4.0 Earthquake Near Concord, California

craighansen writes: Just felt a small earthquake, which I confirmed at USGS was a magnitude 4.0 at 2015-05-03 22:13:19 UTC, followed by a magnitude 2.7 a minute later, both located near Concord, California.

Comments

A story for those who

[justthinkit]

A story for those who don't understand orders of magnitude?

Re:A story for those who

[FatdogHaiku]

It appears to be strong enough to break the slashdot RSS feed... every link goes to a "Moved Permanently" page with yet another link... the quake must have shifted some bits around in storage...

Re:A story for those who

[stephanruby]

A story for those who don't understand orders of magnitude?

To be fair, Dice Holdings is located in Urbandale, Iowa. It's not like they get many earthquakes in that part of the US.

Re:A story for those who

[Rei]

Speak for yourself. My lander was near the epicenter and I lost five crew :( I was aiming for Diablo Canyon to pick up some radioactives but I had to return to orbit to recrew.

Re:A story for those who

[craighansen]

I didn't put it on the front page. I did follow up with a comment that this was a group of 4 quakes, the first of which, magnitude 2.5 was about 10 minutes before the largest at magnitude 4.0. Slashdot's editors must have chosen to ignore the followup. There was another smaller one about an hour later. Yes, 4.0 is a small quake and I wasn't upset about it. Perhaps it would be interesting to note that quakes do follow each other in statistical groupings, so a small quake can indicate another following quake with increased probability - a ten minute warning is arguably more meaningful than the tens of seconds we can get by outrunning the p- and s- waves with electromagnetic waves.

Re:A story for those who

[choprboy]

A story for those who don't understand orders of magnitude?

As a former Californian, the magnitude scale goes something like this:
3.5 - Huh, what? When did that happen?
4.0 - Ehh, something moved slightly...
4.5 - Oh, I actually felt that one there.
5.0 - Heh, that actually qualifies as an earthquake.
5.5 - Oh boy, we are starting to shake pretty good. Stay away from the glass, this one might be a little rough.
6.0 - Find a doorway quick and hang on! This one will be rough.
6.5 - Oh crap, duck and cover! 20sec of destruction, 2 weeks of "The Big One is coming! Are you prepared? Will you die?!" news stories.
7.0 - Oh $h17!!! This one is going to hurt.
8.0 - Wait, what? You mean the Big One is real?

Scale +/-0.5 depending on where you are located in California (i.e. Bay area vs. Inland empire). A 4.0 ranks as barely noticable ...

Re:A story for those who

[thunderclap]

actually I would care. I would be concerned for my friends who live out there. And for the internet out there. And all the wine. But as all the problems California has Those i don't care about.

Re:A story for those who

[monkeyzoo]

Below are the California earthquakes of equal or greater magnitude (i.e., not much to speak of) this year...
The point is, a 4.0 earthquale is NOT NEWS! Sorry

5/3 4.01 in Concord
4/24 2 quakes at 5.5 off the coast near Eureka
4/10 4 quakes: 4.5, 4.5, 4.85, & 4.8 off the coast near Eureka
3/30 4.02 in Baker
3/27 4.2 near Fresno
2/14 4.49 near Death Valley
1/29 4.26 near Eureka
1/28 2 quakes: 5.14 & 5.6 near Eureka
1/20 2 quakes: 4.71 & 4.9 near Monterey
1/14 4.06 near Eureka
1/4 4.5 near Santa Clarita
1/1 5.3 off the coast near Eureka

Re:A story for those who

[Eristone]

I'm out of mod points else would definitely give you a +1 informative. And based on the map, I was about a 1/2 mile from the epicenter of this one and didn't feel it - but I think we were in the car coming from the latest Avengers movie so really paid no attention to it. Anything under a 5 is not worth talking about unless they are foreshocks.. .

Re:A story for those who

[craighansen]

An expression of caution following a quake "predicts" many more quakes than will really occur, as the probability is still less than 50%. Knowing of increased probability merely opens considerations of what to do during a "cautionary" period - minor adjustments such as lowering speed on the Transbay tunnel, or postponing crane lifts or tower climbs might be the kinds of things to do, but people may well tire of making these adjustments when nothing happens repeatedly. Bringing all life to a screaming halt or evacuating the cities isn't an appropriate response, but expressing relief at small shocks is what got those Italian scientists/bureaucrats convicted (all but one overturned on appeal). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...

