A Little Shook Up In Wichita Falls

 A little over a half hour ago, 9:38 AM, on Friday, July 26, I felt something I have not felt in Texas, which I fairly frequently felt whilst living in Western Washington.

An earthquake.

The shaking did not last long. And there was no loud explosive noise like I experienced in my old home zone. 

I soon learned the quake was epicentered near Hermleigh, Texas, about 156 miles from my Wichita Falls location, as a bird flies.

During the 1990s there was a period when multiple earthquakes were epicentered a couple miles east of my abode.

Those were shallow quakes, less than 3.0 on the Richter Scale. But, due to being so close, the shaking was strong, and loud. My windows popped, the tall fir trees shook and swayed, the tile on my kitchen floor cracked.

Today's quake, centered near Hermleigh, Texas measured 5.0 on the Richter Scale. This must have been quite a surprising shock to those living near Hermleigh.

Getting All Shook Up In Texas On Christmas Eve

My old home zone had a Christmas Eve earthquake this morning.

4.0 on the Richter Scale. 

I have not felt the earth move since the 1990s.

There was a period of time, during that time, when multiple earthquakes shook me up, epicentered near Big Lake, only a few miles from my east Mount Vernon abode.

Those Big Lake quakes ranged between 2.0 and 3.0 on the Richter Scale. Due to being shallow quakes, with the epicenter so close, that cluster of quakes was loud, with the vibrating shaking quite noticeable.

During one of those quakes I was sitting in my living room. A room with a lot of windows, looking out at big fir trees. When the quake hit, the windows flexed and made a popping noise. The trees shook violently. 

As the windows popped and flexed, and the trees shook, I heard a cracking noise in the kitchen. When the quake ceased shaking I walked into the kitchen to discover the quake had cracked the tile floor.

Earthquakes are a bit scary, due to there being no warning, unlike other Mother Nature being angry events, like hurricanes, or tornadoes, or floods. 

Though, I have to say, while there may be a tornado siren warning a twister is in the neighborhood, it is still a scary thing, but not suddenly startling, like an earthquake. 

Since being in Texas I have experienced being near three tornadoes. I have never seen the stereotypical twister phenomenon associated with tornadoes. All I have seen is a dark, greenish wall of clouds.

Anyway, hope y'all are having yourselves a very merry Christmas Eve...

Driving North To Hurst On The Last Day Of September Thinking About Getting Shaken By The Irving Earthquake

In the picture you are looking at the view out of my motorized vehicular transport, mid-morning, on the last day of September, looking north towards my destination of Hurst, on the on ramp on to the I-820 freeway.

That dark thing at an angle across the windshield is a rain wiper.

This morning it is barely drizzling, not like the copious amount of wet that fell yesterday, but still enough wetness to require the window wiping device to be activated.

Yesterday's rain added a couple more inches of water to my swimming pool. This morning's swim was very pleasant, with the water being warmer than the air, which was being chilled to barely above 60 degrees.

It seems to my well functioning breathing tubes that the rain has swept the air clean of all that which has vexed my respiratory system. I have my windows open.

Yesterday the earth moved again in the D/FW Metroplex. This time it was Irving that was shaken by an earthquake, shaking somewhere between 3 and 4 on the Richter Scale. If you are near the epicenter of an earthquake of this magnitude, you definitely feel it.

Prior to my move to Texas I got to experience multiple small quakes epicentered a couple miles to the east of my abode, in what is called the Big Lake area. The strongest of these shakers was in the 3.0 range. One of the quakes cracked the tile on my kitchen floor. Another time I was laying on my water bed when a quake struck, creating a rough water on the ocean effect. Another one of those quakes I was sitting in my living room, the windows all flexed and the tall evergreens swayed.

I suspect a lot of people in the Irving zone felt the earth move yesterday. It can be very unsettling.

Massive South Pacific Earthquake Sends Deadly Tsunami To Samoa & American West Coast

I've been intending to find out where, in the South Pacific, Samoa is located ever since Survivor Samoa started up. I now know exactly where it is.

This morning news of a powerful 8.3 magnitude earthquake striking about 125 miles from Samoa, causing 4 tsunami waves, 15 to 20 feet high, to crash into Samoa and American Samoa up to a mile inland.

So far the death count is at 99 on Samoa and American Samoa, with dozens missing. Tsunami warning sirens got many people to high ground before the big flood arrived.

There are 180,000 people on Samoa, with 65,000 on American Samoa.

10 hours after the quake, Japan was hit with very weak tsunami waves. On the U.S. west coast strong currents and dangerous waves were forecast from California to Washington. Los Angeles lifeguards cleared beaches by 8 pm due to the possible dangerous currents.

I've seen the damage caused by a tsunami from a massive earthquake in Alaska. If I remember right that one killed a couple people and did a lot of damage in Crescent City, California. That tsunami also flooded on to shore on the Washington coast, doing damage at Ocean Shores and other low lying locations.

I was hit by a rogue wave years ago while on the beach at Ocean Shores. All of the sudden it was obvious the incoming wave was bigger than the norm. Everyone started running. I picked up my little sister and ran, climbing up on a big driftwood log. The wave hit, knocking us off the log, getting us soaking wet. Every time I see images of the effects of a tsunami I think of that rogue wave. A tsunami would be like a rogue wave on steroids. Very very scary.

We may be getting natural gas drilling caused earthquakes here in North Texas, but there is very little chance any of those little temblors will be causing a tsunami.