A 4.4 magnitude earthquake occurred this morning in Los Angeles at 4:04 AM. No serious damage or injury has been reported. For L A residents, this is relatively minor event.
I do want to comment on a couple things, though:
First, how quickly most of the regular locals jumped on Twitter and FaceBook to begin talking about the quake. And the quality of the information reported.
@HLP90042 and @militantangelino had the magnitude and epicenter maps posted on Twitter before KNX Radio.
And secondly, this came up in my conversation with @HLP90042, and I am intriqued enough to research further.
My 90-something year old house has a two story tall arroyo stone chimney. That chimney has survived numerous earthquakes without a scratch. (Knocking on wood as I type that!!)
@HLP90042 commented that stone chimneys seem to withstand quakes around here better than their brick counterparts.
Yeah, that fits with the empirical evidence.
So, why is that? I am not an engineer, but my theory is that because the stones are different sizes and irregular shapes, the load/weight of the chimney is distributed in a random manner ... and the resultant object is sturdier than an object built of completely uniform components.
Any engineers here? Am I on the right track?
Wow Cheryl, that sounds kind of scary. We have had two small earth quakes in Atlanta over the last 10 years, but just enough to vibrate the ground.
I cant even imagine all thought that goes into every detail of your home to earthquake proof.
That would be news to me. I can take the sun and cold but not earthquake. Good luck
Thank goodness you and your house are safe and sound. Would hate to lose you!
I believe you are correct about your theory about the chimney. Not an engineer, though I have studied architecture to some degree. Not enough to get a degree though.
I used to live in California--the land of genuine rock-n-roll. Earthquakes are one of mother nature's ways of shaking us up a little, literally and figuratively. For me it is always a reminder of what is really important to me recognizing how quickly it can all change.
Hi Cheryl, I grew up in California - San Jose. So I went threw a few of them. When the little ones would pass I would go that is good - its releasing some of its pressure so the BIG one would not have to hit. Its better to have lots of minor ones than have 1 like in Chile or the 94 Northridge or Loma Prieta. But no Cali still waiting for the BIG on to hit. But hopeful these past earthquakes will make us more prepared for anything. Now I'm in FL so at least we have warnings for hurricanes.
I was reading Twitter when it started hitting the other day, it was after 7 AM here. Interesting to watch and wait for the REAL media.
I think you are probably right about your chimney but I am no engineer....
Hi Cheryl, we are contractor in Los Angeles, this might be a simple answer to your question:
Stone fireplaces are much stronger in that they are surrounded by concrete.
Bricks are stacked with little reinforcement other than rebar.
Bricks are squared and when shifted will easily crack against each other.
Here is a picture:
Jerry,
Thank you!! That makes sense. I learned something.
wow CJ, it is funny how twitter has got us all being a improv newscaster. we can be faster than the news :)