Shake Rattle And Rolled me out of bed
Nov 19th, 2008 by Don Ray
Well that earthquake was the strongest I have felt since I have lived in Panama. It was listed as a 6.5 (preliminary) on USGS and was 39 miles out of David.
It set of all the alarms and threw all of the birds out of the trees. It happened at 1:10 AM by my watch. I will update this in the morning. Since it woke me up, I thought I would record it.
UPDATE: Final details by USGS:
Earthquake DetailsMagnitude 6.2
Date-Time Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 06:11:22 UTC
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 01:11:22 AM at epicenter
Location 8.295°N, 82.928°W
Depth 48.2 km (30.0 miles)
Region PANAMA-COSTA RICA BORDER REGION
Distances 45 km (30 miles) SSE of Golfito, Costa Rica
55 km (35 miles) WSW of David, Panama
135 km (85 miles) SSW of Bocas del Toro, Panama
220 km (135 miles) SE of SAN JOSE, Costa Rica
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 6.6 km (4.1 miles); depth +/- 11 km (6.8 miles)
Parameters NST=207, Nph=207, Dmin=313.4 km, Rmss=1.09 sec, Gp= 72°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=7
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID us2008zpan
There was a second one at 1:58 of 4.7 magnitude. Think I will have scrambled eggs for breakfast.
Details of second event:
Magnitude 4.7
Date-Time Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 06:58:41 UTC
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 01:58:41 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 8.672°N, 82.775°W
Depth 48.6 km (30.2 miles)
Region PANAMA-COSTA RICA BORDER REGION
Distances 40 km (25 miles) E of Golfito, Costa Rica
45 km (30 miles) NW of David, Panama
95 km (60 miles) SW of Bocas del Toro, Panama
200 km (125 miles) SE of SAN JOSE, Costa Rica
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 20.5 km (12.7 miles); depth +/- 9.9 km (6.2 miles)
Parameters NST= 20, Nph= 20, Dmin=298.8 km, Rmss=0.61 sec, Gp=191°,
M-type=body magnitude (Mb), Version=7
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID us2008zpas
We are always in the Lord´s hands. Our parrot kept nervous for about 15 minutes and we had to calm him/her.
….more than one out of bed
still feel like i need to take a dramamine……
Wow, that was a doozy. I got a call from a friend about 15 minutes after it hit. He was checking to see if my apartment was still atop the building. I appreciate friends like that. I may have been in God’s hands, but I think there was a little juggling going on.
In Volcan, it felt like the mountain was moving! We looked out back to see if Baru was blowing her stack. Pretty exciting!!!!
For a few moments I considered running outside, but then I remembered I was sleeping in the nude.
There was a follow up quake at 1:58. It was a 4.7. I did not feel it. Maybe I thought I was dreaming. The 6.2 was no dream. No damage I can see around me. No pictures came off the walls.
I was still awake, but in my bed when the second hit. I could feel it. The second was child’s play compared to the first.
Too funny Don!
Note to Self: Put clean underwear in emergency Ziploc bag near night stand.
Strongest quake we’ve felt here in El Frances, Boquete at the 1500+ elevation.
Hi Scott. Anything fall off the shelves? I only had one item break.
Wow! We moved here from Florida in July and have in Boquette for a little more than a week now….We felt a minor tremor just after our arrival, it was nothing, I thought, I can handle that. After last night, I don’t know…at least there is time to prepare for a hurricane. My 2 kids are laughing at me, but I like the idea of the ziplock & underwear. Hope this doesn’t happen often!
Hi Tracy. Not to worry. Things go along like this for a while and then they take a turn for the worse. Actually, I have gotten used to having a little excitement like this once in a while. Who can complain about a little excitement when you are in bed.
In El Banco, The earthquake awakened our dogs, and they woke me up. No apparent damage to the house, but then it’s been raining steadily and I haven’t done more than take a superficial look. The fireplace screen (a heavy iron thing) is the only thing which appears to have fallen.
Preliminary perimeter and interior checks this morning revealed no appreciable damage. I did find a crack in my confidence level.
This was the first earthquake we’ve felt in the two years we’ve been living here. Heard of a few happening within this period but never felt it. No aftershocks, just the initial “side-to-side” motion.
What type of motion did you experience?
Hi Dan. Thanks for checking in and taking the time to leave a comment.
Hi Scott. “Crack in confidence level” what a great line. Wish I had thought of it first.
I am on the 3rd floor of an apartment building. It was swaying pretty good. I did feel the after shock though.
I may take a look around and check for cracks later when it stops raining.
Just now (8:53 am) there was another small tremor; my computer desk shook a little bit, and I felt the motion through my chair.
Hi Dan. I just had an emai from La Barqueta and they felt the same. I felt nothing here in David.
