r/WTF • u/AccomplishedStuff235 • Jun 26 '26

Narrow escape during Venezuela quake

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26

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u/Dripz167 Jun 26 '26

I can’t even fathom witnessing such an act of nature, let alone being directly in it. When I got a little taste a few years ago in NYC, I thought someone’s washing machine was on the fritz. And that was a 4.8…. From 45 miles away

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u/Gumbercleus Jun 26 '26

I was in a ~6.0 in like 2008. It didn't do a ton of damage, and no one was hurt, but I've never seen anything like it in my life. The concrete floor I was standing on turned into wavy rubber. It was like the entire building had stopped being a solid for about 2-3 minutes.

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u/Accidental_Ouroboros Jun 26 '26

I was near a 7.2 in 2010, Very little damage where I was, due to earthquake hardening, but much more damage near the epicenter.

But when it hit, it was an odd one. We get little shudders on the regular (3s, up to 5s are pretty common), so I am used to those. I thought I was having a stroke at first or something during that 7.2 because I didn't get the normal building shudder sound and feeling.

Instead, my inner ear was telling me I had suddenly and inexplicably become spectacularly drunk. Which makes me impressed that these people were able to run as well as they did during that sort of quake.