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5.2 Earthquake Shakes Up SF Bay Area 611

Posted by chrisd from the thankfully-it's-not-really-a-big-deal dept.
Joe Kaz wrote in (along with a number of other concerned folks): "There was a 5.2 Earthquake in Gilroy, CA, 70 miles south of San Francisco. The epicenter was 4.7 miles below surface. It lasted for about 10 seconds, and it did seem like a long time. Everything shook for a while, and it was a little scary. No reports of damage yet. Hope everyone is ok." I've got a report from my sisters father-in-law in gilroy (the epicenter) and he barely noticed it. Nate Oostendorp noted that "My stereo shook a little" in Walnut Creek. The SF Gate story on the quake notes that there are some phones out in some small parts of San Jose. The usgs has an event monitoring page if you are interested.
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5.2 Earthquake Shakes Up SF Bay Area More

5.2 Earthquake Shakes Up SF Bay Area

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  • Damage Report from New Jersey.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Loki_1929 ( 550940 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @12:44AM (#3515110) Journal
    Didn't feel a thing. No apparent damage. No injuries. Carry on.

    • Watch It! (Score:3, Funny)

      by ackthpt ( 218170 )
      When the BIG one comes, all the land east of the San Andreas (or mebbe Hayward) Fault will slide off into the Atlantic. Betcha wish ya were in sunny ... uh ... cool and windy (and often foggy during the summer) Santa Cruz, eh? :-)
    • This was the perfect earthquake for an earthquake virgin like me. It was just strong enough to know that it wasn't my imagination but not so strong that anyone got hurt or any property got damaged. I'm in Redwood City, CA and it was a thrilling experience.

      --Asa
  • On the peninsula, between SF and SJ it was barely felt. The house shook a bit, but just two fast shakes and nothing more. Definitely not making any damage and hardly waking up anyone who was already asleep.

  • 5.2 is not so scary (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ObviousGuy ( 578567 ) <ObviousGuy@hotmail.com> on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @12:46AM (#3515121) Homepage Journal
    Until an earthquake's magnitude rises above 6.5, it's really not so bad.

    Buildings that cannot withstand a 5.2 earthquake should be investigated.

    • Re:5.2 is not so scary (Score:5, Funny)

      by Loki_1929 ( 550940 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @12:54AM (#3515164) Journal
      Buildings that cannot withstand a 5.2 earthquake should be investigated.

      What's to investigate? The pile of rubble?
      Here, I shall provide you with a thorough investigation report:

      engineer1: "Shit, that was only a 5.2, and that building collapsed. I didn't even spill my coffee."

      engineer2: "Gee, sucks to be them. Oh well."

      engineer1: "Want to grab a burger?"

      engineer2: "Ok."

      • Wouldn't you like to know what construction company built a collapsed building?
    • I was watching the Colorado and San Jose hockey game, and one of the announcers noticed it. The other thought it was from the fans on their feet when the action got intense. I didn't even see anything shake, no players fell to the ground, so it doesn't seem like anything big. Then again, it was in San Jose (not sure how far that is from Gilroy.

    • Re:5.2 is not so scary (Score:3, Insightful)

      by yomahz ( 35486 )

      Until an earthquake's magnitude rises above 6.5, it's really not so bad.

      Buildings that cannot withstand a 5.2 earthquake should be investigated.

      Not true... there are so many more factors to take into consideration when it comes to earthquakes. The depth, the type (rollers are much worse), the distance, etc.

      • Re:5.2 is not so scary (Score:3, Informative)

        by Kris_J ( 10111 )
        Not to mention the geography and geology of the location. Reflections off large underground rock formations and "liquifaction" are a couple of the more serious problems during an earthquake.

      • Not true... there are so many more factors to take into consideration when it comes to earthquakes. The depth, the type (rollers are much worse), the distance, etc.

        I couldn't agree more.

        We had a 6.9 here [vuw.ac.nz] on the 21st of August last year, and people barely felt a thing. A few months before that there was a bigger one (somewhere in the 7's) that's unfortunately rolled off the linked page. Again, not much was felt at all.

        There wasn't any notable damage in either of them. This could partly be put down to the very strict local building codes that are there in anticipation of a big Earthquake being due, but that hardly made a difference in these cases.

        5.2 doesn't mean anything. There could be a very destructive 5.2 earthquake, or all the other factors could combine to make it almost invisible.

    • Buildings that cannot withstand a 5.2 earthquake should be investigated.

