Yesterday Hurricane Hilary came through the neighborhood, dumping lots of rain. We are west of her path and missed a lot of the damage caused elsewhere. Our backyard is basically clay soil, and it doesn’t drain nicely. A pump helps get the water out of the yard and into the street. If we didn’t do that, we could easily be flooded. Patio drains work well, but one in particular gives us problems periodically.
We were fine during the storm although many others were not, particularly in the desert where flash flooding of even an inch can cause a lot of damage. Areas burned by fire, too, are dangerous as the plants holding the soil may be too young or not even present yet. The cliffs and hills, too, are not particularly stable, and many times people living along or in them face trouble from fire and flood. Our house is on a slight incline, on a small hill, so rain water runs down. Storm drains run to the creek and that creek, in turn, runs into a deep canyon. When we were looking for houses, we saw a lot on hills we liked and could afford, but ended up where we are – a bit of good fortune as, so far and knock on wood, our neighborhood has withstood many threats nearby. Hopefully the natural gas main won’t blow up – even if it is a few blocks away, I don’t think it would be much fun . . .
And then there was our earthquake! It was about 5.1 and centered around an area called Sulfur Mountain. For us, it was a quick, sharp jolt and a bit of rolling. My in-laws felt it more intensely as they are south of the epicenter by about 10 miles. Other family members felt it as a roll, and others did not feel it at all. The worst part of it was the loud screeches coming from our cell phones, warning us of the earthquake. We didn’t duck and cover, but stood within door frames until the shaking stopped and then fetched shoes and socks – if glass shatters, you don’t want it in your feet, and if you flee your house, at least you have some protection.
An earthquake in the middle of a hurricane . . . .
We received a few warnings over our phones – loud and noisy, certainly designed to get our attention. Earthquake warnings came twice, and later in the day the flash flood warnings came. It is important to be ready for natural disasters, and though annoying, I appreciate these public announcements. They do get your attention! We pulled out our earthquake food, consolidated charged lamps and flashlights, made sure our coffee was ground (coffee will get you through many things!), and so on.
And now, our lives return to normal. The birds are busy twittering around the bird feeders; dog walkers are out. The air is heavy and moist and quite pleasant. My grass will get a bit greener. I had planned to harvest my potatoes, but that can wait a day or two. We head to visit Josh’s parents to sharpen knives and knit, perhaps some dinner. All these little disasters remind us of connections and family and friends, the beauty and fierceness of nature, and so on.
I could wax philosophical some more, but I need more morning coffee.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 
You wrote, “An earthquake in the middle of a hurricane . . . .” 😱😱😱 Oh my goodness – glad you are safe.
I’m glad you and your family are okay. We went through many earthquakes when we lived in the San Fernando Valley. I don’t miss them.
That was quite a day! I hadn’t thought about locating shoes immediately; if I’m ever in earthquake country, I will remember that. Actually, the old, old Appalachian Mountains are subject to smallish earthquakes. There have been several recently, and a few years ago, one outside Richmond, VA, which was felt as far north as Manhattan.
We have moved often and have always looked at flood maps and general terrain when choosing houses. In our current house, if we flooded, the entire county would be under several feet of water before reaching us, so we don’t worry about that.
I hope most Californians have, like you, earthquake supplies which came in handy for this unusual tropical storm. If the storm filled up some reservoirs, that’s good — but the news this morning is talking about agricultural damage in the central valleys.
I always think of earthquakes as being native to the Ring of Fire, and am always startled by how many are all over the world in other places.
Agricultural damage is always a concern because, despite irrigation, weather plays such a factor. I keep hoping we will evolve into more climate friendly crops that can meet changing weather patterns, but that is probably a lot to hope for.
I am glad you are thoughtful about where you buy a house – and having lived all over, I expect you are only too aware of potential disasters! I think we have been fortunate by luck, and hope it continues that way. A few years ago, T&J were evacuated in the middle of the night because of the Thomas Fire, and showed up at our doorstep at 1:30 in the morning – so glad they came here, even though the sleeping accommodations were quite shabby.
Thanks, Anne. I am glad we are safe, too, and family. Unfortunately, many others are not. I especially feel sorry about those in Mexico – and in other rural areas.
Thanks! It could have been a lot worse. The earthquake was in a rural part of our county, but the jolts are sharp and scary. The imagination goes crazy. Add to that a lot of rain, and it is a very unhappy “what if” scenario. Altogether, we got off easily.
Once, when we lived in southeastern Iowa, we looked closely at earthquake maps to determine if we ought to buy earthquake insurance. Look at stories about the New Madrid fault in southern Missouri to realize how devastating that will be if there’s a big quake on that fault again. The last episode, in 1811-1812, made church bells ring in Charleston, SC. So many people now live in areas that would affected!
If my phone sqwarked an earthquake warning I don’t think I’d believe it! I think the UK has had a couple of little ones, very little compared to the USA, but not up here. Glad you and yours didn’t get the worst of it.
My imagination would go crazy, too. I have been way too close to all kinds of natural disasters (floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires), but not an earthquake, and I hope NEVER to find out just how scary it is.
Seriously bad earthquakes are scary – you wonder. Little ones like this one – and the one this afternoon – are usually mild enough to jar you. The warnings were worse yesterday than the reality. Because earthquakes are unknown factors, I think that they are the scariest to me – fires are happening but usually avoidable – unlike in Maui, sadly – as are major wind storms in many instances. I don’t blame you about not wanting to be in an earthquake, or any other disaster.
It was pretty danged scary – the alarm. I think it made it more scary!