Just In: 5.6 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Northern California

originally posted by: rickymouse
I'll predict a bigger quake somewhere around California in the next 24 hours. I'm usually wrong with my predictions on quakes though, so everyone is safe.

Only a few hours ago on another thread about the black water in Gardena, I gave the link for volcaones and water tables in California and stated that an earthquake is going to happen.

Now it is kind of eerie that you and I both make this prediction on the same day and boom, it happens. I said it might be in a few months, but I will bet anything that the black water is indeed connected to the earthquake.

WarminIndy called it, please let the record show.

a reply to: WarminIndy

WarminIndy called it, please let the record show.

The record shall also show that Gardena is roughly 700 miles away from the OP earthquake.

a reply to: WarminIndy

yeah some of us noticed

first correct prediction of the day me thinks

hows tomorrow look ?

I also said I am not a geologist and don't know how big those plates are. But assuming they could be very big....

but correct me if I am wrong, when it comes to volcanic activity and the movement of plate tectonics, an earthquake can originate in an area far from the epicenter.

I am assuming that Gardena is on the San Andreas Faultline? It is possible that as the plates shifted at somewhere south of Gardena, the underlying ground forced into an underground reservoir that forced the substance containing the sulphur through the city water system before settling at Eureka, where the epicenter is.

As it turns out, the San Andreas Faultline does indeed go from Southern California to Eureka. So, something near Gardena may have triggered it, who knows, and ended at Eureka.

Now, I made that prediction based on several things, the volcanic activity of Southern California and the fact that suddenly the people of Gardena experienced sulphur water, which is unusual enough to be newsworthy.

Because the epicenter was at Eureka, the end of the San Andreas to the North, then it can only be directly related to that. At some point, Californians are going to be affected by more than just this little earthquake, because eventually the volcanic activity will increase to the point there won't be anything to prevent it. Californians have simply been lucky.

originally posted by: blacktie
a reply to: WarminIndy

yeah some of us noticed

first correct prediction of the day me thinks

hows tomorrow look ?

Meh, my prediction for tomorrow, cold in the North, a little warmer in the South and a lot of people posting the same old same old on ATS. That's my prediction.

But I could make the most outrageous prediction. Uh, the most outrageous prediction I can think of, Lindsay Lohan joins an ashram and dances at the airport as a Hare Krishna, the View ladies suddenly turn Conservative, Barbara Walters then is enshrined in a vat of formaldehyde. Obama reads a speech all on his own. Angela Merkle declares English as the official language of the EU. And all the major media outlets refuse to show celebrity news and vett all their news stories.

53 minutes ago as of this post a a 4.3 hit NV. I only bring this up cause I noted a direct line to Yellowstone when drawing a line between 5.6 and the 4.3.

5.6 - Latitude 40°18'17.39'N Longitude 124°26'49.59°W

4.3 - Latitude 41°41'20.75°N Longitude 119°40'3.55°W

Don't think it's something to worry about but something to note at least. Be safe.

What if we make predictions like in Clue?

Time : 12:55 pm on 1/29/2015
Place: San Jose
Eq: 7.4

originally posted by: Thorneblood
What if we make predictions like in Clue?

Time : 12:55 pm on 1/29/2015
Place: San Jose
Eq: 7.4

I think just saying San Jose is to easy and you should give Lat' & Long' to win the game.

a reply to: DigitalJedi805

Im with you... They sure are impressive, as long as they don't f*ck up everything around you...

originally posted by: SkepticOverlord
This is just now coming in via early comments and information from Twitter.
40km SW of Ferndale, California 14 mins ago, (as of the posting of this thread) – U.S. Geological Survey.

An earthquake with magnitude 5.6 occurred near Petrolia, CA at 21:08:53.00 UTC on Jan 28, 2015. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)

LA Times: 5.7 earthquake strikes in Northern California

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake caused light shaking in some parts of the North Coast area, including Ferndale and Eureka. The USGS said the temblor was also felt farther inland in Chico and Red Bluff.

There were no reports of damage from the 1:08 PST quake, which was recorded at a depth of 10.6 miles and was followed by several aftershocks.

Aftershocks are expected.

