Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Earth Quake– Facebook Unites A Frenchman, A Newbie Mexican Resident and the American

7.6 Earthquake hit Mexico yesterday morning.
  I thought I would include a snippet of my family's conversation.
Thank you Facebook.
Facebook
Yann posted to Chelsea
16 hours ago
…dis moi, Mexico c'est une ville qui a l'air de bien bouger, surtout aujourd'hui !!!
Tu racontes ?
·
  • Chelsea ‎:) trop fou! il a duré super longtemps! et y'a encore des repliques prevues jusqu'a demain! tout va bien, jte raconterai plus tard !

    15 hours ago ·
  • Corey Amaro ‎!!!! I heard the news on the radio driving to Aunt Louie's! Nearly drove off the road when I heard Mexico City. I heard the quake rocked and rolled for nearly several minutes… I hope all is okay. Stand in a doorway, do not go outside if it starts again.  love you chickadee!!

 

Have you ever been in an Earthquake?

 

 

Chelsea
haha yeah all is okay! we have a few cracks in the apartment but nothing bad !! lol at first i thought it was just me feeling dizzy then i thought i was going to faint and then i realised it was an earthquake!
2 hours ago ·

Corey Amaro xxx do you remember feeling the earth quake at Va's when you were little? We were having lunch and the chandler was moving back and forth?

2 seconds ago ·

 

Comments

45 responses to “Earth Quake– Facebook Unites A Frenchman, A Newbie Mexican Resident and the American”

  1. Merisi

    I was thinking of you all when I heard the news. Apparently one of the president’s daughters is also in the area. Hugs, M.

    Reply
  2. Paulita

    Yikes. Letting those little chicks go is so scary. Glad they’re smart. Happy she is safe.

    Reply
  3. Marilyn

    oh dear! I did hear about this earthquake. Yes, growing up in California I remember them well. They can be soooo very scary. Hope all is well.

    Reply
  4. Diogenes

    I was living in Los Angeles when the 6.7 Northridge Earthquake hit in 1994. The building I lived in was rocking and rolling….Everyone came running outside in their PJs, as it was 4:30 in the morning, and there were many aftershocks. I remember the 5-story concrete parking garage at West LA Medical Center pancaked, as did parts of the I-10 and 210 Freeways. And many homes in the mid-Wilshire area were thrown off their foundations. They said it lasted only 20 seconds, but it seemed like forever.
    As I am living in LA again, I have everything set down with what is called museum wax. 🙂
    Glad to hear Chelsea is safe.

    Reply
  5. Tongue in Cheek

    Hi Diogenes!
    I am glad to see you!
    C

    Reply
  6. Lauren

    Corey – yes I’ve been in many earthquakes – all in Mexico City. Again, small world. Glad to hear your daughter is safe. I thought about you right away – scary for parents.
    My worse earthquake was considered strong when it hit – 6.5 in the 1980s. I was in Math class and I felt so dizzy. I looked out the window and realized the trees were swaying severely and that’s when I realized I wasn’t sick – the world was moving. Silly me, I grabbed onto the desk of my 1970’s school desk – as if that was going to keep me from rocking.
    Keep safe and enjoy Mexico. Your poor husband must be going nuts with both women away from home.

    Reply
  7. Lauren

    opps, meant to say the earthquake hit in the 1970s, not 80s. The 80’s felt the reaaaallly bad one.
    I must say I am so proud of Mexico. The infrastructure of the city and the new construction of high rises is wonderful and this earthquake proves it. Bravo!!

    Reply
  8. Susan young

    So glad she is ok Corey!!!
    Ouf!!!!!

    Reply
  9. Monica

    Glad to hear all is well Corey. I experienced a big one in Naples, Italy in 1980. I stood in the doorway of my little ground level (thankfully) apartment and watched the floor roll literally, like a ribbon in the winde for about two minutes and prayed. That was the most helpless feeling ever.

    Reply
  10. Christine

    I wondered and worried about Chelsea yesterday when I heard the news. So glad she’s okay! Living in LA for over 30 years, I’ve been through a few nasty ones but none like Mexico City. Keeping you all in my prayers.

