Don’t Shiver Now, but Was That a Quake I Just Felt? They Keep Following Me

Growing up in California makes one earthquake conscious, but I have never been comfortable because of the Big One looming out there.

When I was a student at UCLA, my bed literally went from one side of my dorm room to the other as I awakened to the Sylmar quake.

I was driving on the freeway during the Whittier quake when pieces of the mountainside fell onto it.

During the Northridge quake, I injured myself running to the safety of the door frame in my bedroom. I have since learned that is no longer the place to go.

Earthquakes seem to follow me.

I went to New York and there was a slight quake, its epicenter under the mayor's mansion.

Quakes are very unusual in New York.

I moved to Israel, feeling that finally I was out of a quake zone, only to find out that Israelis also are also awaiting the Big One.

You Won’t Believe This

In the year that I have been in Israel, I already have experienced 3 small quakes. I am supposed to travel up north to Tsfat in a few weeks. I must admit I am nervous because a quake once leveled the entire city, killing tens of thousands of people.

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Israeli scientists are predicting a major quake along the Israeli-Lebanon border any time now because there has been a lot of seismic activity recently.

California and Israel are very similar.

The San Andreas fault travels from the top of California to the Mexican border. Israel has a similar fault line running its length. Both faults are well overdue for the major quake of the century.

People in California tend to be more prepared for a quake. I always had my earthquake supplies in the trunk of my car, in my law office, in every closet in the house — just in case I should be stranded.

Is the Building Moving or Am I?

In California there are earthquake building codes. Homes are made of wood framing, which makes them more capable of surviving a quake. Israel, however, is not prepared for a major quake, although they probably have the most advanced earthquake detection system in the world for finding live bodies in the rubble of a quake.

Apartment buildings here are made of cement and concrete , which, G-d forbid, will crumble during a quake. They also sit atop narrow posts that look precarious for support in the first place. Some of the newer high-rise buildings are built to earthquake standards. But most buildings are not built to code.

My family notified me of the Chino Hills quake, and it was a miracle that there were no major damages or injuries.

My Family Was Leery

They were afraid I would freak out if I had awakened to news of a California quake(we are 10 hours ahead of California time), and I had not heard from them yet.

But, it took them over an hour to get cell phone reception to call me in Israel.

I turned on Fox News from the U.S. and the BBC News from England for the earthquake coverage in English. The Israeli news stations covered the quake in Hebrew. The Russian and Arabic stations in Israel also covered the quake in their native languages.

Let us hope no more quakes will disrupt us, wherever we may live.

L'hitraot. Shachar