Hi laura,
Whew! Glad your okay! I saw the news and thought about all you guys who could have been effected. I am glad you made it through okay! Now I just hope we here from everyone else. How bad did it get in Virginia?

I know that they were saying that Toronto had it's SECOND earthquake in a short time frame. This earthquake stuff is so scary!

Have you had any aftershocks? Were you home?

Take care, and thanks for keeping us all posted.
Andrew

Laura,
I was working from home today and got scared when the whole house shook with so much noise. Ran to the front door and did not see anyone outside. I guess everyone is at work... I am doing fine. No damage noticed, I think the damage is most around Mineral,VA near Richmond. What an experience! before i could realize it was earthaquake it stopped. I am more worried about Irene than this quake..because it affects our plants.

Last week we had hailstrom that damaged my plumerias, lost lot of leaves. Not sure if Dave in Annandale had hailstrom last week. I am not ready for anymore stroms but I guess we don't have control on nature...

Kandhi

Wow! Laura and Kandhi! Glad you guys are OK!! I can't believe there are earthquakes in VA! (Normally I think of Calif. as earthquakes country). Hope there are no big damages there.

Glad everyone is okay! I woke up early today so I was napping when the earthquake happened, but the earthquake was strong enough to wake me up! The trees were shaking, but thankfully, other than some cracks on the street, no damage.
Looks the east coast wont be getting a break this week. First a pretty large (by east coast standards (earthquake) and this weekend we can see a major hurricane up the eastern seaboard!
-Alex

There's actually quite a bit of damage in this area, more then was realized at first. Some homes and buildings came down, windows cracked, trees down, gas mains broken, etc. There's also quite a bit of damage to many of the buildings in DC, especially the National Cathedral. Thankfully no damage here except having to pick stuff up that fell during the quake. I'm about 100 miles from the epicenter in MD. It was pretty freaky. DS and I were on the deck and had to hold on. My 6 yr old came running outside in tears. He had no idea what was going on and thought his computer was exploding. lol It was definitely much stronger and lasted a lot longer then the quake last July. I hope this doesn't become an annual summer event!

Karyn,

Glad to hear you and your family are ok....

I heard that they had a lot of damage up in DC.

Even shutting down thhe Nuclear Power plants in Surry.

Now, with Hurricane Irene on the way...Im nervous!!!!

Laura in VB

Here is the extent of the damage here. I found a few blossoms had gotten knocked off! LOL!

Seriously, it was a little scary. And there was some damage though NOTHING like West Coast stuff.

I was at work and thought someone was driving across our roof. I know it's been a while since 9-11 but people here were edgy after this. Especially the Pentagon folks. You can imagine what they were thinking. But it lasted so long -- about 20-30 seconds -- not like a blast. Then everyone's feeing to get home, so traffic jams -- at 2:30 pm.

I think we just had another aftershock around 8:00 pm. I was at my computer. Only lasted a few seconds. I didn't here anything about it on news though. My wife doesn't believe me.

Dave

Dave...

LOL!!!

I thought a cement truck flipped in my driveway...then the whole house shook....i thought the jets were flying pretty low, but then realized that it was more serious....

I had no inflo drops!!!! : )

LOL!!!

Laura in VB

Hi everyone, sure glad to hear that everybody seems to have come out of this okay. I've been through several earthquakes in the 26 years since I moved here from Germany, and yes, they are scary. Hope you will all make it through Hurricane Irene without any major damage or injury! We will be thinking of you. Keep us updated on the forum, will you?
Iso

Hello Everyone,

Andrew,

I was home and had no clue what was happening...we have been so focused about this Hurricane, everyone is preparing for this beast! Then this hit...i was home alone and wondering what in the world...we dont have earthquakes here on the eastcoast. I think that Karen and people around the DC area had the most damage. Even though the epicenter was close to me here in Richmond Va.

Kandhi,

I agree, im really worried about this "Irene" She seems to mean business....they keep projeting it to hit around Cape Hatteras NC which is near us!!!

I just had a huge storm hit us two days ago and it took down 8 trees here on my deck. Must have been the same hail storm that hit you. Huge wind gust and lots of rain...

