Debriefing the DC Earthquake

Debriefing the DC Earthquake


I was surprised as was everyone when the ground rippled and the buildings shook. Being in DC and mere blocks from the Whitehouse some first thoughts were "Not Again." While sitting at a desk or up getting copies made or coffee poured one has no idea of the width and breadth of the event. Tenth floor suites make observing the street a difficult task. There was no immediate telling of how narrow or extensive the unknown event was. An explosion typically would be of limited radius. A building fault would be contained in the immediate area of the building. An earthquake on the other hand affects whole cities, counties and regions. As we now know the seismic waves traveled from Richmond, Virginia up into Massachusetts and west into the Midwestern states.


The shaking of the ground and the swaying of the buildings prompted many people to leave their office suites and congregate on the sidewalks outside their buildings' doors. Actually, that is a poor place to stand after an earthquake. Many other people choose to remain inside and wait for information about what had happened. Yes, it was an earthquake. No, there was no significant damage. There were no collapsed buildings or debris strewn streets. This doesn't mean the streets remained clear and passable.


The throngs of office-workers now aimlessly milling about on the sidewalks made walking on them very difficult. Most people were talking with each other or trying to make cell phone calls and were not very cognizant of their surroundings. They were focused on distant matters, listening with ear buds and not paying attention to anyone who was trying to get from one end of the block to the other.


Not long after the mass egress of the office buildings came the second flow of humanity. People who drive their cars into the District and park in the garages beneath the office building began to pour out onto the streets. There they stagnated and created a gridlock by not honoring the traffic signals that were still operating. They did not honor the traffic policy of reverting an intersection to a "Four Way Stop" when the lights go out entirely. Each driver contributed incrementally to his/her own delay and to the many more thousands of bus riders who in the absence of so many automobiles would have made the trip much faster. Fortunately this was not a massive destruction event. Fortunately we all did not need to evacuate the city in a hurry, although a lot of people seemed to think there was a reason.


The MetroRail system was brought to a stop due to the unknown conditions of the tracks, signals and station roofs. When tentative service was restored, people mobbed the trains. The densely packed commuters on the platforms made a sea of humanity that was impounded by the lack of trains to move them out. The first train at Metro Center arrived already fully packed. Still people pushed to get on. The next two trains arrived nearly empty. Those who waited or had to wait had a much easier time getting on the train and on their way.


The D6 shuttle bus that goes passed the Metro Center entrance on the west side had been delayed for about 30 minutes before arriving from the K Street area. A man sitting in the bus shelter said that the D6 had to get out of the K Street area and "it's probably a big mess up there." K Street is the big Lobby Firm area of the city. There is a higher concentration of parking garage spaces up there for all the wealthy lobbyist-types. The D6 finally arrived with a nearly full load. It inched along in the gridlocked streets taking 40 minutes to go the distance to Union Station that usually takes about 10 minutes by subway.


Car drivers ignored the attempts of the bus to pull over to the curb to take on and discharge passengers. Cars parked at the curb made the going very slow when the bus had to change lanes to go around. Additional drivers emerging from their underground lairs intensified the slowness of the trip to Union Station by bus. A woman on the bus pointed out that all the bike rental racks were empty. People peddled passed the bus making faster headway than either the cars or the bus. Pedestrians were moving far faster that the vehicles too.


At Union Station they closed the building for a short time due to small chunks of plaster falling from the vaulted ceilings. MARC, VRE and Amtrak services were all suspended while an assessment was completed. Once the building was reopened and the hopes for commuter train rides were rekindled passengers mobbed the gate to try for a space on the first trains out. Scheduled trains were departing about 1 hour later than the schedule. The first MARC train out took 2 hours to make the 35 run up to the BWI Airport Rail Station. The next train departed about an hour late and took 90 minutes. By 7:40 the 7:40 train departed on time, with plenty of seats available and took the customary 40 minutes to reach BWI.



The Center Café had plenty of seats available, beer on tap, wine and liquor, and a full menu of food items for wise commuters who chose to be patient and wait for the first flush of humanity to dissipate and make the remainder of the day a pleasant journey with interesting company.