Sunday, February 15, 2009

First Earthquake!

We had our first earthquake in Japan about 20 mins ago. It was fairly small, but it lasted for a good amount of time. Granted, it's been a while since I've been in an earthquake, but it felt really different from what I remember experiencing. California quakes always seemed more jolting and abrupt. Our house here is obviously built to be very earthquake-safe; it felt like we were on a giant glider swaying back and forth. Corey and I both commented that we felt sort of discombobulated and woozy for maybe 2 or 3 minutes after it was over. It was a strange sensation. Luckily it was just a small one! Those are always kind of fun!

*Edit: Apparently it was kind of big actually... a 5.9/6.0 (depending on what you read) on the richter scale with the epicenter about 50 miles east of Misawa. Yet on the Japanese earthquake scale it rated a 2 out of 7 in intensity here which is considered a minor earthquake. It sure didn't feel that big... Weird!

2 comments:

Marianne said...

Wow, that IS big!! I find them to be kind of fun, myself. Especially when you realize that woozy feeling is sticking around for a few minutes. :)

By the way, I added a visitor tracker to my blog, and I love seeing that I have a reader in Japan, because I know it's you!!

Unknown said...

Hi Patty

Welcome to Misawa! I stumbled across your blog searching for takeout food in Misawa (not much to be had). Anyhow, I enjoyed reading about the observations and experiences through the eyes of someone newly arriving in Misawa. We have been here for three years and transfer to Tokyo in April. There really is a ton of things to do around the area. The festivals are spectacular and the people are wonderful. I know a lot of web sites with good information for getting out and about. Let me know if you want them. Here is a good start (http://www.35fss.com/itt.htm).

Cheers!

Mike
1michael.berger@gmail.com