I earned some ridicule today because a 4.0 quake wasn't followed by a larger quake - was even adjusted to a 3.6 magnitude. I was surprised when it posted to the front page - I thought it was just a note that might get combined into some other posting - slow news day, I guess. A few thousand people posted to the "I felt it" links on the USGS and similar sites, and enough people pressed "+" on the firehose to outweigh my own personal "-".

Re:A story for those who

[craighansen]

It was barely noticeable - that's why I went to the USGS site to see what it was. Didn't know we had to edumacate Slashdot on the Richter/Mercalli scale, particularly the editors who choose what random notes to put on the front page. Still, a magnitude 4.0 is a release of more energy than a MOAB http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G... , so I felt it even though 100km away. Those living in Concord would've felt a little more.

Re:A story for those who

[twosat]

We get earthquakes like that all the time in New Zealand. Given that it was 14.6 km (9.0 miles) deep it probably would hardly even be felt unless you were nearly right on top of it. How they are felt depends very much on their depth. After the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 that badly damaged Christchurch, we got www.geonet.org.nz that automatically reports on the location and magnitude of any earthquakes as well as how they are actually felt on the surface. Here's a 5.8 magnitude, 4km deep one from today, 30 km away from Wanaka. http://www.geonet.org.nz/quake...

Re:A story for those who

[jittles]

A story for those who don't understand orders of magnitude?

Seriously. I grew up in that area. One day I was standing on a stool that was unstable, it was missing a leg. A 4.0 earthquake hit about 10 miles away and I didn't even feel it on my precarious perch. I'm guessing whoever submitted this story is either not from California, or has never actually been in an earthquake before.

Re:A story for those who

[justthinkit]

I'm getting too old to lift those 5-gallon jugs too.

Re:A story for those who

[ColdWetDog]

This is a pretty rough crowd.

Best to always wear your helmet.

Re:A story for those who

[sconeu]

My definition of 4.0: Who farted?

Re:A story for those who

[StikyPad]

Exactly.

4.0 to 4.9 -- Noticeable shaking of indoor objects and rattling noises. Felt by most people in the affected area. Slightly felt outside. Generally causes none to minimal damage.

And a 4.0 is on the lowest end of that scale, almost 10x less powerful than a 4.9. There are over 13,000 4.0-4.9 magnitude earthquakes around the world each year. It's a non-story, except to ask your friend if he felt that. The commuter train passing by my office building causes that much shaking several times a day.

Re:A story for those who

[Rakarra]

Even the arabs think the apocolypse will happen somwhere around sanfransico.

Which "Arabs" are those? Conservative Wahabbis and Salafis like the folks in ISIS/ISIL/whatever believe that the apocalypse will occur when the armies of "Rome" invade northern Syria (specifically, the town of Dabiq, which happens to be the name of the Islamic State's official magazine). The defeat of Rome will lead to a chain of events resulting in the final showdown with the anti-Messiah in Jerusalem.

But yeah, no one thinks the apocalypse will be near San Francisco.

Re:A story for those who

[scm]

I live in Oakland just a few miles away, and I didn't even notice it.

Seriously, Why is this a Story?

[aaronmd]

A 4.0? That's just a little strong than a freight train going by.

Re:Seriously, Why is this a Story?

[war4peace]

Anything rare enough becomes a story.
The question is: Why is this a story posted on Slashdot? I might get it as a local story, if all they got during the last decade is less than a 3-pointer, but for Slashdot, there should be literally hundreds of such stories every day... would it publish them all?

Re:Seriously, Why is this a Story?

[Pseudonym]

Imagine a line between Redding and Yuma. Anything that happens West of there is "news for nerds" according to Slashdot.

Now where's the weekly Australia story?

Re:Seriously, Why is this a Story?

[ColdWetDog]

Hey, it's not raining at my house. Moreover, we're going to have dinner in a little while.

Is Slashdot trying to out-twitter Twitter?

Re:Seriously, Why is this a Story?

[Felinoid]

Slackware was published in Walnut Creek, California right next door to Concord. (I live in Concord, had a chance to visit Slackware HQ and never did)
I think after WC CDrom shut down Slackware moved to Concord.
That may be why it matters.

