Angelika People like us who live in an earthquake-prone area always find it particularly nerve-wracking when a strong earthquake occurs somewhere in the world. Everyone immediately wonders if the next one will hit us and what it would look like here after an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9, like the recent one in Japan.
The number is dizzyingly high. Since we have already experienced several earthquakes of magnitude 5 here, which usually last 10-15 seconds, we can only imagine how it must feel when the earth keeps shaking for 2 1/2 minutes and much more violently at that. San Francisco is located right by the Pacific Ocean, and after severe earthquakes in the Pacific region, tsunamis threaten the Hawaiian Islands and the West Coast of the USA.
My coworker did not show up for work on Monday after the earthquake because she had to evacuate her house. My colleague doesn't live in San Francisco, but in Pacifica, a small suburb by the ocean. We often drive to Pacifica to go to the beach, as a 15-minute car ride gets us there in no time. My colleague lives right by the water, and at three in the morning, her phone rang with an automated message informing her that the authorities were urging all residents to leave their homes and move to higher ground. In San Francisco, as a precaution, no one was allowed on Ocean Beach anymore. The road that runs along Ocean Beach, the so-called Great Highway, was also closed to traffic.
Now everything turned out well, as the anticipated superwave did not occur after all. In Santa Cruz (about 115 kilometers south of San Francisco), the turbulent sea tore boats from the dock. In Oregon and California, a total of 5 people were swept into the sea because they had the brilliant idea to photograph the natural spectacle up close. One person is still missing, while the others escaped with a fright.
Now the next catastrophe is already looming. Everyone is anxiously following the situation at Japan's nuclear power plants, and we are wondering whether there will be a second Chernobyl or if it has already happened. And when radioactive radiation will reach California. There are also nuclear power plants in California. Perhaps nuclear power plants should generally not be connected to the grid in earthquake-prone areas. I think I'll get my "Nuclear Power -- No Thanks" sticker out of the box again.