Hi Dan. I just had an email from La Barqueta and they felt the same. I felt nothing here in David.
We felt the earthquake in Cartago, CR. I thought it was Turrialba. I remember a 7.something that hit the Darien while we were living in Panama City in the late 70’s. That knocked my kids and myself completely out of bed! We looked out the windows to see the buildings swinging… and they were only about 20 stories then. I wonder what those huge skyscrapers would do now? Hope we never find out.
There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. (Leonard Cohen)
A couple of precariously balanced items on my shelf tipped over. It was the most excitement I’ve had in bed in a long time!
Hi Kerry. I would not want to be in one of the Panama City skyscrapers if one hits there. Thanks for checking in from Costa Rica.
Hi Fran. I just found a small cactus that had fallen and the container it was in broke. I have a couple tables with photos spread on them. All the photos have been rearranged. So far that is all I can see that was affected.
Scared the living hell out of me. The first thing that awakened me was a howling wind (it sounded as though there was a tornado in the making) and seconds later, the beds shook and all our closet doors in our bedroom were banging. A small aftershock followed and it seemed like I was on a vibrating bed. After that, a small amount of rain. We live in Los Algarrobos, just below Dolega. It took me one hr to get my heart back to regular rhythm. It sure beats evacuating from a Hurricane in FL though. Been there, done that. Three of the neighbor’s dogs found solace on our patio and they were still here this AM.
Hi Charlotte. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Yes we all have vibrating beds in this area. However, I am not sure they were environmentally friendly. Or was the environment was just not being friendly.
I too live on the third floor of a 3 story apt. build in David.
When it struck I was sleeping in a recliner nursing some broken ribs.
I woke up watching the blinds do a hula and everything shaking and rattling. Only 1 dish fell out of a cabinet and broke.
I was actually waiting for the concrete floor to cave in. Thats how it felt, seemed to go on forever.
Wendell
Hi Wendell. Yes it was a little stressful there for a while. However, it still beats toronados or hurricanes.
Hi Don: I woke up and that means it was a pretty hard shake since Iam a very deep sleeper. The sounds that the building had vwere more frightening that the shake itself (at least to me). A couple of pictures and decorations as well as a perfume bottle fell but didn’t break. After 10-15 minutes we want back to sleep.
In Puerto Armuelles the electricity was cut off and was restored around 7:00 a.m.
Supermercado Romero in Puerto Armuelles was unable to open until 10:00 a.m. because of the cleanup of merchandise spilled and broken.
It certainly was the strongest we’ve had since 1993.
Hi Lilia. Thanks for checking in and leaving a comment. There certainly was a whole lot of shaken going on.
Woke up my mom and I here in Volcan. My brother slept right through it! I was also thinking a concrete building isn’t the ideal place to be during an earthquake. I have felt several small tremors over the past week or so, including this morning. Probably not too bad up here in Volcan because of the land mass difference. If Baru decides to wake up, we’re toast.
Hi Beth. The land mass really doesn’t make any difference. It is the closeness to the epicenter of the quake that counts. let’s hope the Baru stays asleep for a few hundred more years.
Don Ray, re your comment #29 — I’m not sure that is completely right. Here is a link to the shake map, which suggests that the “shakes” were not entirely a function of distance from the epicenter. Rather, the nature of the terrain and possibly of the soil seem to have been significant. Ideas?
Dan
I live in Boquete, have done for about 6 years and that was the strongest shake I have experienced here by far. Blimey it was a strong one wasnt it?!
I woke up thinking “Oh Peachy” The Bloody Volcano is going to explode !!!
Wonder what the odds are for that happening?!!!
Having lived through many shakers in California, I don’t know what all the fuss is about. Just roll over and go back to sleep unless you have mirror sliding doors on one side of the bed and glass patio doors on the other and they are all bouncing in and out like a drum skin. Then it is time to get up and out fast.
Having also lived through several major hurricanes in Florida, I have to agree with Tracy. We did get plenty of warning except when Charlie took a sharp right turn in 2004 and totaled our house in Punta Gorda.
Dan, thanks for correcting me. That is good information to know.
It is true that earquakes travel farther in softer soil. This is a reason why most earthquakes on the west coast of the States are generally Isolated. Here in Memphis, we are still anticipating “The Big One”. Last big one was belt beyond Ohio roughly 200 years ago or so.
As for your comments on not wanting to see an eartquake in Panama City with all the high rises, I think it’ll look scarier than what damage could do. most damage is done to smaller structures.
My girlfriend is not wanting to talk much about the earthquake, must not have been as fun experience for her.
“For a few moments I considered running outside, but then I remembered I was sleeping in the nude.”
Thanks for staying inside, Don: There was already enough screaming and running away going on…
Hi Carey. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
Hi Dave. I try to keep the environment friendly.
Hahahaha!