      That might be difficult...

  • Oh, just a 5.2? (Score:5, Funny)

    by hackman ( 18896 ) <bretthall@ieee . o rg> on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @12:50AM (#3515143) Homepage
    No worries, seen worse. Be a good Californian and go back to bed.

    Heh. Course I live in Oregon now so I bet if they had a 5.2 out here everyone would be out on the street talking about how scared they were.

  • Why is this news? (Score:5, Informative)

    by n6mod ( 17734 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @12:51AM (#3515149) Homepage
    I grew up in Silicon Valley. 5.0 is the threshold at which you can ask your colleagues "did you feel that" without risk of embarassment.

    I think it's you newbies that have only come here after '89 who think this is significant. It has been eerily quiet (seismically speaking) since then.

    And yes, this was unusually long (not since '89 have I had the time to discuss the ongoing earthquake with those nearby) but not that strong. Here in Ben Lomond (maybe 30 miles away) there was a noticable shaking, but I don't need to straighten any pictures.

    • Re:Why is this news? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Trepidity ( 597 )
      Exactly; this is completely uninteresting to anything but perhaps a local newspaper. Hell, there've been many stronger earthquakes than that in various parts of the world over just the past few months, and they weren't reported here. Is this just news because Nate happens to work there?
    • yeah, I think my washing machine causes my house to shake more than this 5.2 did. I don't even check for damage unless its 6.5 or more. I don't think people in SF even felt it.
    • Same reaction... I've been waiting eagerly for the next "big" earthquake... 5.7 is almost disappointing.

      Was watching a Knights Tale at the time... Didn't even bother getting up.

      BTW... I'm currently living in Boulder Creek... Is it me, or is Santacruz an obsenely boring place to live?

  • Why? (Score:2, Flamebait)

    by Ghoser777 ( 113623 )
    Okay, forget karma or what not for a second. Honestly, why is this on slashdot? I'm not sure I approve of reporting minor earthquakes in San Francisco when I know hundreds of people die every day or so in huge catastrophes across the world. I'm an American, but I'm a little sick of this American-centric view of what's important. Either all minor disasters get reported, or none of them.

    F-bacher
  • This is why the East Coast kicks all the ass in the world, really.

    Ok, flamebait aside, I still find it amazing that people can deal with this stuff on a regular basis. I've been through quakes a few times, and I have absolutely no desire to repeat the experience.

    How on earth do all you Californians deal with it? I would be heading out on the next flight.

    Give me nor-easters and rude subway drivers any day...;-)

    • It's simple. The east coast sucks for one fundamental reason. Your oceans are broken. Here on the proper coast, the sun sets over the ocean. This is one of those romantice devices that chicks go for. (Oh, wait, this is /. Never mind.)

      I'm told that the sun rises over the oceans on that coast, but I've never been up that early.

      Besides, you had a 5.0 near Plattsburgh last month, so save the "we don't have earthquakes" crap.

      (And no, I won't claim we don't have tornados here. We do. There was one a few years ago that destroyed a couple of hot tubs. ;)

      • It's funny that you should say that it's romantic for the sun to set over large bodies of water. Here on the east side of Cleveland, the coast takes a northeast bent along lake erie. Therefore, in the evening, the sun sets over the lake for us. What takes the romance out of the sun gently falling into the slow rolling waves of lake erie is the fact that the lake is so polluted with heavy metals. State health advisories are constantly posted asking that the very old, very young, and pregnant should not eat lake erie fish. Our fish have the proud distinction of being riddled with tumors. It's really sad. When you take a boat trip out to the lake erie islands, and look down into the deeper parts of the lake, it looks so clear and beautiful, it's a shame that if you dive in for a swim, it's going to do you more harm than good.

        On a more ontopic note, Cleveland had two 5 point earthquakes in my lifetime (the last one happened three years ago I think?) I must admit, neither were much to get excited about. My computer monitor shook like hell, but I just thought it was because the washer was acting up.
    • How on earth do all you Californians deal with it?

      When I grew up in the Midwest, it was Severe Thunderstorms, Snow Storms, Floods, and Tornados.

      If I lived on the East Coast, I'd worry about Hurricanes.

      I live on the West Coast and it's Earthquakes.

      Pick your poison.

      -Bill
    • How on earth do all you Californians deal with it? I would be heading out on the next flight.