    Reply
  11. Diogenes

    Thanks, Corey. I still read and enjoy your blog whenever I can. Your Venice Carnival pictures were wonderful!

    Reply
  12. Zosia

    Glad to hear your family is OK.
    I was in two small earthquakes when I lived in Toronto. They were small though, just furniture shook and pictures on the walls moved. Very strange feeling, though.

    Reply
  13. Kathie B

    Except for my first cousin and me, everyone on my dad’s side of the family — since they immigrated to the US in the 1870s — has been through either the great San Francisco quake and fire of 1906 (from the comparatively safe north end of SF Bay, fortunately, so only broken china etc.) OR the Loma Prieta Quake of 17 October 1989. I consider my cousin and me lucky to have missed these temblors. I believe the worst quake I’ve experienced was 22 March 1957 — tomorrow’s its 55th anniversary! — which was I think ca. 5.7 on the Richter Scale, and was bad enough.
    Am glad to know Chelsea and Mr. Espresso are safe, although doubtless they’ll experience numerous aftershocks.
    Re First Daughter Malia Obama being in Mexico for the quake, see “President Obama’s daughters’ privacy is difficult to protect in Internet age”:
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/president-obamas-daughters-privacy-is-difficult-to-protect-in-internet-age/2012/03/20/gIQA5UGWQS_story.html

    Reply
  14. Linda

    As a child I slept through an earthquake that happened in Montana. We lived in Great Falls and the epicenter was near the northern edge of Yellowstone, so my parents who did wake up only felt a jiggle. I was so disappointed not to have woken up, then the newspaper reports of all the people who died reminded me how lucky we were and how sad the whole event was.
    I was very happy to see there were no deaths in Mexico and to know that Chelsea and her boyfriend were safe and sound. I’m sure your reunion in Mexico will be extra sweet.

    Reply
  15. Debra

    C, so glad to hear Chelsea’s OK!

    Reply
  16. LaurieSF

    Loma Prieta 1989 in San Francisco. The shaking was so violent, that my heavy refrigerator moved away from the wall and wound up in the center of the kitchen.
    That night we moved our bed out of the bedroom and slid it under a doorway between the office and living room. We slept there for two months.

    Reply
  17. Tracy

    I immediately thought of Chelsea and her boyfriend, and New Yorker who wants linens when I heard the news! (only people I know in Mexico City this week) So glad new reported that everyone is fine.
    No earthquakes, but a couple hurricanes. Earthquakes are much scarry to me.
    Tracy from Houston

    Reply
  18. Tamara {Delish Mag}

    Hi Corey! I was a protected farmer’s daughter and had lived through a few tornadoes but nothing too shocking…when my husband and I moved to Long Beach, CA. THEN they hit! In the nearly two years we lived there, I experienced six or more – and two were very big indeed. And you know what was funny? All of the major ones hit when my husband had traveled back to Vancouver for meetings! Wow. Just me and our pooch to hold the house together. They were very very scary indeed. Nothing makes one understand the power and fury of nature more than being right near the epicentre of a big quake.
    We’re back in Vancouver now but certainly nowhere near immune from them. In fact, the Lower Mainland has been waiting for The Big One for years now. Which reminds me, I ought to finish putting together our emergency kits…
    Good luck to Chelsea! The aftershocks can be just as jarring.

    Reply
  19. Leigh

    Poor Chelsea…..I know how she feels. I live in Christchurch, New Zealand (known as ‘ The Shakey Isles’). We experienced a 7.1 on Sept 4th 2010 and a further devastating earth quake on Feb 22nd 2011 resulting in large loss of life. Since the first earth quake we have experienced over 10,000 after shocks. Our city has been devastated and most of our beautiful historic buildings gone. The most frightening experience of my life!!!!!!!!
    On a brighter note, Corey I’m in Aix en Provence in late October this year and will be doing the Brocante with your friend Jill….I would love to meet you while in your neck of the woods.

