we had an Earthquake last week
in Australia, about 9.30 at night so already total darkness and the toddler asleep in bed. 4.4 magnitude with ourselves just 25km from the epicentre, but it occured 17kms underground so no property damage. Still, I'd never been in one before (unlike my wife) so had no idea what was going on during the first tremor.

It was as if a giant had oh-so-carefully cupped the house in his hands so as not to alert us, then savagely jolted it to one side. We both froze - WTF was that - and it quickly happened again. I popped my head outside to check there wasn't some gigantic juggernaut pissing around our rural backstreet (which now seems rather dumb), the only noise outside was hundreds of gallahs circling and squawking waiting for it all to be over so they can find somewhere to land again for the night.

Back inside the wife reported more minor movement, when WHAM a massive jolt hit again. We quickly got a bag of food and water, a bag of warm clothes (it may be Australia but it still gets down to zero at night), a first aid kit and chucked them in the car. Then waited to see if it got any worse, but nothing more came of it, and the toddler didn't even wake up.

The last earthquake in the area was the late 60's but I'm probably going to keep some sort of Earthquake/Bushfire Kit ready in the car or garage - you don't want to be pissing around grabbing essentials if the house is going to collapse.

The savage jolting wasn't so much the house moving as the Earth moving (obviously), so the house suffered no apparent damage at all - but the sensation was incredible.
( ferret -> twitter.com/syfyautocorrect <-, Fri 15 Jun 2012, 0:52, 6 replies)

I thought Australia was
on the most stable shield plate ever. I thought those whoreson Kiwis bore the brunt of God's subducting tectonic wrath. Next you'll be telling us that not every spider and snake and fucking plankton in Oz can sting you and your family to death in less time than it takes to say 'Strewth' in that long, drawn-out fashion.
(judgetheobscure used to sweep in butchers' shops., Fri 15 Jun 2012, 1:00, closed)

so did I
I'm originally a brit, met an aussie barmaid and heyho I'm in Australia for life. Started off living in a funtimes town called Newcastle in this 12 storey student-infested block of flats by the sea. What are these great big bloody cracks about, and the huge bulge in the brickwork you can see if you stand on the roof and look down?

So the wife-to-be tells me it's earthquake damage - she was 11 years old and standing in the park just opposite said building when the earth lurched and the streetlights started waving side to side like they're made of rubber. 13 people dead, 160 injured, 1,000 people made homeless due to the damage to 35,000 homes, 147 schools, and 3,000 commercial buildings.

Right, so this is why the rent is so cheap in a tower block right on the beach subjected to huge fucking gales with massive cracks and bulging brickwork and can we get down from the roof now.

Bloody Australians, they have no sense of fear what so ever.

Then we move out to the country where there's redback spiders and brown snakes galore (our neighbour across the creek had 20 of the last year, 5 of which were in the house).

So yeah, it's pretty much as advertised - just plus earthquakes they never bother to mention.
( ferret -> twitter.com/syfyautocorrect <-, Fri 15 Jun 2012, 1:15, closed)

The only earthquake I've ever felt
was when I spent the night at Warner's Bay near Newcastle sometime around 1993.
(Redemption blamed it on the Bossa Nova since, Fri 15 Jun 2012, 4:11, closed)

I'm also in oz
and a year ago I also experienced an earthquake for the first time. I heard it before I felt it - first I thought it's a plane overhead, then a massive truck driving down our street, then I felt the ripple travel through our house. Windows were rattling but nothing got damaged thankfully. Very very scary at the time.


( Tiffany Aching 's bowl of oatmeal tried to stare her down and won, Fri 15 Jun 2012, 4:27, closed)

I am so stealing that image concept
and posting it in the town hall









sorry
( ferret -> twitter.com/syfyautocorrect <-, Fri 15 Jun 2012, 6:13, closed)

I checked with your wife.
She said that the earth never moved for her.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Fri 15 Jun 2012, 13:47, closed)