He was giving a speech in downtown Seattle when a major earthquake hit the area. Lots of damage, but no reports of fatalities fortunately.

Sounder...do you live in that region? You ok?

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2001

Answers

My thoughts too Ciara (not on BG but wor marra Sounder). Hope you're OK bonnie lad.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

Thank you very much for the inquiry Ciara. Yes, I'm fine. The quake itself was dramatic. I work in a 1924 stone building and it shook wildly. The shaking started gradually, I thought we were having a repeat of a 5.0 the we had about 6 years ago. Then it picked up in intensity. Books and files started to tumble off my book shelves and I stood up against the wall as I couldn't make it to stand in the door way - the recommended proceedure. I remember thinking that if it picked the pace up one more notch then we would be a major disintegration. It was quite amazing the way this great heavy building was shaking and how long it lasted, i.e., around 40 seconds which is a long time when this sort of thing is happening.

I am very relieved that there were comparatively few injuries - though sorry for those people. One person died from a heart attack. The was a lot of superficial damage, i.e., bricks falling from the front of buildings - bricks are really decorative rather than structural here. I think there were a number of reasons for the low number of injuries compared with those experienced in other earthquakes of similar magnitude. There has been a substantial effort to make freeway fly overs and buildings earthquake proof - for example the Starbucks HQ just finished with such a renovation and though it lost bricks from its front the building as a whole remained in one piece which is the important thing. Also it seems that this was a very deep earthquake, 30 miles below the surface. That seems to result in less damage and certainly fewer aftershocks.

Another big lesson, actually a repeat lesson from the Oakland earthquake, buildings on landfill suffer the worst because that type of land seems to liquify. In one such place a large hole developed in tarmac and water was forced up and out through it - rather as though someone had squeezed a sponge. I live on a house boat (as in "Sleepless in Seattle" but not as swish as that one). My wife was at home outside on the dock to which the house boat is moored. I went home to see if she was okay (phone lines were all busy). The dock had been shaking like mad so she just stepped onto the house boat, which floats of course, and there was no movement at all. A humourous note - my daughter's dog was also on the dock when it started to shake and it peeed itself!

The main problem will be over the next few days while bridges and transportation tunnels are inspected. The airports are getting back into operation.

Given all the fuss on television we have suffered remarkably little. Compared to the terrible rail tragedy in Yorkshire we all escaped.

Thanks again for the kind thought.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

Thanks Screacher - I think you must have posted as I was typing mine in.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

Glad to hear everything is okay and great story about the dog!

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

Yes, I guess so Sounder. Glad you and yours are all OK. Material things can be fixed or replaced. People (and even incontinent dogs) can't. At least the old US of A has the wherewithall to build things correctly. Sadly, more prone areas in the 3rd world don't, not do they have the local "officials" to set and police the rules.

If I were you, I'd take the rest of the week off - ye desorve it. Gaan on man, ye knaa ye do!

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

Glad that you're alright Sounder.

I'm going back to my little earthquake island in a couple of months. That should be fun.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

The BBC News report on the earthquake had a video clip from the speech that Bill Gates was giving. The commentator said something like "....as the guests sought cover from falling ceiling tiles under their chairs, Mr Gates was whisked out the back door of the building".

......presumably to his conveniently parked Batmobile, from where he could make his efforts to save the city from total destruction! Da..da..da..da. Da..da..da..da ----

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

Glad you're ok, Sounder. Sounds like a houseboat is probably the safest place to be in a quake! I was actually surprised how relatively few injuries there seems to have been with all the falling brick and holes opened up on major roads, etc. A friend of mine works in the Starbucks building. She said there were reports of a broken water main at the time. Naturally they were all sent home after the quake. She couldn't even go back to get her purse and coat. I guess if the building damage was mainly cosmetic, she won't be having a long weekend after all. ;-)

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

Glad you are merely shaken and possible a bit stirred.

A one-time colleague said he was once on a sheep farm in New Zealand during a quake and, before it was detectable to humans, all the sheep were jumping up and down trying to get off the ground. He thought he'd just lost his marbles or it was some horrible, Antipodean twist on Hitchcock's "The Birds" before the cabin he was in collapsed. Great story, but can't swear to it being the God's Honest Truth.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

Thank you all for the kind thoughts. There is one piece of supporting evidence for the bird story Softie. A woman rang in with the same tale, she had heard birds making a great racket and stepped into her garden to see what was going on - expecting to have to shoo a cat. As she did so the earthquake started. Also I have heard another story of a dog that peeed itself - so I suppose I shall have to stop calling my daughters dog "Wimp".

Yes, I agree about the greater difficulties for countries that do not have effective building standards because they can't afford them. We are fortunate! Mind you the more I hear about the earthquake the more I come to think that it was the depth of it that saved us. It may yet trigger other faults that are closer to the surface to move but they are likely to move less evidently.

Ahh! The idea of the rest of the week off!! Mmmm. That sounds a great idea ...

Thanks again everyone.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

I'd like to echo Sounder's observations. I'm in Olympia, which is about 60 miles south of Seattle and about 11 miles from the epicenter of the quake. It was absolutely terrifying - certainly the greatest fear I've experienced, albeit only for about 40 seconds. I was under my desk with everything that wasn't nailed down crashing all around me and waiting for the second floor of the building to fall on me. I've been shot at in a war and had my car stall across two lanes on an interstate freeway, but this one takes the prize for the feeling of absolute helplessness.

The two things that prevented massive damage and considerable loss of life was the depth of the quake and the fact that people around here take earthquakes very seriously. There has been a concerted effort to structurally strengthen older buildings (midst much gnashing of the teeth and complaints about cost, of course), and the building codes for new buildings are extremely strict. Almost every seriously damaged building is one where no earthquake-proofing took place. Had this type of quake taken place in a third-world country I'm afraid it would have been a major disaster.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your concerns and best wishes. I had a call at 6:00 this morning from my auntie in Seghill making sure we were OK. It's always nice to know that people care about you.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

Holy cow, southpaw! can't imagine being that close to the epicenter. Glad you're ok. Haven't heard much about damage around Olympia as all the news around here is focusing on Seattle. I've been through one major quake (1971 Sylmar,CA), though we were probably 40-50 miles from the center. I was pretty little at the time so don't remember many details, but the feeling of sheer terror as I watched the building sway over my head with my nightlight flashing on and off is still vivid to me today.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

Hmmm - seems it's still going on, aftershocks and all that. Good luck you lot over there. Courtesy of Auntie.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

Sounder & Southpaw,

I'm relieved and delighted that the two most important inhabitants of the Pacific NW are safe & well.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

Thanks to all of you. So far, so good today.

Ciara - Actually the damage was more serious here than in Seattle, but since Seattle is far more recognizable - and obviously much larger - that's what gets reported. The State Capitol has some serious damage and is basically closed until further notice. The state legislature was in session, so nobody knows what happens with them. I expect most people share the philosophy expressed by one wise man that "No person's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session" and are probably rejoicing!

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

From a Seattlite! Yes indeed. The state legislature are not held in great respect. But then neither should the state electorate I guess. We vote to cut taxes AND to increase expenditure at the same time. Duh!

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001

Softie says; "A one-time colleague said he was once on a sheep...in New Zealand", nothing unusual about that methinks ;-7

Glad you're all OK over there, Sounder et al

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001