a whole lot 'o shakin'

Yesterday evening, about 6 PM, we had yet another earthquake, originally reported at 7.0 but now downgraded to 6.5. I was in the kitchen checking on the rattling top of a saucepan, thinking it was the steam making the noise. Mr. C assured me that it was the house shaking instead! It only lasted about 10 seconds (but watch your second-had and see how long that actually is!). There were a couple of jolts, then the house swayed, then it was over. No noise this time. A couple of weeks ago there were two sharp shake at 11 o'clock at night; woke me up. That time there was a loud rumble.

The west of Mexico has had 5 earthquakes in the past month; Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero (we felt that one), Michoacan (yesterday), and one on the Baja this morning at 2:15 AM, rated at greater than 6.9. It was directly across the Sea of Cortez from Hermasillo. These events got us talking (again) about what sort of preparations we should have, what we would do depending on where we are in the house (downstairs, 2nd floor, 3rd floor), where we would go if we had to get out of town in the event of a tidal surge. All scary stuff. There are only a few treasures I'd grab if we had to evacuate; the rest is just icing on the cake. We had a 7.2 quake here in January 2003, centered about 25 miles off the coast of our village. Damage was moderate here, heavier in Armeria and Tecoman, and serious and deadly up in Colima. We were in Guadalajara at the time, but those who were here are still spooked every time there's the slightest tremor.

If it's going to come, I hope we're safely tucked up in the Sacramento Valley when it does.