All Shook Up

The first few seconds of your first earthquake are disconcerting. You don’t know what’s happening. The undulation, the noise, the inability to focus -- it’s all disconcerting. But once you’ve been in a few, you know the feeling. You don’t relax, but you don’t panic, either.

It’s 5:15 AM, and the streets are quiet. By 5:30, the streets are torn apart, and rubble is strewn everywhere. What happened in those fifteen minutes was the San Fransisco earthquake. When you look at “Comprehending the Calamity” by Emma Burke and Laurence Yep’s Dragonwings, you can truly imagine the extent of the damage and fear, even though Burke’s purpose is to inform, while Yep’s is to entertain.

According to US geological Survey the San Francisco Earthquake was measured at a magnitude of 7.8. The San Francisco Earthquake Created physical and Mental Destruction. According to sf-info.org Over 80% of the city was destroyed by the earthquake and fire. The Earthquake was a very unique impact for the people of san francisco. Some People argue that the earthquake brought people together while others argue that it brought the worst or the hurt of people. In the Personal Narrative by Emma burke called Comprehending the Calamity and a eyewitness by Fred Hewitt called “ Horrific Wreck of the city” both discuss The Destruction of The San Francisco Earthquake while one of them ( Emma Burke ) believes that the earthquake brought out the good

Today I began reading with the book called I Survived. The book is in 1906. It tells you about an earthquake about San Francisco.What happened was Leo and Fletch were in the basement and they saw stuff shaking and they knew it was an earthquake because they seen on the news and it was a warning and that’s why they went down to the basement.Bonnie was scared of the earthquake because she never been in an earthquake.

On August 24, 2014 a magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred in and around the city of Napa, CA. The earthquake killed one person and injured over 150 people. And these people were treated at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa [1]. More and more earthquakes occurred on this earth. So this grasps people’s attention.

“All of a sudden, there was the shift of an earthquake. People ask, "Did you hear a boom?" No. The way I can best describe it is that every joint in the building jolted.. We all got knocked off balance. One guy burst out of a stall buttoning up his pants, saying, "What the f*?" The flex caused the marble walls in the bathroom to crack.”

The tea cups that began to shatter were enough to wake Rose M. Quinn from her bed in the early morning hours of April 18, 1906. The earthquake that lasted just one minute was estimated to be close to 8.0 on the richter scale and was large enough to destroy 30,000 buildings, including her own home, in what was determined to be one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in U.S history. And while Ms.Quinn held out hope that her “City of the Golden West” would restore its nearly 400 million dollars worth of damage (10.8 billion dollars today), an even stronger and largely unknown earthquake rocked the United States just 100 years prior.

The Earthquake shook buildings and walls to the ground. But, what came after the quake was much more devastating. Fires broke out in every direction and this thriving city became mostly ashes. People became curious and gracious in this time of turmoil and that has never before been seen in San Francisco. When all hope was lost the firefighters made a great stand putting out the fire and ending the turmoil.

Growing up in a small town near the border of Arizona, I had always displayed an interest in seeing the world–the different cities and sceneries. But at the same time, I felt at home in Arizona. I breathed for the desert air, the grinched-colored cacti, and the occasional roadrunners. Imagine my surprise when I found out, shortly after my parents split, I was moving to New York City.

“It is not light that we need, but fire; It is not the gentle shower, but the thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake”. This quote was written by Frederick Douglass. Every year, more than three million earthquakes take place. Most of these unnoticed by humans. In addition, a severe earthquake is the most frightening and catastrophic event of nature, which can occur anywhere on the surface of the planet.

For many Americans, geographical moves are a normal expectation of life. “Thirty-five million Americans had a geographic move between 2010 and 2011, that is, 10.6% of the population” (Milligan et al.). Whether moving for a job or for college, moving can either be a wonderful fresh step in a person’s life or a frightening, stressful experience. As moves approach, people often focus on the positive aspects of moving which blinds them of the possible problems that can come along with it, especially in families with children. Moving has negative effects on children because they encounter social hardships, they struggle with education and they can develop mental health issues.

Despite the packing boxes and the moving truck parked on her street, Riley Matthews could not accept the fact that she was moving to Austin, Texas. She had only ever known New York City. Her two best friends, Maya Hart and Farkle Minkus, lived and conquered the world with her since the first grade. What would she do without them? Her mom promised her that she would make new friends in Texas, but Riley couldn’t trust that. Moving to Texas would be the end of her life as she knew it.

“Where are we going?” She then looked at me and said, “We’re moving to Texas.” Out of all places, Texas? We lived in southern California our whole lives, so moving to Texas was definitely a shock to me. “What about our family and friends?” Her eyes began to water, so I knew talking about it further would only make things worse. Texas. It was stuck in my head and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The more I thought of it, the worse it sounded. The worst part was that it was so sudden, so it didn’t seem real. Because my parents are divorced, I spent the weekends at my dad’s house. He was torn that I was leaving Riverside, which of course meant that weekend visits would turn

George Heinrich Crist, a resident of Kentucky, was settled with his family in a well-built house when the New Madrid Earthquake of 1811 came across their path, unlike a storm this “thing” had no warnings. He chose to share his account of this quake, or quakes. This was part of his life and also a part of history in the making so that is why I believe he shared his personal essay. It’s not an argumentative account but rather short entries from 5 months from his life. Kentucky wasn’t the only state that was hurt, 6 other states were involved. The term “New Madrid Earthquake” refers to portions of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. This was the biggest earthquake (series of earthquakes) as it changed the course of the Mississippi river.

Moving across the country is an enormous change to someone’s life. I my personal experience moving across the country is hard. Especially, when you go from the country to the city as I did. I had to go to a new school, get new friends, and here about things that I really didn’t know how to deal with. It was like hitting rock bottom after you just got to the top. This shows how moving to one place can make you feel horrible for no reason what so ever. I had to reinvent myself from country girl to city girl it was exhausting. This proves how hard it was to change because you are so used to being completely different. Moving across the country is a big change and it can be hard.