you cannot feel.

 

Oh well, from your feedback, I suppose I wont want to be experiencing one that you do actually feel.

 

Still interesting at the frequency considering the island is well away from the edges of the plates.

 

Hey, just checked again, and the same island has just had a 3.0 :-)

I wont say 'cool'.

[diverearl]

Sorry mufc99 some of the regulars are feeling a bit testy I see, they usually get over it and start being helpful again soon.

 

Like many other things earthquakes and volcano's are COOL but like cool bears and cool sharks they sometimes can be destructive and deadly. But bears, sharks, hurricanes and earthquakes can be really, really cool at times. How many times have I seen a shark underwater just a few feet away and not shouted COOL through my regulater not thinking about the fact that someone was killed by one at some point. We could go on for years about this but I hope the point has been made.

 

I thought this was pretty cool while I was on the island but again someone might get hurt by it someday.:rolleyes:

 

 

 

Since there are many quakes everyday on the Big Island if one happens while you are on the Big Island I hope you get to feel how cool it is to experience it.

 

While in Yellowstone a couple of weeks ago I saw this and thought it was cool but I'm sure it wasn't cause surely someone has been hurt by one sometime - somewhere.

 

[Princess Patches]

Unlike your photos of lava flow and buffalo, there is nothing visually appealing about an earthquake. Your analogy is badly misplaced. Please post a beautiful photo of an eathquake.

[parddr]

We live on the eastern shore of Maryland and last year when Virginia had their earthquake it was scary :eek:. It was felt for hundreds of miles away. I have a hard enough time getting my husband going anywhere that has earthquakes and tsunami's. We r going to Hawaii in Feb. 2014

[sassyredhat]

We just had a 5.3 quake here in southern CA. Specifically the El Centro area which is east of San Diego. I felt it here.

Pat

[cb at sea]

Of COURSE Hawaii has earthquakes....they have volcanoes...and are in the "circle of fire" area of the Pacific!

 

Shoot....last year, Virginia had an earthquake....what disturbed me the most was the huge "BANG" that started it.....we are used to Quantico's blasting....but this was MUCH louder. Usually, the booming of Quantico will make things shake for a second, but this went on and on and on...got stronger....and continued! Scary! I lost pictures off the wall, my china cabinet came within 1/4 inch of falling...books, and shelved items hit the floor....

Luckily, no structural damage...just cosmetic.

I always thought experiencing an earthquake would be cool....well....been there, done that....NEVER again! (I hope!)

[CruiserBruce]

Of COURSE Hawaii has earthquakes....they have volcanoes...and are in the "circle of fire" area of the Pacific!

 

Shoot....last year, Virginia had an earthquake....what disturbed me the most was the huge "BANG" that started it.....we are used to Quantico's blasting....but this was MUCH louder. Usually, the booming of Quantico will make things shake for a second, but this went on and on and on...got stronger....and continued! Scary! I lost pictures off the wall, my china cabinet came within 1/4 inch of falling...books, and shelved items hit the floor....

Luckily, no structural damage...just cosmetic.

I always thought experiencing an earthquake would be cool....well....been there, done that....NEVER again! (I hope!)

 

Hawaii's earthquakes have nothing to do with the ring of fire. That is plate tectonics. Hawaii is over a hot spot causing volcanos that created the entire 1800 mile Hawaiian island chain. As mentioned before, the earthquakes are caused by moving magma.

 

Plate tectonics are responsible for the impressive (but far from cool) earthquake swarm going on in Southern California right now, mentioned by sassyredhat.

[sassyredhat]

Yep, and we had about 30 of those little quakes yesterday. :D

Pat

[cr8tiv1]

Thanks CruiserBruce for the clarification.

 

Just want to add a little geography lesson. The hotspot was under Kauai (first island to the west). The hot spot does not move. It is the Pacific plate that the islands are on, that is moving in a Northwesterly direction. Thus, Kauai is the oldest (and most weather worn island) and Hawaii, the Big Island, is the newest. Lo'ihi is being formed off the coast of Hawaii. Molokai, Lanai, and Maui were once one big island. That is why traveling through the shallow Molokai Channel is usually very rough.

 

The Big Island has every climatic zone in the world from desert to rain forest and even snow. It is also fascinating to watch new growth from the lava fields to see how the Earth cooled and vegetation began.