    Reply
  20. kelly

    Glad to hear folks are safe after yesterday’s quake.
    I live in L.A. and have experienced quite a few quakes. The last big one I remember happened about 4 in the morning. I felt a jolt and thought someone had hit our apartment with a car. Then I realized it was a quake. It never woke my husband or son up! The next morning facebook was crazy with women who were all woken up by it but their husbands still were snoring away!
    The worst was 9/9/2001 as it was centered where we live in West Hollywood. I was in the shower and heard what sounded like a large truck. Then the shower started shaking and rolling. NOT fun.
    The rolling ones upset me more…
    Husband was here for the Northridge quake. He said his tv fell off the stand and he rolled over and went back to sleep.
    They’re now saying not to stand in a doorway and to (obviously) stay away from windows.

    Reply
  21. Serendipity Vintage

    Growing up in Alaska, I have experienced numerous earthquakes including the one in 1964. At 10 years of age it was frightening but prepared me for the endless aftershocks and smaller earthquakes while I lived there. Since moving to Oregon we have even had one here that scared everyone I know. On a vacation to Kentucky one year, one occurred there.
    I believe them to be a fact of life no matter where one lives and being aware of your surroundings and where to seek shelter is necessary for all natural events.
    Glad your children are well!!

    Reply
  22. Kathie B

    On a 1970 camping trip we visited Gallatin National Forest (just outside Yellowstone National Park), where we saw a huge escarpment created by the earthquake you mention, Linda. Also, in another spot the earth was tilted so much that a former highway turned into a boat-ramp into a lake formed by the quake!
    Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where mild earthquakes were common, as a child I could sleep through a temblor with a Richter reading less than 4.0, so I missed some of the excitement as well.

    Reply
  23. Jackie

    Glad to hear Chelsea is ok, how frightening. Dis moi? I thought it was dit moi (tell me.)
    I love “insider” French lessons from you:)

    Reply
  24. Kathie B

    Different kind of earth-shattering:
    Our hearts go out to the victims of the Toulouse shooter, their families and friends, and to the nation of France. As of this hour’s news headlines, the stand-off continues. Simply tragic.

    Reply
  25. Kathie B

    I remember well the radio reports of the tsunami — first time I ever heard that term — making its way down the Pacific coast following the massive Alaska Good Friday quake. Despite well-publicized radio warnings for everyone to stay away, two idiots went out to San Francisco’s Ocean Beach to view the tidal wave, which fatally swept them out to sea.

    Reply
  26. Serendipity Vintage

    We were so cut off from the outside at that time I never realized a tsunami hit the west coast until after I moved here 27 years ago and saw it in old magazines. Such a horrendous event for many!

    Reply
  27. Lemon Tree Tami

    Yep, I was in LA then too. (Born and raised there and didn’t move away until 2002.) In fact I lived about a mile away from the epicenter. Our chimney fell down and all of the glassware fell down and shattered. It was scary driving down the streets. Sadly I saw the aftermath of a car accident and someone who didn’t make it. Other than that one I’ve never been scared in an earthquake. The hard rocking was bad.
    Museum wax is good. Plus you learn not to hang anything heavy over your bed. That’s the way I can tell if a magazine interior decorator is from LA or not .. all those lovely photos of heavy mirrors or glass plates hanging above headboards. 🙂
    Glad that Chelsea is safe and sound.

    Reply
  28. Chris Wittmann

    New Hampshire has had one or two over the years, very mild…maybe you hear a “boom” and that’s it, though one time I swear my old farmhouse settled another 2 inches and an old built-in book shelf cracked. Our house sits on granite boulders, no foundation, no basement. It’s usually floods that do the damage here.
    I thought of you folks when I heard the news, stay safe guys…..
    and prayers go out to the families of the shooting victims in France. I fear this is a terrible world-wide trend, shades of the 1930’s all over again.

    Reply
  29. martina

    Whew, very glad Chelsea and Mr. Espresso are all right.
    I’m in Seattle and we always fret about earthquakes. The sensation is like a big dizzy spell of your feet and time seems to go in slow motion. The scariest one for me was one when I was at Sam’s Club about 11 years ago….they have very tall shelving there and it was weaving about! All of the frames at home are secured with QuakeHold, just in case.

    Reply
  30. Sara

    So glad everyone is OK!
    I live in California, so I have felt several EQs over the years, but luckily, I’ve never been near the epicenter of a big one! (Knocking on wood right now!!!!)