Also building code enforcement takes bribes so even a 4.0 might fuck some buildings up.

Re:Seriously, Why is this a Story?

[Mashiki]

Is Slashdot trying to out-twitter Twitter?

I think so. I mean sure I could see a earthquake story if it hit Ontario or Quebec, part of central/northern Michigan or something. That's in/part of the Laurentian Plateau and doesn't get anymore stable, but California? Peh.

Re:Seriously, Why is this a Story?

[thunderclap]

You mean the one where they talk about the Prime Minister and his fetish for pulling women's ponytails or the one about KIm Dot com and his endless issues?

Re:Seriously, Why is this a Story?

[elvesrus]

I thought the cutoff was I-5

Re:Seriously, Why is this a Story?

[twosat]

That was John Key, the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Australia is over 3 hours away by commercial jet plane.

Re:Seriously, Why is this a Story?

[BarbaraHudson]

They thought is was a reference to the game Quake 4.0, which was released in 2005. You know, recycling old news. Coming up next - Bennett Haselton pontificating on what this apparent coincidence means for the upcoming release of Quake 5, which will happen when a story about a 5.0 earthquake makes it to the front page.

Re:Seriously, Why is this a Story?

[JimFive]

I know I'm late, but there was a 4.2 earthquake in Michigan on Saturday 5/2.

OMG 4.0!!!1

[Anonymous Coward]

Michigan had a bigger earthquake yesterday............. Since when is a 4.0 earthquake in CA news?

Hai Guyz

[dohzer]

Hai guys I just saw a bird fly past my window at 2015-05-03 22:32:45 UTC, followed by a moth seven minutes later.

Re:Hai Guyz

[dissy]

* Dissy has liked this post.
* Dissy retweets.
* Dissy has donated $5 to your kickstarter.

Re:Hai Guyz

[Tablizer]

They want you to think it's a mere bird.

Most likely cause is:

[bobstreo]

Nestle fracking water out of the ground to put in plastic bottles.

Seriously?

[Malenx]

Michigan had a 4.2 earthquake over the weekend and all we posted were memes like http://i.imgur.com/bExOngH.png. You'd think California of all places would be less surprised.

Re:Seriously?

[NoNonAlphaCharsHere]

OK, you win the interwebs for today...

Re:Seriously?

[nightsky30]

Sooo good, LOL!

What the...

[DigitAl56K]

Jesus, timothy.

I just took a shit. It was kind of average as far as shits go. Maybe it's front-page material now though?

Re:What the...

[Tablizer]

Some hell of a shit to cause a 4-quake. No more chili-burgers for you.

Must be a slow news day...

[__aaclcg7560]

CNN ran a spot on a minor earthquake in Los Angeles several years ago with black-and-white video surveillance of a grocery to demonstrate the severe shaking that took place. Nothing moved. Nothing fell off the shelves. The camera didn't even shake. I guess California moved a hair closer to falling into the Pacific Ocean. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

Could not feel it here in Concord

[basecastula]

I didnt feel a thing. May have happened while I was driving from Clayton to Pittsburg.

Re:In what fucking way

[maliqua]

No, nor is it news by any other standard

Me generation: Tech Bubble == Culture Bubble too.

[Anonymous Coward]

BTW, there was a 4.9 in Tomioka, Japan too today.

(and a 5.2 in New Guniea, but does anyone near SF care? Mind that /.?)

Re:4.0?

[nightsky30]

Since when did a tiny tremor like thiscoubt as news?

Seriously, a 4.0 does no damage, ithrt than maybe knocking a few things off a wallbor table. This is about as newsworthy as celebrity gossip or political promises.

I propose the ACUSGS. We can use ACs like seismographs. If you see one typing like this, then we can safely guess there was an earthquake or they had a bit too much to drink. :)

Re:4.0?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, in California the only destructive effect of a 4.0 is to derail all conversation into everybody recounting the worst quake they've been through.

Not news, especially in California

[sjbe]

There was a 4.2 earthquake in western Michigan yesterday. An earthquake that size isn't news particularly in California. It was barely news in Michigan and they don't get earthquakes that size.

Just felt a small..

[fisted]

Just felt a small vibration in the general area of my stomach, which I confirmed to be a massive turd waiting for departure, followed by a much more violent pressure release 2.7 minutes later on the crapper.