 

The Big Island (specifically Hilo) is my favorite of all places in the state.

 

Each Hawaiian Island is unique and has its own personality. "E komo Mai" (welcome).

 

http://www.marinebio.net/marinescience/02ocean/hwgeo.htm

 

and yes...there are earthquakes. Several years back, there was a big enough earthquake on Hawaii that blacked out Oahu for several days. It is not the earthquake that scares people, it is the resulting deadly tsunamis that are the concerns. Visit the Tsunami Museum when you are in Hilo. I've experienced through both.

 

Renee (displace local girl)

[Freckles_51]

Just come to southern Ontario and you may feel a minor tremor ;), but the strangest earthquake for me was in 2009, while sailing (yes, on a cruise ship) overnight in the middle of the ocean between Roatan and Cozumel, whole ship shook, rattling wine glasses and causing stuff to fall off the bathroom shelf. Now that is a little scary! :eek: Don't believe it when anyone tells you that you cannot feel an earthquake when on a ship in the middle of the ocean.

[smitty3000]

We met a lady on a cruise recently who was on another cruise when the earthquake hit Haiti. They were out at sea in the Carribean and the captain came over the intercom and announced, Haiti has just had a significant earthquake and there are Tsunami warnings. She said you know how everyone keeps talking when the captain or cruise director comes over the intercom and I said yes, she says, you could have heard a pin drop. Very scary. I said Tsunamis run under the water, she says I know but she said it was a terrible feeling, I bet. Please save the earthquakes for after we leave Hawaii and Califonia this coming September. Makes me nervous thinking about them

[Desert Cruizers]

Being a Calif native, we also have experienced a few good size quake, the largest near us by 50 miles, was the Landers. I compared that one to a continuous sonic boom for 45 sec to 1 min, Nothing fun about that one. The shock wave on that one hitting our house, was frightening to say the least. 2 hours later the town of Big Bear followed with a 6.5 so a double wammy.

I will say this, although we get quakes on a daily basis throughout the state, it is the ones occurring every 30 + years we feel 4 to 5. The larger ones have a longer gap then that.

 

Two days ago, Brawley had a 5.5, then a 4.1 hit in Yorba Linda today. We never know when they will happen so just ride them out.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Being a Calif native, we also have experienced a few good size quake, the largest near us by 50 miles, was the Landers. I compared that one to a continuous sonic boom for 45 sec to 1 min, Nothing fun about that one. The shock wave on that one hitting our house, was frightening to say the least. 2 hours later the town of Big Bear followed with a 6.5 so a double wammy.

I will say this, although we get quakes on a daily basis throughout the state, it is the ones occurring every 30 + years we feel 4 to 5. The larger ones have a longer gap then that.

 

Two days ago, Brawley had a 5.5, then a 4.1 hit in Yorba Linda today. We never know when they will happen so just ride them out.

 

I remember the Landers and Big Bear quakes happening on my father's birthday. Even though I lived many miles away, I remember watching my heavy entertainment center traveling a few inches during the Big Bear one. Of course, during the Northridge one, the furniture moved away more forcibly to the point that the TV plug came out of the outlet.

[slidergirl]

I was flying enroute to Hawaii the day they had the big earthquake back in October 2006. The flight had to keep going (past the turnaround point). Honolulu and the airport were without power. We waited a couple of hours to get portable stairs (all flights had to share them - no jetway power). Had to wait 5 hours at the airport before flights to Kona were cleared to go. We were on the second flight to land at Kona. Driving up to our hotel (Hapuna Prince), we did see some slides on the sides of the road. When we got to the hotel, we had to wait about an hour before we could get our room. This was about 9pm. they had only recently got their power back, so they were in the process of accessing the conditions of the rooms. Some had the TVs bounced to the floor, some other accessories bounced off the walls. We saw some cracks in in walls and stuff. The next morning, around 6am, there was a good size aftershock. Bounced us around like I remember from some of the SoCA earthquakes. The Mauna Kea next door had significant structural damage and relocated their guests over to the Hapuna. I think the Fairmont Orchid had issues also and their guests were moved to other hotels in the Waikoloa area.

 

You do NOT want to be in Hawaii during an earthquake. You have no place to go...