      I just yawn and go back to sleep :)
    • Give me a break. The few times you NY guys have quakes, the network news anchors are all over it like the end of the world. I've seen them do that for a 3.3. A BLOODY 3.3 fer G-d's sake! Out here, for a 3.3, we say, "OK, who farted?"

  • Reporting your observations (Score:4, Informative)

    by zavyman ( 32136 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @12:53AM (#3515161)

    If you felt the quake, or if you were in the area and didn't feel it, be sure to record your observations here [usgs.gov] so that the data can be displayed and analyzed.

    It's amazing to see 700 responses be recorded in about 20 some minutes, and more data just helps the cause of the USGS. It was minor up here near the bay, but hey, it was my first :) You can access the current map [usgs.gov] as well.

  • We're about 40 miles from the epicenter here. It was kind of long, which was the only worrying thing about it. When it doesn't stop right away, you worry that it's going to get worse before it stops.

    But really, amplitude-wise it was no great shakes.

    • I too am in sunnyvale, and i heard the TV sitting here on my desk shaking just a little, but didn't feel it in my seat

  • report your experiences to the USGS (Score:5, Informative)

    by molo ( 94384 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @12:55AM (#3515169) Journal
    [usgs.gov]
    http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/shake/ca/STORE/X4013 33 64/ciim_form.html

    Go there if you are in the area of the quake. Report what you felt. Don't make shit up, don't troll the USGS.

    I felt some moderate shaking. Biggest quake I've ever been in, but I just moved to Palo Alto from New York. Neat, but scary.

  • It was felt at the hockey game (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Erbo ( 384 ) <{amygalert} {at} {gmail.com}> on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @12:58AM (#3515186) Homepage Journal
    Fox Sports Net broadcasters John Kelly and Peter McNab sure felt that one from the broadcast booth of the Compaq Center (soon to be the "HP Pavilion") in San Jose, where the Colorado Avalanche were dueling with the San Jose Sharks in a hotly-contested playoff game (Game 6, Sharks led series 3-2).

    The quake hit in the 3rd period, while the Avs and Sharks were tied 1-1 (both goals having come in the 2nd, within 30 seconds of one another). It may have jolted the announcers, but it sure didn't faze goaltenders Evgeni Nabokov or Patrick Roy, who never let anything through in that period. The game was finally decided in OT, on a goal by Avs forward Peter "The Great" Forsberg, winning the game 2-1 and sending the series back to Pepsi Center in Denver for Game 7.

    GO AVS!

  • Yup, I felt it too (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Eugenia Loli ( 250395 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @12:59AM (#3515199) Journal
    I am in Foster City, 75 km away from the Epicenter. Yup, I felt it. First thing I did was to shout "Sweetieeee, wake up!" to my husband who has *just* gone to sleep. But it only lasted for 10 secs or so, so it was not too bad.

    In Greece I've seen worse that this quake.

    And in fact, I was feeling like it would be a quake today. In Greece, (older) people have three things to undedify earthquakes that are going to happen in the next few hours:
    1. If the climate is unsusally dryly hot and it feels weird to your.. ears (there is an unusual sound of silence, a low pitch sound that masks the other small sounds). It is a different sort of heat. It is like humid heat, but very dry at the same time. I can't explain it better in words, sorry.
    2. If for some weird reason, while you just sit somewhere fine and daddy, your ear just "blocks", like it does when water gets inside when you are in the bath or something.
    3. If the dogs just bark all day, and no matter what you do to them, they just don't stop barking.

    At least these are the ways older people in Greece get a clue about nature's surprises.

    • Re:Yup, I felt it too (Score:4, Funny)

      by Vess V. ( 310830 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @01:05AM (#3515228) Homepage
      Yup, I felt it. First thing I did was to shout "Sweetieeee, wake up!" to my husband who has *just* gone to sleep. But it only lasted for 10 secs or so, so it was not too bad.

      Heh heh... gotta love out-of-context excerpts.

    • 2. If for some weird reason, while you just sit somewhere fine and daddy, your ear just "blocks", like it does when water gets inside when you are in the bath or something.

      Funny you mention this. Especially on the way home, I had a hell of a time keeping my ears cleared. I just blamed it on allergies. ;)

      Of course, I'm still having trouble, so either it is allergies, or that was just a foreshock...

  • Is this (Score:2, Funny)

    by doubtless ( 267357 )
    a news for nerds? or a slow news day? or maybe another evidence for the stranglets? hee-hee
  • About 10 seconds of shaking, amplifying for several seconds and then about a 2 second gap towards the end; enough for my 'mates and I to get in doorframes and think of moving fragile items away from counter edges, but zero damage.

