With news of the 8.9 earthquake and Tsunami that hit Japan yesterday still unfolding, it's difficult to imagine what an earthquake of that magnitude is really like. When those of us in Los Angeles got ours in 1994, known as The Northridge Earthquake because the epicenter was in the suburb of Northridge, it was variously reported as between 6.8 and 7.1 (finally settling on 6.7) on the Richter Scale - and that to us was pretty horrific. If you've ever had the experience of going through one, it's unforgettable. The disorientation, the flashing lights (from exploding power lines), the non-stop sound of breaking glass and that unmistakable roar as the building you happen to be in shifts dramatically from side to side (or up and down) leave you shaking long after the earth has stopped.

The upside is usually an exodus of people moving back to places in the Mid-West, South or East, swearing up and down whatever horrors associated with weather and natural disasters back home were a piece of cake compared to the all-engrossing hysteria associated with "a good shaker". Maybe they're right, but it seems like Mother Nature has a few tricks up her sleeve no matter where you go. The downside is you never know when the next one will happen and if the one you're currently feeling is "the big one", the "aftershock", a "seismic correction" or "a pre-quake". The guessing game can get little unnerving especially when you hear about other earthquakes such as last month in New Zealand and yesterday in Japan and that regular reminder "we're long overdue for a big one in L.A." - comforting thoughts all around.

So as a reminder of just how vulnerable we all are, living in Earthquake Country, here are news reports from ABC Radio from January 17, 1994.

And . . .how is your battery supply?