A 5.2 earthquake centered 44 miles west of Tonopah, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, was felt throughout the Eastern Sierra at ten minutes after 4pm Tuesday. Bishop residents who contacted USGS said they were told the quake was centered 69 miles northwest of Bishop.
At the Sierra Wave studios the quake seemed long and rolling. Nothing fell off the shelves. We talked to the Mammoth Police Department and others in Mammoth and Bishop. Everyone felt the quake but, again, no damage of any kind reported.
We also talked to someone at the Station Casino in Tonopah. She said the staff there felt nothing. At Northern Inyo Hospital in Bishop, where 200, 50-foot long foundation pylons brace the new hospital, they did not feel the earthquake at all. USGS reported several after shocks of lesser magnitude.
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I live about 20 miles south of the epicenter, and the quakes have been pretty good. The initial one really moved the house, but with no damage.
It was a ride inside the house, a fridge fell over that was sitting outside (unused). The local store 1 miles away didn’t even feel it – didn’t even know about it. So their prime planning might just be reflections coming off the mountain – uneven shake. 5 miles south of me one person reported it being pretty violent, and wondered if my house was still standing.
So it varies wildly in a mountainous terrain.
I’ve heard of the pillar method in the ground before, I suppose it smooths out the waves quite a bit.
In or near what town do you live?
Benett Kessler
We won’t really know about the “overkill” until after the big one. They keep upping the standards after each quake in Japan. Better safe than sorry – especially with a hospital.
The hospital construction was extended specifically for the 50 foot pylon construction for earthquake retrofit. The “Bureaucrat Beat” section of the Sierrawave a few years ago even chastised this delay as bureaucratic red tape (sic) and dedicated quiet a few words towards “State regulators” driving up the cost of the hospital construction costs. Interesting that today, after a minor 5.2 earthquake the hospital didn’t even feel the shaking. While sometimes bureaucratic red tape may seem frivolous and arduous there are reasons for such inconveniences. As I said then I will say now, I don’t mind a two month delay for earthquake retrofit because when the big one hits I want my local hospital still standing when the dust settles.
You have a point. Although, engineers I talked to said the same effect could have been achieved with far fewer pylons at a much
lower cost to the taxpayers of the hospital district. Overkill gets the job done and costs several million more dollars to you
and me and everyone in the hospital district.
Benett Kessler