# Jahdra the magical earthquake predictor **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 3, 2007, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891 "2007-09-03T11:17:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2007, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/21 "2007-09-04T19:36:52Z")
[Them](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047573/) Not sure what’s up with the smileys, though. ---
**Author:** ![Kneepants\_Erasmus\_the\_Humanist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@Kneepants\_Erasmus\_the\_Humanist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kneepants_Erasmus_the_Humanist)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2007, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/22 "2007-09-04T21:12:26Z")
[QUOTE=Ponder Stibbons] OK, :rolleyes: help :rolleyes: me :rolleyes: out :rolleyes: here. What:rolleyes:'s the :rolleyes: joke? :dubious: [/QUOTE] No joke. Just trying to keep up with the rampant pedantry. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2007, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/23 "2007-09-04T21:30:58Z")
What a bunch of [h’orsh’it](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_245b.html). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/24 "2007-09-05T15:35:29Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Run? From an earthquake? That’s a bit of an overreaction, isn’t it? Just secure your valuables as best you can, go stand out in the street when the appointed hour rolls around, and you’ll be fine. [/QUOTE] If I’d stood in the street in the '64 quake up here, I’d have likely been run over by our own (or a neighbor’s) car, or electrocuted by falling power lines. Bad advice. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/25 "2007-09-05T15:59:53Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] If I’d stood in the street in the '64 quake up here, I’d have likely been run over by our own (or a neighbor’s) car, or electrocuted by falling power lines. Bad advice. [/QUOTE] That’s gotta be a whoosh, right? I mean, buildings fall down during earthquakes. Streets collapse. Standing in the street vs. relocating to outside the earthquake zone is a terrible idea. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/26 "2007-09-05T17:08:32Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] That’s gotta be a whoosh, right? I mean, buildings fall down during earthquakes. Streets collapse. Standing in the street vs. relocating to outside the earthquake zone is a terrible idea. [/QUOTE] Perhaps I misunderstood. **Miller** appears to be saying that you’re just as safe standing in the street as you are in moving away. Or was that sarcasm on his part? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/27 "2007-09-05T17:15:10Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] Perhaps I misunderstood. **Miller** appears to be saying that you’re just as safe standing in the street as you are in moving away. Or was that sarcasm on his part? [/QUOTE] I think it was a joke. Maybe I’m wrong. He’s a pretty sharp guy. How can standing in the street be as safe as being away from the quake altogether? The Pitee said that she had overnight advance notice of an earthquake, and so she secured her valuables and went to bed. I commented that that was stupid, since the advance notice gave her time to get away. \*\*Miller \*\*then gave his response. Seemed like a joke to me. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/28 "2007-09-05T17:17:22Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] That’s gotta be a whoosh, right? I mean, buildings fall down during earthquakes. Streets collapse. Standing in the street vs. relocating to outside the earthquake zone is a terrible idea. [/QUOTE] Well if you’re in downtown SF, sure. But in suburban sprawl? Go out to your front yard. I missed the damn Loma Prieta because I was riding my bike at the time. And overpasses collapse, but streets really don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/29 "2007-09-05T17:20:46Z")
[QUOTE=SisterCoyote] Edited to add: **Contrapuntal** , you do what you like with your family jewels while you’re out in the street waiting for the brick building to fall on you, just so long as you don’t scare the horses. [/QUOTE] They don’t get scared when I show it to them, just sad. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/30 "2007-09-05T18:40:00Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] I think it was a joke. Maybe I’m wrong. He’s a pretty sharp guy. How can standing in the street be as safe as being away from the quake altogether? [/quote] Well, mostly because earthquakes aren’t that dangerous. Faulty engineering, on the other hand, is a real killer. If you’re outside when an earthquake hits, generally speaking, you’re pretty safe. Obviously, this isn’t so much the case if you’re in the middle of downtown, or next to a busy street, but for the most part, so long as you don’t have any sort of structure hanging over your head, there’s not a lot of damage an earthquake can do to you. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/31 "2007-09-05T18:41:27Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Well, mostly because earthquakes aren’t that dangerous. Faulty engineering, on the other hand, is a real killer. If you’re outside when an earthquake hits, generally speaking, you’re pretty safe. Obviously, this isn’t so much the case if you’re in the middle of downtown, or next to a busy street, but for the most part, so long as you don’t have any sort of structure hanging over your head, there’s not a lot of damage an earthquake can do to you. [/QUOTE] OK, but, being 1000 miles away has to be safer, right? ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/32 "2007-09-05T18:49:17Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] OK, but, being 1000 miles away has to be safer, right? [/QUOTE] It depends. 1000 miles away could be in Mexico or the Pacific Ocean. Despite rumors to the contrary, the coastal waters of California are generally pretty dang cold and hypothermia sets in quickly. But I’ve heard Taos is pretty safe. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/33 "2007-09-05T18:53:17Z")
[QUOTE=kidchameleon] It depends. 1000 miles away could be in Mexico or the Pacific Ocean. Despite rumors to the contrary, the coastal waters of California are generally pretty dang cold and hypothermia sets in quickly. But I’ve heard Taos is pretty safe. [/QUOTE] Funny. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/34 "2007-09-05T19:07:32Z")
[QUOTE=kidchameleon] Well if you’re in downtown SF, sure. But in suburban sprawl? Go out to your front yard. I missed the damn Loma Prieta because I was riding my bike at the time. And overpasses collapse, but streets really don’t. [/QUOTE] [4th Avenue, Anchorage, AK in 1964.](http://www.usarak.army.mil/main/images/earthquake-alaska64.jpg) The same sort of damage occurred throughout the region. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/35 "2007-09-05T19:26:36Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] OK, but, being 1000 miles away has to be safer, right? [/QUOTE] Not really. You’d probably be in more danger of wrecking your car during your flight, than of being harmed by the earthquake. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/36 "2007-09-05T19:31:36Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Not really. You’d probably be in more danger of wrecking your car during your flight, than of being harmed by the earthquake. [/QUOTE] Well. I had no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891/37 "2007-09-05T20:26:43Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] Well. I had no idea. [/QUOTE] Keep in mind that earthquakes are hardly a rare occurance around here. We had one last week, while I was at work. I’d have gotten a bigger shake if someone had stood outside my cubicle and kicked the wall. I don’t mean to say that earthquakes are _never_ a big deal: obviously, the bad ones can do a lot of damage. But the bad ones are extremly rare. If I somehow knew that a quake was going to hit tomorrow, but didn’t have any indication of severity… well, fleeing from that would be like fleeing from Florida because the weather guy said there’s a high pressure front coming. Most storms aren’t Hurricane Andrew. Most earthquakes aren’t Loma Prieta. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jahdra-the-magical-earthquake-predictor/417891.md?page=1)