    I felt one about like this 3 or so years ago - I remember distinctly being on a conference call with people in NJ around 7 am, and after feeling the quake (and hearing doors shake in their frames, actually the first sigm of the tremor) I told the NJ folks about it. They were quite impressed.

  • Apparently there have actually been four events. First one was an "Is this an earthquake?" That gave way directly to the 5.2 shake, which lasted a few seconds before diminishing. Whole-building motion, and you could feeling the building twisting and deforming. But no apparent damage, and subsided quickly.

    http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsUS/Maps/US2/ 36 . 8.-123.-121.html

    Couple of aftershocks (they say) but they were much lighter, at around 2.5, and weren't felt here (at least, not by me in a quiet apartment...)

  • NOooooooo! Not the SourceForge Bay Area!!! i hope my projects are backed up
  • Earthquake 5.2 - the new Linux disto of choice!
  • I was just watching ESPN, and they're like "We've had an earthquake and we'll be back for the third period. The game was almost over.

    Glad to see that not even earthquakes will stop a hockey game!
  • First thing I thought when I saw the story was "ooh, I'll click on the event monitoring page." Then, as the page took a while to load up, I suddenly realized that idiots like me were slashdotting a very important resource.
  • I've been checking that USGS earthquake page since I moved to California a couple of years ago. The only two website worth reading these days are the CDC and the USGS. I'm proud of my tax money going to provide such in-depth time wasting. Carry on, beloved Federal agencies.

    'jfb

  • John Katz? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by _bobs.pizza_ ( 452394 )
    Did anybody else out there read this story late at night and see "John Katz" instead of "Joe Kaz", and wonder why he didn't post the story himself? Of course, even in my bleary-eyed state I knew it wasn't Katz posting, as it was only a paragraph of text.

  • How it felt to me. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by juuri ( 7678 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @01:27AM (#3515355) Homepage
    First off I live in one of the super windy portions of the San Francisco. Wind funnels down market and the various hills so that I experience regular wind blasts.

    This was just like a normal wind blast, in that my huge windows pushed in and the pressure changed in the room. Then instead of slowly going back out like normal the windows shot out REALLY changing the air pressure in the room. It was at this point that I realized it wasn't just a normal blast of wind. Then the TV shook, the shelves moved and the windows came back at me.

    Basically it felt to me like a roller coaster... gentle turn (rolling sensation), jolt (hard turn), roll, roll, and a sigh as it was over. Stuff shook but nothing too special and nothing was broke. I also happen to live in a new building designed to handle big earthquakes.

    The cool thing was looking out my windows and watching the city light up as everyone turned on their lights and went to their own windows.
  • This is not news. It happens all the time. The only thing exciting about it is watching the reaction of the tourists.

  • Can't understand the hysteria (Score:3, Interesting)

    by evilviper ( 135110 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @01:35AM (#3515387) Journal
    Many years back, we had a 7.4 earthquake followed by a 6.5 aftershock, and many other aftershocks of decreasing intensity. The death count? One person who had a heart attack because of it.

    Everyone will like to say that they're more devastating when they are in heavily populated areas. That's completely untrue. They're more devestating when they are in areas where buildings are made extremely cheaply. I had a very large TV jump off of a table and about 5 feet across the room. I had a set of shelves with quite a load on them shake so hard that they damaged the wally they were up against. And in all of that, not a single bit of structural damage. Not a single bridge needed the slightest of repairs (and we've got plenty of those).

    Then, a year later, a 6.4 earthquake hits Los Angeles, dozens of people die, several bridges collapse, and buildings collapse. It's simple folks. If you live somewhere that every contractor is cutting corners, even a small quake will destroy everything in sight.

    I'd been through a hurricane when I was living back east. I'd rather have 8.0 earthquakes every week, than a hurricane once a decade. Hell, earthquakes really don't do any significant damage. If you were driving, you wouldn't even know that there was an earthquake.

  • Here's a better title (Score:5, Funny)

    by xant ( 99438 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @01:36AM (#3515398) Homepage
    5.2 Earthquake Barely Nudges San Francisco

    Are we going to start reporting heavy rainfall in Hawaii next?
    • F*ck, certainly that tropical rainstorm last night coming back from the WWW11 in Honolulu was more scary !!!

      I was at the Sharks/Avs game and didn't feel a thing -- indistinguishable from the general crowd cheering effect - or maybe I was just concentrating on the game too much.

