Hurriquake of 2011

Earthquakes, hurricanes.....what is next?  A plague of Locusts?!  It has been a busy 2 weeks in Richmond and as I am sitting in Arizona, I am reminded of just how boring Arizona can be when it comes to natural disasters.  

Almost 2 weeks ago now, I was sitting in my doctor's office (on the 4th floor at the hospital) waiting to be called back for my 6 week postpartum appointment....with the baby in tow.  There is a LOT of construction going on at the hospital so we all looked bemused when the building shook and someone in the waiting room mentioned the construction.  The bemused looks turned VERY quickly to looks of concern when the shaking did not stop and as we looked out the windows, the building across the way was swaying.  The realization that we were experiencing an earthquake slowly dawned on us because I mean...who on earth expects an earthquake in Richmond, VA?!  We were quickly evacuated out of the building.  While the epicenter was only about 35 miles to the west of Richmond, we fortunately suffered no damage.  Pictures on the walls at our house were askew and some books had fallen off shelves but nothing major.  And before people on the west coast laugh at us making such a big deal out of 5.8 quake, a geologist that was interviewed said there is a huge difference in the earth's crust when it comes to west vs. east coast.  A quake on the west coast is like shaking a bowl full of jello.  A quake on the east coast is like shaking a bowl full of rocks.  Kind of a difference!!!  :)

We barely had time to catch our breaths before Hurricane Irene stormed up the east coast.  A friend of mine named the events of this one week "Hurriquake of 2011".  Fortunately, the Pedersen family was safely in boring Arizona but we watched, with growing concern, the storm grow in intensity and make a beeline for the North Carolina coast.  

Irene working her way up the East Coast

On Saturday, we learned that our neighborhood had lost power.  We learned our house was okay (note: the picture below is NOT our house) but that houses all over the city had trees in the middle of them.  We learned that Richmond had received the most damaging winds and that more people in Virginia were without power than with power.  And we learned that there was no prediction of just when we would get power back.  :(

A house in VA after Hurricane Irene

Dave went home to VA on Tuesday....to a house and a city that had been plunged back into the 19th century.  We were both grateful that I was still in AZ with the baby.  Even though it was 110+ in AZ, we at least had air conditioning and lights.  :)  We lost everything in our fridge and freezer but those things are easily replaced.  Dave said that it was very sad to just drive around the city and see the uprooted trees and damaged houses.  Our house regained power on Wednesday.....5 days after losing it.  However, as of yesterday, Dave informed me that over 70,000 people in the metro Richmond area are STILL without power.

And now....the East Coast has their eyes on Hurricane Katia and they are wondering if she has her eyes on them.  I am beginning to think that sometimes....especially when there is an 8 week old baby in the mix...."boring" is good.  :)