Rockin' and Rollin'

This morning, the couch began to move and it took a moment before I realized we were having an earthquake.  It was fairly gentle, but persistent.  As it died down, I told the dogs that it was no big deal and then it began again, stronger and a bit longer in duration.  As it dragged on, I wondered if it was going to build in intensity but no, it stayed about the same as the first half of the shaker.

Of course, the TV commentators were on the air in lightning speed, telling us that there were two separate quakes on the same fault, up by Ridgecrest, which is about 200 miles from where I am in the SoCal desert. Both of the quakes were 6.4, which can do damage, but far enough away that all they did here was rock 'n roll.

I understand from the news that there is considerable damage in the Ridgecrest area, including (perhaps) to a hospital. I'll have to watch the evening news for details as the quake coverage was over and life had moved on.

Updating:  two days later, at about the same time, we had another quake, this one a 7.1. It felt stronger, but was the same rolling shake that we had on July 3. Lots more damage in areas that felt the quake, mostly in stores with stocked shelves that ended up in the aisle. There was damage to roads and homes with this second quake, and some fires that came from ruptured gas lines.  This second quake was felt all the way to LA, with lots of people reporting the water from their swimming pools sloshed and overflowed.

The prognosticators are saying that it's not unlikely that there will be a third quake, but I hope the statistics favor the won't happen side of the prophecy.