This opening post will be updated as more information becomes available.

nothing earth shaking is going to happen today

M4.3 - 39km SW of Ferndale, California
(A nice aftershock)
Event Time

2015-01-29 19:13:55 (UTC)

Nearby Cities

39km (24mi) SW of Ferndale, California
48km (30mi) SW of Fortuna, California
64km (40mi) SW of Eureka, California
73km (45mi) SW of Bayside, California
328km (204mi) NW of Sacramento, California

earthquake.usgs.gov...

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Ah man, a little too far south to feel for us Southern Oregon folks. 5.6 is enough to do moderate structural damage so it will be interesting to see how older buildings did on this one.

Good find boss.

originally posted by: DigitalJedi805
a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Ooooo I'm gonna go stand outside and hope for something I can feel down the coastline... Maybe I'm weird - I kinda like earthquakes lol.

Wooo.. a new kind of Fetish ay Rather odd, creepy and mostly funny

Guys guys! Playing the game is all fun and all.... But! What if people die cause of our game

Would you not feel responsible for guessing correctly

originally posted by: DigitalJedi805
a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Ooooo I'm gonna go stand outside and hope for something I can feel down the coastline... Maybe I'm weird - I kinda like earthquakes lol.

I think everybody does, at least at first. My East Coast friends can't imagine living in California because they are scared of earthquakes, and I try to tell them that if a quake happens and you don't feel it or sleep through it, you're disappointed. It's kind of fun.

It's just when the shaking goes on too long or too strong and things start falling that you get worried. In my 20+ years in Southern California, I've never seen stuff fall but I have wished for the shaking to stop.

Come to think of it, I haven't felt any quakes in a couple of years. Maybe we're due.

originally posted by: ViciLaw
Guys guys! Playing the game is all fun and all.... But! What if people die cause of our game

Would you not feel responsible for guessing correctly

People don't die because of the game, people die because of the earthquake.

Whether we guess correctly or not, which if we are guessing correctly could be used scientifically to warn people of an event, but if we guess correctly or not will not change the fact that it happened.

Would I feel responsible if people died? No, I am not the cause of the earthquake, we are just glad no one died. But if we do guess correctly, then it should be seen as a warning. Right now, scientists can't predict earthquakes, but if we do, then there is merit to it and it should be investigated, because we are guessing with intuition.

It was my intuition that made me guess the earthquake, but as I said, I am not a geologist. But here's something, years before Hurricane Katrina, it WAS scientifically presented that it would hit, no one paid attention to that guy. He was right, but he cannot be responsible, because he warned them.

Sure, there are those who cry wolf all the time, but eventually the real wolves do come.

a reply to: ViciLaw

Why would a person feel responsible for seeing something like that before it happens?

I wouldn't and don't.

There are a lot of things in this world we cannot prevent, earthquakes are one of them. If a person kind of knows it is going to happen, there really is nothing they can do to prevent it from happening, so why feel guilty over it?

If you go screaming from the rooftops that something bad is going to happen,
people will laugh, ignore, and ridicule you for it.
And after something does happen, others will insult you with things like "lucky guess" or you are messing with forces you shouldn't etc. It is a no win, other than to get it off your conscious.
Now you could warn family about it, so they are kind of prepared,
but because it is not an exact thing,
meaning you don't generally know exactly when or how bad it will be other than bad,
you kind put your neck out on the line every time you make a public statement about a future event because you could be wrong.
Lots of reasons not to say anything.

Guilt is not one of them though.

Exactly,

It is much better to warn and be wrong, and never warn knowing the danger. But people just seem to not listen to the warnings, no matter how right they are.

Eventually the wolves do come.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus


We do not get many quakes on the east coast and the last one was 5.8 which rocked my car a bit so I can only compare it to that. How serious do California residents take a quake of this magnitude?

Not seriously at all,a 5.6 is minor.It starts getting bad at 7+.It is kind of a thrill to be standing in the open and see the ground waves coming toward you just like waves on the beach!

originally posted by: Sunwolf

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus


We do not get many quakes on the east coast and the last one was 5.8 which rocked my car a bit so I can only compare it to that. How serious do California residents take a quake of this magnitude?

Not seriously at all,a 5.6 is minor.It starts getting bad at 7+.It is kind of a thrill to be standing in the open and see the ground waves coming toward you just like waves on the beach!

That doesn't sound thrilling to me.

But it reminds me of the classic disaster movie Earthquake, that airplane trying to land kind of does make it seem scary to land on ground that is rolling.