5.4 On The Richter Scale. Did You Feel It?

On Tuesday, July 29th, a 5.4 earthquake centered in Chino Hills hit at 11:42 am. Did you feel it?

I was in my Westchester home (46 miles from Chino Hills) at the time and didn’t feel a thing. My neighbors sure did though. (Maybe I was too busy packing boxes?)

So far, I’ve been through two major earthquakes (California native – you guessed it).

In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake measured a magnitude of 7.1. The epicenter of the quake was in the Santa Cruz mountains, about 60 miles southeast of my San Francisco home. If you’ve never been near the epicenter of a quake of that magnitude, let me describe it to you. At the time, I still lived at my parent’s two-story wood frame constructed home. I was on the second floor. I literally saw the walls sway back and forth about a foot and a half to two feet. (Or at least it looked that way.) I thought the house was going to come down. Well, I can tell you, the house is still standing there today and seems to be structurally fine.

In 1994, I lived in a high-rise apartment building in downtown Los Angeles. My memory is fuzzy now, but I think I was on the eighth floor. That was when the Northridge earthquake occurred. It had a magnitude of 6.7 and the epicenter was about 25 miles away. I woke up in the wee hours to hear the sound of crunching metal. The power had just gone out, so all I could do was sit up in bed and hope that the objects hanging from the wall stayed there (they did) and that the building stayed intact (it did).

This topic isn’t specifically related to real estate. But everyone here lives somewhere – an apartment, a condo, a house. And someday, we’ll have another big shake, rattle, and roll. So I thought I’d compile a few resources for what to do so you’re prepared in the event of “The Big One.”

1. The Daily Breeze has a great article detailing all you need to know, including what food supplies you need, how to keep in touch with loved ones, and how to create your own emergency water supply.

2. If you’re looking for what to do before, after, and during an earthquake, FEMA has tips on checking for hazards in the home, what to do whether you’re indoors or out, and what you should do after a quake.

3. If you want a way to teach the kiddies what to do in the event of an earthquake, try the Red Cross for educational materials.

If anyone has an earthquake story to share, please do. I’m sure some of you out there have some interesting ones.

Here are some prices that are shakin’ down in the LAX area.

6660 W. 85th Pl./4bd, 1.75bth/$759,000 to $739,000

5806 W. 74th St./2bd, 2bth/$749,000 to $699,000

6431 W. 85th St./2bd, 1.75bth/$699,000 to $679,000