    Reply
  31. Rebecca in the pacific northwest

    Nisqually earthquake about 10 years ago in Washington state: Husband and I, not being from earthquake-land, automatically followed childhood emergency fire drill procedures and ran out of the building. (Locals chastised us later: “electric lines could have fallen on you!”
    We didn’t know that, and so were treated with the amazing sight of a trees thrashing wildly on a windless day due to the ground they lived in rocking and rolling. Then, “David, am I really seeing that? The asphalt pavement of the parking lot is rippling like waves!”

    Reply
  32. Rebecca in the pacific northwest

    Martina, was that the Nisqually earthquake? Sam’s Club would NOT be the place to be then!

    Reply
  33. Sue

    So glad all is well! We live in the land of earthquakes (Japan), so they should be old hat, I guess. I never used to get all that scared, until last year when we had the huge one and the tsunami/nuclear disaster, and all the experts said that we’ll have to have another really big one to shift things back, so to speak (which hasn’t happened yet). Now I get much more nervous when I feel the shaking start.
    Like Chelsea experienced, I often feel dizzy when a quake is getting started… unless it’s one of those that starts with a big jolt. Those are the scariest. Once in a while we get one that just makes your feet feel all tingly at the beginning – those are weird.
    I will say a prayer for her safety, and no more big quakes!

    Reply
  34. Rebecca in the pacific northwest

    I moved from an earthquake-free state to Washington state just 2 years after the Northridge earthquake and was just sure I’d encounter one of that magnitude every year! Haven’t.

    Reply
  35. Rebecca in the pacific northwest

    PS. What do the French sections say? Your bilingual family is fascinating.

    Reply
  36. Barbara Snow

    Glad your daughter and her friend are okay. I’ve never been in an earthquake and hope never to be in one.
    Enjoy your reunion with family and loved ones.
    Barb in Minnesota

    Reply
  37. susan

    I’m glad to hear Chelsea and her boyfriend are safe. Living in Northern CA for over 40 years, I remember earthquakes well, especially the 1989 Loma Prieta quake as others have mentioned. Now living in North Texas, I find myself terrified of thunder storms and tornados.

    Reply
  38. LauraInSeattle

    So glad to hear that Chelsea is safe. Scary though.

    Reply
  39. jend’isère

    Washington DC is more likely to have terrorist attacks than earthquakes, so I was in the midst of mania when a quake hit. After spending the morning visiting the Smithsonian, I left with my kids for lunch. Suddenly enormous rumbling, flags shaking and screaming forced me to rush outside with a kid under my arm and the other following fleeing past puzzled security guards. Three blocks from the White House, the 5.9 rocked our building.My kids still talk about our holiday as they experienced a hurricane the next week.

    Reply
  40. Paula

    I experienced my first earthquake whilst living in Lago di Garda, Italy when I was 18. It was really scary as it happened late at night, staying on the top floor of an apartment which started swaying, the wind blew the french doors in and the lights went out! Since then I have experienced many earthquakes in California, Toronto, other parts of the U.S. and one on Nevis when there was a volcanic eruption on one of the other islands.
    Glad to hear Chelsea is ok.

    Reply
  41. Jude

    We had a LOT of them in Costa Rica. One morning a big one and then 30 after shocks all day. I learned to take them in stride. If it was at night, I would look around after the shaking and then go back to sleep.

    Reply
  42. Kathie B

    Does anyone else here have ancestors who went through San Francisco’s great earthquake and fire of 1906?

    Reply
  43. JudyO

    I immediately thought of Chelsea when I heard of the earthquake in Mexico. So glad she is ok. I enjoyed trying to translate the back and forth with her and her Dad.

    Reply
  44. Brenda L. from TN.

    I didn’t know an earthquake was happening until I saw the ceiling light sway and my couch in the den moving across the broken-tile floor…then I KNEW!…and it was ONLY a 2.7!! We were living in Memphis TN then and it only lasted about 5 seconds but seemed like 5 minutes!
    Glad Chelsea is OK and no injuries….

    Reply
  45. jend’isère

    Between your French home and mine lies the country’s fault line with minor seismic rumbles

    Reply

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