      Winton

  • Story Time (Score:5, Funny)

    by Monkelectric ( 546685 ) <slashdot AT monkelectric DOT com> on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @01:41AM (#3515416)
    please reply with your funny earthquake stories :)

    here's mine, northridge earthquake, I dont remember exactly the date, but I wsa playing Wing Commander I or II, I dont remember which, and I had *just* blown up some huge ass ship, a carrier I think -> My speakers are blasting the sound of the ship exploding, and at that percise moment the earthquake begins, and as the ground begins to rumble Im thinking, "holy shit thats a great sound effect", then I realize whats going on and dash to the doorframe where your supposed to be in an earthquake. I think I ended up loosing the level to, got attacked while my ship was unmanned :)

    • , northridge earthquake, I dont remember exactly the date

      17 Jan 1994, 0431 PST.

    • True Story (Score:5, Funny)

      by commodoresloat ( 172735 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @03:17AM (#3515723)
      LA a couple years ago, about 4AM, a long roller, centered around Joshua Tree if I recall correctly.... I had just fallen asleep in the arms of a hottie I had met the night before.... The quake woke us up and kept going, and we wound up huddling naked under the doorway scared but aroused. When the shaking finally stopped, the phone rang.

      It was my girlfriend, who called to see if I was OK.

      I've never been so fucking busted.
      • It was my girlfriend, who called to see if I was OK.

        I've never been so fucking busted.

        And how were you busted? Not that I'm condoning dishonesty, but couldn't you have just said a quick "I-am-ok-will-call-you-back-in-a-bit-so-i-can-make -sure-everything-else-is-ok"?

    • got attacked while my ship was unmanned :)

      Damn those kilrathi! Do they have no honor?
  • The Rapid Instrumental Intensity Map [usgs.gov] for this event is up (after some initial problems causing the wrong map area to be displayed). Note that in addition to the epicenter near Gilroy, there was some additional activity near Palo Alto. The intensity values indicate that little to no damage should be expected. I'm in Palo Alto, and the effects were very minor.

    There's an EDIS Bulletin [ca.gov] on the quake, but it's a routine report, with a priority too low to generate an E-mail message from EDIS. No indications of any significant emergencies to be dealt with.

    Press reports indicate that several plates fell down at a china outlet store in Gilroy, and a coffee pot was damaged at the Gilroy Rodeway Inn.

    For some reason, phone service in San Jose was affected. Unclear why.

  • earthquake newbie, 7th floor hotel room (Score:4, Insightful)

    by mjh ( 57755 ) <mark.hornclan@com> on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @01:44AM (#3515435) Homepage Journal
    I normally occupy the East Coast, but I'm traveling on businesss, and an earthquake is a strange experience for me. But I definately felt it. Basically, from up here on the 7th floor, in Walnut Creek, it felt like someone took the room and was rocking it back and forth. The amount of motion was very small, and very gentle. But the fact that the entire room was moving was very strange and disquieting.

    I've often said, as an east coaster, that I'd like to feel an earthquake. Well now that I have, I have two reactions.

    1. Not nearly as exciting as I'd anticipated it would be.
    2. Not nearly as calm as I'd anticipated I would be.

    IOW, I was scared more than was appropriate for the size of this thing. Thank GOD that they make the building able to survive this kind of thing. As I think about it, the fact that an 8 story building was gently rocking back and forth (probably about 1/2 inch in both directions), and didn't fall is pretty amazing.

    Want to simulate it? Have someone go up to your wheeled chair and wiggle it back and forth at a rate of about 3-4Hz. Now, imagine that the desk that you're leaning on, and the floor that you have your feet on is also moving.

  • Hope Slashdot didn't ruin anyones day in CA by posting this, since we east coast people will find out so far before them.

  • Gilroy?

    Is the garlic okay?

    How about the motorcycles?

    --Blair
    "The only other thing they make there is trouble for politicians wanting to create a freeway to the east..."
  • I'm in San Francisco and it seemed to me that there was two separate quakes, separated by about 10 seconds.

    The first wasn't that bad, a "trembler" (for a native San Franciscan like me I guess this is up to 5 or so :)). Then another one a bit longer but about the same magnitude.

    Having experienced the 1989 quake, I was expecting a huge (main) shock after the second one (two in a row isn't good...). Nothing yet, but perhaps later tonight or even tomorrow we might get something more.

