If you are one of my NoVa friends, this post will not be all that interesting since we all have one of these stories now. But to each of us individually, WHOA do we have a story to tell
Today was my first (and hopefully last) earthquake. At 5.8 it wasn't anything to sneeze at. The 11th floor where I work was definitely rocking and rolling. It lasted long enough for me to check out the window to see if the metro construction had gone wrong in some way, then check with my boss, then freak out with my boss, and then wonder WHAT just happened.
Even though my building just did a full evacuation drill three weeks ago (and I had to do floor captain training with a fetching florescent vest) we had NO idea what to do in this particular situation. Thankfully our building seems to be just fine and we only had to wait outside a brief time before they allowed us to reenter.
The rest of the afternoon was spent checking in with our coworkers and sharing our stories with one another of our panicked reactions to such an unexpected phenomenon. When it really comes down to it, nothing actually HAPPENED to most of us. Mostly, the Metro's precautionary 15 mph speed limit had the biggest impact on the day. Thankfully I don't use the metro to get to and from work.
Oh, and where is Hurricane Irene supposed to make landfall this weekend? It seems the world is ending and starting right here in Virginia. Ah, it's fun living where everything happens ;-)
Today was my first (and hopefully last) earthquake. At 5.8 it wasn't anything to sneeze at. The 11th floor where I work was definitely rocking and rolling. It lasted long enough for me to check out the window to see if the metro construction had gone wrong in some way, then check with my boss, then freak out with my boss, and then wonder WHAT just happened.
Even though my building just did a full evacuation drill three weeks ago (and I had to do floor captain training with a fetching florescent vest) we had NO idea what to do in this particular situation. Thankfully our building seems to be just fine and we only had to wait outside a brief time before they allowed us to reenter.
The rest of the afternoon was spent checking in with our coworkers and sharing our stories with one another of our panicked reactions to such an unexpected phenomenon. When it really comes down to it, nothing actually HAPPENED to most of us. Mostly, the Metro's precautionary 15 mph speed limit had the biggest impact on the day. Thankfully I don't use the metro to get to and from work.
Oh, and where is Hurricane Irene supposed to make landfall this weekend? It seems the world is ending and starting right here in Virginia. Ah, it's fun living where everything happens ;-)
Always room for new adventures, right? lol
ReplyDeleteAs a born, raised, and shaken California Girl.. I've gotten a kick out of giving people a hard time when they have freaked out over their 'first quake,' usually Hoosiers with a 2.1 tremor. But you guys get the pass on this one, a 5.9 is enough to make this California girl shakey and nervous! Hopefully you've gotten your earthquake quota with this one :)
Be glad it was midday, even the smaller ones are a million times more terrifying in the middle of the night!
Hi Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteI still can't believe that we had a 5.8 earthquake in NoVa. I've lived here all my life & never experienced one that bad. Everyone in my office was so startled & couldn't believe what was happening.
Happy to hear that you were OK. Now we have to deal with Irene. What a crazy weather week.
Bizarre! So much crazy stuff happening in the world.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I was just on twitter and realized I miss your tweets. How is the tweet-free life going these days?