Thanks SUnseeker....we are all fine...we usually dont ever think of having quakes on the east coast...Now watching this beast of s Hurricane...it makes the hair on my arms stand straight on end....i have a bad feeling about this one...Uggggg

We have already filled gas containers for the generators for when we loose power..hopefully,, we wont need them. But everyone is taking this one seriously...

Alex,

I cant believe you felt the earthquake up there...

You all need to watch this Hurricane too! it looks like it could hit us and then turn up the coast right up into your area... Be careful!!!

Karen,

You need to be careful as well....wind, rain.

Glad u didnt have any real damage....Whew!

Dave P...were you sleeping? LOL!!! : )

Dave K I bet your wife believes you now!!!!

Take care everyone....

Laura in VB

Hello Iso,

Im sorry that i didnt se your post....Thank you for thinking of us...i bet u have seen your fare share...very nerve racking...Ill keepp you posted on the Hurricane...doesnt look like its going to be a fun weekend... : (

Laura in VB

I couldn't believe I felt it here either! Looks like Irene will be more of a threat than the earthquake though! Be careful in VB, if it gets up here (and it looks like it will) then its going to pass Virginia Beach too. Right now weather.com's forecast says Heavy rain and wind of 26mph for Sunday. Accuweather says wind sustainted at 40 mph and gusts up to 66mph!
It shouldnt be a fun week. I already lost a plumeria flower from the earthquake (not too big of a deal though since the rest of the inflo is still healthy!), but a hurricane will do a lot more damage. I already decided that in the event of a bad storm, my plumerias are definitely the first things getting taken care of (brought inside!).

Good luck everyone! I hope that the damage this week on the east coast is light!
-Alex

I am so sorry you guys have had to suffer an earthquake. They are so unusual on the east coast and I know you guys aren't as prepared for them. We even have an "typical earthquake weather" kind if phenomenon.

I am glad everyone is ok. I pray Irene stays away, or does little damage. Us Californians would take an earthquake over a hurricane ANY DAY!

Keep safe, Jennifer aka labland

My roomate came home and apparently, people felt tremors in Buffalo! I didn't feel anything here. We had a very minor eathquale a year or two ago.

Whats so scary to me is that we are not prepared on the East coast to deal with the effects of any kind of earthquake. I remember learning in high school that we actually lie on a fault line but it just isn't so active. It seems like were seeing more and more of them and that worries me.

Andrew

Glsd to hear you are all ok for now. Hope that hurricane does not damage some of your plants. Be safe. bill

Part of the problem is that our building codes were not established for earthquakes of any magnitude, since they are so rare. Building codes on West Coast are much more stingent.

The 8:00 aftershock was validated on the news later last night. My wife believes me now! It was only a 4.2 or something like that. Pretty subtle. I was in my office on the computer, and the stuff on my shelves started jiggling.

Laura, most of the computer models have the center of Irene further East. Let's hope that's the case! You don't want to have that upper right quadrant passing over you! I hope it stays way East because we'll be away from home on Saturday/Sunday and I won't be home to turn on generator that powers the sump pump....or to pick up over-turned plumeria plants. Hah! Hopefully we'll be able to fly back on Sunday.

Hey Dave,

I was thinking about your trip....wondering about that!

The models are predicting it to turn more easterly into the Atlantic, so hopefully it will stay away. But everyone here is in a state of panic, we dont take them for granted anymore. Some just think its nothing, but the majority of smart people get things prepared.

I am supposed to fly on Sunday....we'll shall see!!!

Have fun on your getaway!!!

Thanks Bill!!!

That is the first thing that i am thinking about. The trees!!! The largest trees will stay tied to the deck or if it really gets bad, ill lay them down in a protected area. But all of the cuttings and other smaller plants and trees will come into the house or green house. I just worry about putting them into the greenhouse because of the "incident this past spring... LOL!!!!" If you all remember, my trees were a little "fried" because....."someone" forgot to open the doors of the greenhouse...I wont mention names...LOL but "he " does live here....LOL!

At least i can laugh at that now, at the time i could have cried....all is well!

Laura in VB

Laura,

Can you have an automatic greenhouse vent installed?

