Did the Earth move for you too?

March 6, 2009 | Filed under Australia

Surprisingly, the title of this entry isn’t just a bad post-coital line (though I’ve had my fair share), but rather an actual legitimate question – Melbournians just experienced a tremor at approximately 9pm (EDIT: Apparently it measured 4.7 on the Richter scale). My mum panicked, my father shrugged, my brother started screaming “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!”. And me? I jumped online to blog about it, because that’s the way I roll.

I can’t actually remember the last time we experienced an earthquake – we certainly don’t get them regularly (maybe every couple of years), nor are they ever strong enough to cause any damage. You’ll find your doors and windows rattling, an ornament might fall off the mantelpiece, and you might end up applying lipstick on your cheek instead of your lips, but for the most part, structural damage is rare.

That’s one of the good things about Melbourne I suppose – devastating bushfires prompted by arsonists aside, we are nearly never affected by natural disasters. Earthquakes are few and far between, tornadoes, cyclones and hurricanes don’t hit us, tsunamis have never occured, there are no volcanoes around that can suddenly erupt without warning, we’ve never been flooded for any length of time, and we’re obviously not in the right part of the world for hailstorms or blizzards.

Going back to bad post-coital lines, I think the worst I’ve ever dished out was “Is that it?”. Not quite as harsh as this girl – I’m obviously not trying hard enough to be mean.

9 Responses to Did the Earth move for you too?

  1. Well hey, why should you try hard to be mean when they evidently weren’t trying either :P

    Stephanie on March 7, 2009 #

  2. California is supposedly earthquake territory, but there hasn’t been one in my area for a while. :P Which I’m thankful for, I guess. The most recent earthquake I remember probably happened around last year. I was watching TV and the ground started shaking, and I just remained on the couch and waited for the shaking to stop. Clearly, all the “duck under your desks” exercises we do at school aren’t all that helpful.

    Kycoo on March 7, 2009 #

  3. I didn’t even notice the earth tremor!!!

    nadine on March 7, 2009 #

  4. Ah… I really thought you were talking about the boy again. Haha

    Washington state is due for “the big one”… I don’t even want to think about it.

    Felisa on March 7, 2009 #

  5. We haven’t had an earthquake in Southern California since last summer (5.7, I was outside when I felt it).

    @Felisa: Gehh, I hope “big” isn’t as big as I think it is. :x (Otherwise, stay safe!)

    Noellium on March 7, 2009 #

  6. My family actually moved out of California because of the Northridge earthquake…but fellow natives tell me there hasn’t been a major one like that in years.

    Merinn on March 8, 2009 #

  7. According to my parents, there was some minorly nasty earthquake that I went through when I was six months old. Back in China.

    Not like I remember it or anything, obviously. I live in Toronto now and the earth does not move. At all. Nothing happens. No earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, forest fires… A nice boring place to do yoga.

    Annie on March 8, 2009 #

  8. eh, I always expect since I’m a California. I also expect wildfires and mudslides too. There was one last summer and I was on campus right above the nuclear reactor, lol. You can’t really do anything except prepare some stuff at home and learn to duck and cover. First reaction for people is to run, but I think the main cause of death during earthquakes is getting hit by a falling object. So remember to protect your head!

    marilyn on March 8, 2009 #

  9. Pingback: Melbourne Tremor, 4.7 on the Richter scale | OzSoapbox

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