Earthquake!

Betty & John - I remember reading something about that HUGE quake way back when... I think I'd prefer not to deal with one of those, especially if I was in an area that wasn't built to withstand quakes!

But I much prefer dealing with quakes here in the Bay Area to dealing with hurricanes in Central FL.  You don't get a week of building stress leading up to it.

"Flag" - I imagine you've probably got a story to tell as well about that quake... even being "so far" away.

Nick - this one was a bit stronger than the shaking of a car that's standing still in a left-turn lane when a big semi blows by in the next lane over.  Except for this one, the movement was more of a hop than a shove.  (It felt more vertical than horizonal.)  And it only lasted a second or two, with no discernable after-shocks.

Jeff - I think it's kinda funny... I got that same comment from many friends in FL.  They MUCH preferred facing hurricanes to the prospect of dealing with earthquakes.

My perspective: Both threaten significant devastation and require similar "cleanup" if/when there is damage.  With Hurricanes you normally get about a week's notice.  With Earthquakes you get no notice.    So, to my way of thinking the difference is either a week's worth of increasing stress leading up to possible damage or possibly nothing vs living your life always prepared, knowing that something could happen that might cause damage, but with no stress prior to the event happening or not happening.  I prefer low-stress and always living with the Boy Scout Motto: Be Prepared, to the periodically high-stress lifestyle of only getting prepared when impending disaster is threatened.  Either way, it's just a choice and personal preference. :-)

Mike - Sounds like you've had more than your "fair share" of earthquakes!  The ones I felt on Thu & Fri weren't much.  (4.2 & 3.9 on the Richter Scale, respectively.)

Yesterday I heard there was another one (6.5), but I didn't feel a thing... it was much too far away.

Jon - That is a good point - about the potential threat to life.  However, in this area that threat is significantly diminished due to appropriate building-techniques.  (Not only for buildings, but also bridges, etc.)  And even with Hurricanes, there can be last minute changes that wreak havoc. 

I'm thinking of Hurricane Charley (or maybe I'm confusing it with one of the others), back in '04 - where it changed direction after "everyone" had evacuated from Tampa to get to the safety of Orlando, only to be hit head-on.  And we were expecting 40mph winds, but at the "last minute" with the shift, ended up getting 105mph winds, with no possibility of running out to the store at that point to get materials to board up our windows.  Still, we got off easy, due to having a well-built home, and adequately rooted trees nearby.