    The worst part is after a large quake and you're trying to fall sleep, but now you're senses are heightened, and you can feel every little aftershock. And while you're laying in your bed, you're looking up at the ceiling afraid it's going to fall on you the next minute (you've already calculated how much time you'll have to toss back the sheets and dive to safety). All the while, each movement you make makes you tense; you think it's another aftershock.

    I'd rather have earthquakes, though, than tornados, blizzards, or hurricanes.

    By the way, if you live in Oakland, Berkeley or Alameda, and you're paranoid... the San Andreas fault isn't predicted to let loose for quite a while. But you're sitting right on the Hayward fault and it's expected to slip "soon" meaning the next 10 - 30 years.

  • Earthquake / disaster / Burning Man kit ready? (Score:5, Informative)

    by geekotourist ( 80163 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @02:03AM (#3515513) Journal
    If you felt it- you know that feeling you had at the 14th second, as you were starting to wonder if this was a big one, thinking about those 32 remaining (or at least ambulatory) survivors [sfgate.com] of the 60 second long 1906 quake (estimated 8.3), and then it stopped... the Sharks game wasn't even interrupted. But we know that sometime over the next 30 years, it'll start up the same, and then get worse.

    So, just as daylight savings time supposedly reminds us to change our smoke detector batteries (because otherwise that annoying 'low battery' beeping always start at 4am), tiny earthquakes remind us about our earthquake kits and preparation [sfgate.com]. Includes...

    • 3+ days of food, water, clothing, tools (ability to turn off the gas if needed) flashlights etc etc.
    • especially if you're female: comfortable clothing in your car, with a good change of shoes (vs hiking in high heels)
    • knowing where your important papers and backup disks are (some sites advise having copies in a bag you can grab on the way out), and having copies in a safe / safety deposit box.
    • cell phone always charged and gas tank always at least 1/2 full

    And unless you live in Scottsdale, AZ [cryonet.org], don't feel smug about the safety of your own location- St. Louis has had an 8.0 [ualr.edu], and New York State has seen 6.0's [buffalo.edu].

  • Is the garlic crop okay? I wanna go to the garlic festival [gilroygarlicfestival.com] this year!


  • Sorry people, I don't think that a local 'weather' report is worthy of a /. report, however groundbreaking you may think it is [excuse the pun!.

    I'm as about concerned about minor quakes in the US as I sure most /. readers are concerned about rainfall in Europe.

    This is not /. news.

    trellick
  • and we felt it during the game. We lost 2-1 on OT....damn avalanche :(
  • watching the Sharks. At first I thought it was another "we will rock you" chant starting up, but I knew it was something big when the concrete stands began to wobble. I looked up and watched the rafter lights sway for a few seconds while hoping the tremors didn't escalate. No damage or injuries. Regretfully the refs didn't get hurt...those blind jackasses costed the Sharks the game.
  • Seems some water flow patterns at the Gilroy Hot Springs may have changed a bit.

    This is a beautiful area that many people in the bay area take advantage of, and it is also a very historically significant site.

    Following WWII when Japanese-American citizens were released from internment camps many of them spent a good deal of time at Gilroy-Yamato attempting to re-enter society, bit of a overview here [gilroyhotsprings.org]

    The land was recently sold to the Nature Conservancy (ie. about a month ago), but is still being ran by the seller until the conservancy is ready to take over...

    From what i understand they have some serious problems right now tonight, yes no major structures have fallen, and no lives are lost, but this is practically a sacred site to many Japanese-Americans, and a beautifull one in any case to others... would be a shame to see it suffer any ill consequences as are being reported

  • Epicenter vs. Focus (Score:4, Informative)

    by Guppy06 ( 410832 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @07:41AM (#3516436)
    I'm probably not the first person to say it, but...

    "The epicenter was 4.7 miles below surface."

    BUZZ! Wrong! The epicenter is by definition on the surface. The focus is what was 4.7 miles below the surface.

    Now then, why is this particular earthquake generating news (just another Californian earthquake), but the one in New York state a few weeks ago didn't?

  • no subject (Score:5, Funny)

    by Graspee_Leemoor ( 302316 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @07:47AM (#3516461) Homepage Journal
    I submitted this story three weeks ago but it was rejected.

    graspee

  • You know you've been in California too long... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Nyckname ( 240456 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2002 @09:28AM (#3517024)
    when you not only refer to the geologists they interview on the news after earthquakes by their first names only, but you have your favorite.

    cheers

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