I'll need to tie some of my plants to deck rails before we leave.

dave

All of you on the east coast, keep safe. Our tights are with you! Jen

Hi all, We didn't feel much here only got a little dizzy sitting on the couch. Your ears say your moving but your eyes say no your not and I'm not that far from Laura. Glad to hear everyone else on the east coast is ok. I'm sure you in CA are laughing at us with this little shake. I'll take Irene heading this way over quakes any day. At least you can see it coming and get ready. At least my plants are small and in pots so can be brought in. Everyone please stay safe. Peg

Whoa, 5.9 shaker! That's not something you see every day! I see the Intertubes were not affected though, LOL. The descriptions you guys have of the sounds and sensations of an earthquake are so interesting. That's one thing we don't get in Central Texas (knock on wood).

Laura and all, glad everyone is okay and seeing little damage. The hurricane is probably the much bigger worry with all the water it'll bring after your last storms. Keep safe!

Jen

My grandparents in Bedford got hit. No damage I dont think, but they said it was scary.

Good to know everyone in the area is OK!
Earthquakes are scary, speaking from personal experience here in quake country.

Laura, Kandhi, Dave, Karyn, and others in VA, glad everyone is OK. It has been a strange year from extreme heat to flood and now earthquake. For those of you who are in hurricane Irene's path, please be careful. Hope all is well and the plants survive as well.

Kuan

Thanks everyone....

Now preparing for Irene...Yikes!!!

Laura in VB

Those of us in the Mid Atlantic are not having the best season. First the unseasonably hot weather, then the stinkbugs, the earthquake and now the possibility of Irene : (

We ended up having more damage from the earthquake. Several boards in the upper levels of the deck popped, the stairs leading to the upper levels have some issues and we have cracks in the driveway. We also have to get someone to inspect the pool for damage. We didn't open it this season so can't see anything. Honestly I'd fill it in and cover it with grass if it was up to me. We never use it anymore and always go to one of the pools we belong to.

Good luck to everyone in Irene's path. Hope she doesn't cause you any problems

So sorry to hear of your damages karynl. Maybe you could put a glass cover over the pool and make it a greenhouse!!! More room for plumies. Take care and stay safe with Irene coming. I'll be moving my plants into the house today. Peg

Hello Everyone,

Hi Peg,
Hi Karyn,

We noticed more cracks in the driveway too! Some were there before...but now, they are just more pronounced!!!

Just talked to the workmen doing the siding reapairs on the house....almost wishing they would stop and come back next week...they say" OH, it will be so strong...." yea, right... that will be the first thing i see flying away from the house... (trying to smile..)

My plants are on the march ready to be placed into the greenhouse....the small Plumies, DR's cactus, Jades.

But the larges Plumeria, i have tied down to the railing.
Now, im second guessing this decision. I might just go ahead and bring the big boys into the house, I just dont want to loose the inflos that are ready to open....

Guillots sunset, Elsie, Lani, Celadine, and others are opening and ive waited for so long to see them...

Today, they are saying that we will probably have sustained winds of 60 # and flooding, which i live pretty high up from the sea level. But we will loose power for sure...

Everyone has their generators out and fueled up....im on the way to the store to get in line for batteries and water..UGGggggg! I dont like being part of the panic group, but i think we have a good reason to go to the store today..

Im going to post some pics of the walk of the Plumies to there evacuaction shelter....LOL they look so funny!!!

OK...everyone!!!

Take care,

Laura in VB

correction....sustained winds of 80# gust of up to 110 YIKES!!!

Laura in VB

Good luck Laura! Looks like we are getting hit by irene. The Models today have the eye of the storm practically over my neighborhood! The news is already talking about the possibility a high rise window or 2 might shatter because of the wind! And evacuations are already being talked about also. My plumerias are definitely going to go inside if the forecast is right!
Forecast now according to weather.com says sustained winds of 42mph and possibly up to 8 inches of rain.

Forecast according to accuweather.com sayd sustained winds of 65mph and gusts up to 96 mph with up to 12 inches of rain!!

I hope everyone stays safe in the path of the storm because the forecast right now makes it pretty threatening!

Sorry to hear about the earthquake damage karyn. I think Peg has a pretty good idea! A pool might make a pretty decent greenhouse. You would have to build some stairs to get in and out and a strong roof as well, but its a pretty interesting idea and you would have a ton of space if you have a large pool! I wonder if its possible to do something like that!

