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Post by Jon Broxton on Jan 9, 2009 12:38:26 GMT -8
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Post by christopher on Jan 9, 2009 13:32:01 GMT -8
Is Hook in Costa Rica?
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Post by Jon Broxton on Jan 9, 2009 15:59:48 GMT -8
Yep. He lives in San Jose.
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Post by Hook on Jan 9, 2009 23:51:16 GMT -8
I was at the gym doing back rows on a multiple-pulley machine when the quake started. Usually, I'm pretty cool when it comes to quakes and emergencies so I didn't get scared (such is my nature), I measured the movement and my surroundings and decided it was best to stay put; the machine had a combined weight of over 1,000 pounds and I knew it was pretty well grounded and if I moved I might stumble and hurt myself. It was funny in that "funny but not funny" kind of way afterward, when the entire cardio section came down the flight of stairs and went out the door in a matter of seconds, and almost everyone, barring old cranky me, saturated the country's phone lines trying to reach their family members.
The thing about our region, and maybe Kuhni can explain this better than I can, is that we're met by several fault lines deep within the earth which cover a relatively short area. This one in particular is right next to one of our dormant volcanoes (one of our "main attractions") and there's always some concern that it might be involved in seismic activity and will come out of retirement any time soon (which would wreak havoc in the environment and rural communities as it once did, an occurrence that left roads, to this day, have this pretty neat reddish color to them). Unlikely to happen, but people panic and leave the area out of caution. Another fact to consider is that back in '91 we experienced our strongest movement to date, which did cause major structural damage, not too much (our seismic standards laws are pretty tight, and for good reason), though the bulk of the change happened along the coast line, which rose a full 1-2 meters, which is a pretty big deal to happen in a matter of minutes. Fun stuff.
This last quake, those who were most affected were, sadly, the poor. Before anyone brands me as an embittered, anti-government type, hear me out: I don't expect government to magically offer access to higher education and income to certain families so they can move to magically obtained communities they can afford with no problems, but I do expect it to respect zoning regulations and not hand out building permits in areas that are unsound, unsafe, and predictably unstable. As I watch on TV, there you go, most casualties come from houses built on the edges of precarious ridges in structurally unsafe land, or right beneath it. Two little girls where killed because of a mud slide that rammed into their (modestly built) house. But the thing is the house shouldn't be there in the first place.
However, I'm still surprised at how little damage there is compared to the "what could have been" running through my mind. A few cracks and broken windows here and there, fertile land for crops that is prone to shake substantially has been affected and, no doubt, is responsible for scarier accounts than mine standing next to a pulley machine in a safe building. Land that my family owns near the epicenter remains intact, another good sign. Health assistance to those in need has been prompt, also, which makes me glad. So far so, good.
What does worry me is that this whole thing started with a lesser quake early on in the week. Then we have this one, which was followed by about 800 aftershocks. I really do hope we're not in for an even bigger surprise.
p.s. --- Gee, how rude of me. Forgot to thank you guys for your concerns. My best wishes to you, too.
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Post by Jon Broxton on Jan 10, 2009 10:13:57 GMT -8
Glad to know you're OK!
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