My Extreme Fear, Thanks Toast

[Colleen Kennedy]

http://the-toast.net/2015/07/13/the-pacific-northwest-earthquake/

I think I've read this article & the comments at least twice a month since it was posted. I've never traveled up there, no family over there, I've never felt an earthquake in my life but this article consumed me for weeks after it was posted. Its not my *favorite* article, per se, but its definitely stuck with me the longest. 

Anyways, RIP in peace Toast!

[Christina Frasier]

Hello! I'm Christina, and I adjunct at UTSA. I'm from Nacogdoches, so I know Houston. This fall I'll be starting classes for a PhD in......anthropology!!!

[Brittney Cox]

Congratulations, Christina!!! 

[Brittney Cox]

I always struggled with this post- it's so good! But as a native PNW'er I'm soooooo tireeeeed of the earthquake scaremongering. 

[Colleen Kennedy]

HOW DID YOU LIVE LIKE THAT? I've never heard of that before in my life, before that post. Is the fearmongering like our meteorologists are with hurricanes? Hurricanes happen pretty often, though, not once every 200 years. 

[Brittney Cox]

Nah. It's really not that bad at all! Literally you learn about drills in school & learn that our window for earquakes is 300-500 years (if I remember correctly) it's kinda like the Yellowstone volcano, we might have some notice when/if it happens but we might not, & there's literally nothing to do in the day to day... so... SHRUG.

I mean, most city infrastructure is screwed! But also most new construction is required (iirc) to be earthquake, er, proof (?). So idk.

Growing up it was anot occaisional, "oh right a SCARY THING could happen at any time! " but that gets old quick. Everyone knows about it & there's fuck all to do, you know?

Now hurricanes/tornados ... THOSE terrify me lol. Still haven't experienced one (last may's one just rained... I know there's more to it than that! )

[Brittney Cox]

Oh also: we did have an earthquake for real when I was. .. 13/14? & in school, but it was just like... you just felt really dizzy & couldn't place it. Someone's water bottle fell off a table & we evacuated. *trumpets*

[neen...@gmail.com]

I grew up partly in CA and definitely developed a pretty blase attitude towards earthquakes.  Tornados, on the other hand...  I think you just get desensitized to the fear after awhile.  Or you don't, so you move away.

[Kristen Hicks]

I always felt sort of spoiled that Central Texas didn't have many natural disasters (there were a couple of tornadoes when I was a kid, but that seemed to be the extent of it). And suddenly in the past few years there are wildfires and floods galore. I'm genuinely terrified of becoming a weather refugee. Guys, it's like the world is always just on the brink of destroying US ALL.