Not news

[r.samuel.klatchko]

According to the USGS Earthquake Facts and Statistics, there are 13,000 4.0 - 4.9 earthquakes every year (so about 1 every 40 minutes).

Concord gets those all the time ....

[TechnoGrl]

I lived in Walnut creek - you get those all the time. Like the guy above me said - it is about as news/noteworthy as the rain.

Re:Concord gets those all the time ....

[Brett Buck]

Rain would be a far bigger story.

Re:Concord gets those all the time ....

[nightsky30]

Shareware CDs perhaps, but nothing compares to a tsunami of AOL CDs.

This is a story but not the Michigan earthquake?

[Anonymous Coward]

Earthquakes around 4.0 or less happen all the time in California, you barely feel them. Less than 24 hours ago Michigan had its strongest earthquake since 1917. And this honestly what Slashdot thinks should be better story to comment on? and the Michigan earthquake is not? Really?

ALSO...

[monkeyzoo]

I looked out the window today in Seattle and saw what looked like water falling from the sky. It was collecting on the ground in puddle and making cars wet. I just consulted the NOAA website and confirmed that there was indeed "precipitation" in the Seattle area. Stay tuned for updates.

Re:ALSO...

[thunderclap]

mod +1 if I had it.

Re:ALSO...

[hack slash]

Some hours ago I noticed the sun had gone, I hope whoever stole it will return it in the morning or it's going to be a very dark Monday.

Re:ALSO...

[khallow]

Was the water wet?

so?

[lophophore]

There was a 4.2 near Portage, Michigan, where people are not used to earthquakes.

There were THREE earthquakes in New Hampshire in the last couple weeks, where people are also not used to earthquakes.

How is this news?

Another slow news day at Slashdot?

Get a grip, Timothy. NOT NEWS.

Instagram?

[wisnoskij]

Is /. turning into instagram? What is next, pictures of Cmd Taco's lunch?

4.0? That's all?

[Walter White]

Pfffft! Michigan had a 4.2 yesterday. http://www.detroitnews.com/sto...

Hoping for a Big One

[dfgfgfdgsgsdfsdf]

I really really hope that a much larger quake hits the bay area. It's just about the only thing that could negatively impact the bloodsucking landlords...

And Northern California Yawns

[Kozar_The_Malignant]

For those of us who actually live in northern California (where Concord is located), nothing under 5.0 is worthy of notice. Perhaps in Concord, New Hampshire it might be newsworthy.

3.6 here

[Eythian]

I just had a 3.6 here. Should I submit a new story for it?

Re:Stay Safe Craig Hansen

[hax4bux]

Snicker

Re:4.0?

[styrotech]

Let me fix that for you:

"Yeah, in California the only destructive effect of a 4.0 is to derail all conversation into everybody recounting the worst quake they've been through this week."

Manufacturing news on a slow day....

[Alomex]

A movement of 4.2 used to be called a tremor, until news organizations such as CNN and the Weather Channel got a hold of them and became earthquakes. FLASH. BREAKING NEWS. CUE GRAPHICS. CUE JINGLE followed by 48 hrs of non stop coverage.

Before that at least one structure had to topple over for a tremor to be called an earthquake.

Oh shit

[sootman]

I take it no one on Slashdot's esteemed editorial team has every lived in an earthquake area? As a former northern CA resident, I'm here to agree with the others that anything less than a 5.0 is not news. Seriously, if I felt a 4.0 at night, I probably wouldn't even mention it to friends the next day. If they're going to start posting about every 4.0 earthquake, I'll have to leave. There are a lot of those. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ear...

Meh! NZ had a 5.8 an hour ago ...

[MarkTina]

http://www.geonet.org.nz/

You must be new to California.

[Leslie43]

Seriously they happen all day long all up and down the state.

No Big Deal

[tquasar]

The San Andreas and other faults shake all the time. Wake me up when San Francisco falls into the ocean.

Kalamazoo, MI 4.2 Saturday

[franblets]

Are we supposed to report these?

Re:In what fucking way

[nightsky30]

What about the substandard?

No news here. Move along.

[Helldesk Hound]

Wanaka yesterday, had a Magnatude 6 earthquake. Chile regularly gets magnitude 7 and 8 quakes.

No news here. Move along.