Aftershocks are driving me nuts

[Rickdog]

Recently, just a few moments ago we`ve had to suffer 2 big aftershocks, after we have suffered more than 200 aftershocks, after the big one from past 27 of February. The first one was 7.2 Richter, and the second one 6.9 Richter, 15 minutes later.

 

All the rest of those 5 in magnitud earth movements really have come as part of normal life issue, but every once and then we have had one above 6, which really are causing lots of histeria among my countrymen, including myself. Where are we really going to end ?. It is frightening.

[Horza2002]

What does a magnitude 5 feel like...Im from the UK and have only ever felt one before which was 3 on the rickter scale in the middle of the night.

[StringJunky]

What does a magnitude 5 feel like...Im from the UK and have only ever felt one before which was 3 on the rickter scale in the middle of the night.

 

I live about 15 miles from where that UK earthquake occurred which was 5.3...it's enough to rattle everything noisily like you get in supernatural movies llike the Exorcist but not enough to send stuff jumping around...pretty spooky especially with it being a very rare event.

 

I turned the TV on immediately after to see if there was any news about it and was very impressed by the speed which the US Geological Survey pinpointed it's exact position and magnitude...less than 5 minutes to get on the news

 

Tremors of magnitude 6+ must be pretty scary and disturbing as well as potentially destructive to structures. Magnitude 5 is disturbing but not unduly destructive...that's if it was that strong where I am.

 

I don't envy your location Rickdog...it must be hard to deal with mentally...being vulnerable to such powerful natural forces.

 

Most of us in the UK can't imagine what it's like to be constantly reminded of our mortality and vulnerability to Nature on a frequent basis like you are.

[Rickdog]

To me, the sensation of a 5 Richter, is like when you are standing right by a street (not on the sidewalk, but right next to it), and suddenly a big, huge loaded truck or container truck, passes at only a couple of feet from where you are. Not the sensation of looking at the truck, but, imagine as you have your eyes closed, and feel the tremmor of it, as it passes by you. Well now days here in Central Chile, its like the whole country is full of these trucks, roaming from one side to the other, at all times, and you are in the middle of all that chaos, only that its not trucks, but it comes from underground (, spooky),

 

After the third day you start getting used to it, but a 6 Richter is something completely diferent, I can`t really describe it, but it is really shaky. Not to mention todays 7, or last Saturdays 8 or more, that can´t be described, only felt, to know what its like. I don`t wish it, even for my meanest enemy.

[Mr Skeptic]

Well the aftershocks you're getting are stronger than the strongest earthquake I've ever been in.

[Rickdog]

Stringjunky my friend, it certainly is annoying. Although I`m not in complete panic as others around here, somehow it has affected my sleep, since from the big one, I only manage to sleep a couple of hours everyday, waking up after every 30 minutes of sleep, and not being able to get asleep once again in a very long period of time. Remember that the big one, caught us all sleeping at 3:34 A.M., and when you wake up under the conditions that woke everybody up that day, its very difficult to let it out of your mind. Even if you get used to the 5`s, your mind plays with you as if its going to be the big brother of that big one that already hit you before. Most of us, thought that todays 7 was going to be the big brother after all, specially when the second wave came by 15 minutes later, and 5 minutes after the second, a third wave came in, only being much milder, but at that moment in our minds, we were counting the seconds left in our lives. It was really a very big fright.

[Horza2002]

Jessssss yer that must be rather disturbing....I remember waking up and stuff was vibrating across my desk...that was disturbing enough...let alone one that can skae your house to pieces!