# The Big One is Coming **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 3, 2004, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-one-is-coming/238004 "2004-04-03T02:25:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-one-is-coming/238004/61 "2004-04-17T18:38:07Z")
I don’t know nuttin’ 'bout birthing babies or earthquakes– but I once read this advice( a National Geographic article on California quakes): have a bicycle available. If the road adjacent to your house gets blocked by fallen debris or gaping holes, a bike may be the only way to travel. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-one-is-coming/238004/62 "2004-04-18T03:40:57Z")
Oh, we don’t worry about that, since we ALL drive gas-guzzling, environment-destroying, fuck-you-if-you-don’t-like-Hummers SUVs!!! 😉 Not that most people around here could (or should) take them anywhere but a highway… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-one-is-coming/238004/63 "2004-04-21T05:11:58Z")
> [@miss smartypants](#): > > (Oh hi Doobieous–it was Palo Colorado Canyon that I lived in) I’ve been there a couple of times. So weird to move from sunny 70 degree weather into the canyon where i needed to put a jacket on (beautiful canyon though). I remember in the Loma Prieta watching television, and suddenly it cut out, and a couple of seconds later feeling the quake hit. One of the weirdest things was seeing a small tree sway back and forth like a ball on a spring. ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-one-is-coming/238004/64 "2004-04-21T08:05:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Quoth **Shayna** :I don’t know earthquakes, but where I grew up, we had tornado drills. Many of the hazards and precautions seem to be similar, but I learned that the safest place in the house was underneath the basement stairs. The floor isn’t going to collapse under you, there are few small windows, and the sturdy stairs above you will protect against falling debris. Would this also be sound advice for an earthquake? This was kind of a surprise to me when I moved here from the mid-Atlantic, Chronos, but in California no one _has_ basements, by and large. Attics, yes, but no basements. Sometimes I think earthquake scares are just to keep everyone else from moving here. I’ve been through quite a few in the 15-plus years I’ve lived here, and none of them have made my Top 40 list of scariest incidents yet. I’ve been more freaked out getting cut off on the freeway. Then again, I _am_ in San Diego… ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-one-is-coming/238004/65 "2004-04-21T08:07:09Z")
Oh, and it is \*way cool \* when the swimming pool sloshes!! 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-one-is-coming/238004.md?page=3)