DC Earthquake Aftermath and Upcoming Hurricane

A sign from the Architect of the Capitol appeared in the hallway today to inform everyone that it was structurally safe to be in the building following the earthquake on Tuesday. There are sticky notes pasted all around the building that identify where the visible cracks are so they can eventually be repaired. They call these cracks superficial and they are no concern. A few folks mentioned that they have felt the aftershocks... luckily I am not one of them. Several folks are taking off tomorrow so they can get their beach houses boarded up in the wake of Hurricane Irene. Growing up in Florida, I've been in hurricanes before, and have seen water spouts. In Wisconsin, we had snow storms, blizzards and whiteout conditions. My left hand was in the snow blower during one of those events and I will always have a reminder of that awful stuff (fractured finger, broken finger, and sliced open finger with 6 months of physical therapy). During the summer we lost power every other week. At least the power lines here are underground. For some reason I thought this area didn't have such volatile weather disturbances. Boy, was I wrong. Or, maybe we just happened to move here when all these things occur every 100 years or so. Now that's what I call luck (?)

Things could have been a lot worse!

Hardly noticeable

The wall across from my office

Right outside my door