-Alex

Laura,

Hope Irene passes y'all by with no ill effects. We went thru Ike here in Texas and it was NO FUN. Some suggestions from our experience if she does decide to pay you a visit. Generator, generator, generator!!! We did not have one and my daughter was able to find one for us in Austin. We were out of electricity for over a week. Make sure your butane for your grill is full - great for cooking meals if your house is electric. We also had a window unit AC that we used at night to sleep in case you have central AC. It was also a life saver. Heavy duty extension cords if you have to plug in your refrigerator and/or deep freeze to the generator. Good luck to you and be careful and WISE. Don't take any chances. Joan

Thanks Joan,

I appreciate the advise...we have 2 generators....
window unit in the attic for that reason...to camp out in one room if need be, which has happened before.
Propane tanks are full....
Cords ready,

Been throught way to many Hurricanes, Bonnie, Floyd, Etc.
soo many, i cant re,ember the names...LOL!

But u do understand being from Texas, nothing to take lightly....

Went to Lowes this am out of batteries, water, generators...its nuts!!!

Im just heading to the grocery store now...LMAO my friend said she just came from there and people are grabbing everything (can goods) that are left on the shelves..OH mY!! i think i could live onn whats in my freezer for a week anyway!!!

Nt going to get in a "rumble" over soup!! LOL!!!!

Take care everyone...

Laura in VB

Our thoughts are with yiu guys. Keep safe!

I heard over the radio that they are ordering mandatory evacuation for people in NC, VA, etc. because the forecast says Irene is moving more West inland. Please stay safe. Hope to see you guys/gals back online once things are calm and have electricity again.

Kuan

Laura,

Glad you know the drill. The first hurricane I can remember is Carla in '62. We went inland to escape and the eye went right over us. One scary night!!! Been thru a lot of hurricanes and know the power of them. I always cringe when I hear people say "I going to the coast to see the waves" They don't realize what the storm surge can do and how powerful a hurricane can be. Quite a few people lost their lives during Ike cause they thought they could ride it out. It was classified as a cat 2 when it came on shore but man did it do a lot of damage. Please take care. Our prayers are with you. Joan

Thanks Joan,

We do know the drill unfortunately, but we are doing all that we can.

Gas stations are out of gas already...

Water is hard to find as well as batteries, flashlights, generators etc.

I have decided to bring in all of the trees inside the house, not the greenhouse. Only because i think it can hold the sustsined winds, but im afraid of the high temps thst will rise inside the greenhouse. We still have temps during the day into the high 80's and that makes the temps inside go as high as over 100# so even with the vents and fans that i do have, i cant keep them open due to the high winds that will rip them off.

So, wait until you all see the jungle that i will have inside...

I did take pics of the plumies ready for evacuation... now they are coming inside the house. I will start the movement tomorrow. I wanted to give them one more day of sunshine.

I hope everyone will take this hurricane seriously and prepare accordingly. it looks like the whole east coast will have sustained winds of at least 70 mph plus except for the ones that are in the eye and on the right front quardrant of this hurricane. We dont want it to veer off to the west of of any more than it is. But they are predicting that it might....Sigh!!!!

Take care..

Planning to loose power for at least a week...

Laura in VB

Laura, I'll be thinking of you all on the mid-Atlantic and hoping you're spared the worst of the storm! I think you're right to bring all your babies into the house instead of the greenhouse.

Jen

Jen,

You do understand....LOL I cant take that chance...temps will get to hot inside the greenouse. I know that i would be outside looking at them and wondering what was happening to them. So the best bet is to bring them all inside...I wont worry as much!!!

Take care everyone...

Laura in VB

Ok Laura now you are scaring me. I might just have to move mine inside too. I'll be watching the forecast today and make my decision then.

Stay safe,
Dave P

Hey Guys....just take a peeek at the other thread that i started about moving the Plumies to the greenhouse...look at the themometor in the greenhouse just yesterday afternoon...the temps in there are over 110 and droppping at 120 ( buring the needle...) so imm off to start the train ride intoo the house...

Hey Dave,

Hair up yet? LOL I have good doc! LMAO!!!!

Get busy and get those babies inside esp the last to grafted ones u purchased... : )

Hope u do ok in NOVA...if u dont here form me, we have lost power and ill be back when its up again...they re predicting a week...Uggggg!

Stay safe and tell ur wife to make some brownies!!!! or you!!! That will be a great treat during the Hurricane!!!!

Seriously. please be careful everyone....

Laura in VB