Nesqually Quake... 2.28.01

These pictures aren't ones I took (didn't have my digital camera out of the shop yet), but I think they give an idea of what we went through. For me, I was in the basement working on the computer. I heard a rumble and at first I thought Ross or Scott must be upstairs playing with the cats overhead. Then the shaking came and I knew it was an earthquake. Best I can liken it to was feeling like we were on a raft in really rough water. Just kind of sloshing around, trying to keep your balance as things shook and lamps and bookcases fell around you. When I found out it was a 6.8 magnitude (higher than the disastrous on in CA back in 94), kinda freaked me out. Luckily, since it was so deep, the city as a whole got off really lightly on injuries and property damage. Craziness. Who would've predicted that my first three weeks in Seattle would bring snowstorms, riots, and an earthquake? If all of that happened in three weeks, just image the excitement that could come in my first three months!! :) Here are some pictures of the damage...

Shattered walls in a restroom

Older brick buildings were the hardest hit

A walk along the sidewalk becomes more exciting after a quake shakes things up a little...

The Starbucks headquarters look pretty ratty now

Amazingly enough, the guys who own this crushed van were able to retrieve some personal belongings!

Broken windows were pretty common. My building at work sustained lots of cracks in walls and windows too...

The Fenix Underground in Pioneer Square didn't fare well. Rough week for them... first riots, then the quake. What a week!

The grocery store had quite a mess to clean up. We had a bookshelf topple at the house, but up righting it wasn't too bad. Wouldn't want to be the one in the grocery store charged with righting the whole store...

The Icon. Ross has the top two floors of this building and all of the guys were inside when the quake hit. They got to witness a whole section of brick wall break off the building and crash to the street below... Pretty crazy!

Another of the Icon... notice all of the FCI guys in the background hanging out till folks were allowed back inside. :)

I took this one of the actual wall that fell at the Icon. I'm just glad no one was hurt... pretty scary so many people were inside so close to the window and the wall that fell. Let's hear it for deep quakes!