yes, 8.8 is I think one of the top ten highest ever recorded. I have lived on both coasts of the US and have seen a couple serious (not Katrina) hurricanes but the absolute surprise of an earthquake, esp. that magnitude is terrifying. And 2 such huge earthquakes so close together, temporally. I know that oceanographers will say there is little correlation, but jeeze. I hope your friend's parents contact soon and that they are well.
I hope they are okay too. Now, I will be worried about the south portion of the San Andreas Fault where I live.
Segments of the Fault
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Sanandreas.jpg/220px-Sanandreas.jpg bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png
Map of the San Andreas Fault, showing relative motion.
Note that both sides are moving to the northwest, but at different rates.
The San Andreas Fault can be divided into three segments.
[edit] Southern segment
The southern segment (known as the
Mojave segment) begins near the
Salton Sea at the northern terminus of the
East Pacific Rise and runs northward before it begins a slow bend to the west where it meets the
San Bernardino Mountains. It runs along the southern base of the San Bernardino Mountains, crosses through the
Cajon Pass and continues to run northwest along the northern base of the
San Gabriel Mountains. These mountains are a result of movement along the San Andreas Fault and are commonly called the
Transverse Range. In
Palmdale, a portion of the fault is easily examined as a roadcut for the
Antelope Valley Freeway runs directly through it.
After crossing through
Frazier Park, the fault begins to bend northward. This area is referred to as the “Big Bend” and is thought to be where the fault locks up in
Southern California as the plates try to move past each other. This section of the fault has an earthquake-recurrence interval of roughly 140–160 years. Northwest of Frazier Park, the fault runs through the
Carrizo Plain, a long, treeless plain within which much of the fault is plainly visible. The Elkhorn Scarp defines the fault trace along much of its length within the plain. itf
Sorry, this whole earthquake thing has gotten me to think. It's one thing to hear about it on the news, another thing quite differently to live through one. My heart totally goes out to ANYONE who has been affected.
[edit] 
for me. watch out now
.
. I know AS is out shaking his groove thing
or dancing on some table top with a beer in his hand. without me and my camera. I want me some AS news come on ladies I know you guys can get all ASI in here and bring the go ssip. 
damn shame i wasn't there with my cam, damn shame
