Saturday 23 June 2012

EARTHQUAKE!!!!!


We had an earthquake! 
Few days ago now on June 19 at 8.53 pm actually. My brother's birthday actually. Pity he missed it. He lives in Perth, Western Australia. Anyway, I digress. It was COOL! 5.3 on the Richter scale and 9.9 kms deep. First one that big in 109 years. We had a minor one last year at 4.4. I was in bed that time, and felt it. My friend who was standing up didn't feel a thing. This time just about everyone on the eastern side of the state of Victoria felt it. Only very minor damage occurred and only a few bottles of soft drink gave their lives valiantly to save the breakfast cereals on the shelves.
   It sounded like my son bringing the wheelie rubbish bin down the hill back to its hidy space near the house. Then I thought son was pushing the house in anger (we'd had stern words that day.) Till my brain clicked; He ain't THAT strong! It did a few more pushy type things then BANG! Up and down and round and round for 40 seconds. I LOVED it! Then again, I'm a bit of a nerdy girl and love that kind of thing! 


The picture below shows you the approximate area where it was felt. If you see the last e in Melbourne and go diagnally up to the 7 in the green box then a tad more right, that's where I live. So, we felt it good and proper!


via Geoscience Australia









 Now all this was rather exciting and I did wonder if there was much damage to the property. I live on a split level on a rather steep hill and this house is not really ready for rockin' and rollin' at this point in time. Amazingly enough, due to that very fact of being a rickety old place, it stood the tremor well. Only minor cracks between plaster/fibro and architraves....Oh, wait! They were already there! Damn reno is too slow! Ha ha!
  The last year's quake however did move the ground a fair bit to the point our septic tank's baffle moved causing a rather nasty surprise one month later. The baffle having moved would not allow, ahem, solids to pass through and hence, they became stuck and backed up. Delightful.
 I haven't been able to have a look see if the septic has moved even more. Two reasons. One; it hasn't stopped raining since the quake and Two; the person I make ask nicely to go under like some bandicoot to looksee is away with work over in Adelaide. (That's in South Australia) He gets back next week for a few days so will have to drag out a snorkel I fear!

   Now as you may know I own two lovely animals. Did these darlings have any strange behaviours prior to the tremor? Did they become edgy and bark and meow in unison to be let out and run free at the slightest provocation? Did they become scared and slink under beds and hide in cupboards? The answer.....a big fat NO!
 I grew up always fascinated by stories like the Alaskan earthquake in 1964 where witnesses say birds and animals went a bit nuts days before. It was something of a marvel to me that animals just KNEW or felt in the earth the vibrational forces which then scared them. What a big fat cop out THAT turned out to be! Seems my Oscar WAS a bit fidgety and 'bitey' the two days following, but I also know that my female hormones at certain phase of the month makes him that way. Oscar, the King of Siamese cats, slept in his cat tree basket through the whole shake. Tess, my old girl of a dog, was snorting and snuffling her way through her dinner. Like they CARED the house was about to fall down? Nah, Oscar turned, yawned and stretched and promptly went back to sleep. GAH!

 I suspect my animals are used to the house wobbling about. My dear friend David is not the best mini excavator driver and when he was digging out and drilling holes for the new footings on one side of the house, would bash into the corner and the house would rattle for a few moments. Practice for the animals I guess!
  I have started a new blog called The Medical Oddity on blogspot. I really haven't done much around the place due to now having been diagnosed with a heart condition. Never rains but pours on me!
I am trying to do some small crafts and hope to put them up here for you to see (and buy!)
In the meantime, Be happy and enjoy life.

 

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