The earthquake, that is. I was sitting in my office which happens to be on the second floor of our building and it felt to me like a rolling sort of feeling - almost like a Ferris wheel or carnival ride. The worker next door (I've written about her before - The Alarmist) jumped up and was screaming "What was that?! What IS that?!" I just calmly watched her (this is why I did not look outside or at any of my things). After the second roll I figured it was an earthquake.
My thoughts were "If I can feel that little bit of a roll here in Ohio, who got the epicenter? Who got the big one?"
She kept yelling down the hall to her manager "Did you feel that?! Is that an earthquake?!" He did not immediately answer because he happened to be on the phone. His phone partner felt it also, and she was over 10 miles away. We surmised it had been an earthquake.
If his phone partner felt it, had my daughter? I went to call her but she was already calling me. I answered "Did you feel it?" Okay, I got caught up in the Alarmist's excitement. My daughter was all excited. She and her beau had felt it. They were both in the upstairs of their home in the computer room and their monitors and walls had swayed. Her beau thought the house was falling down.
After talking to her, I sent a text to my "family group" of 15. I got about four that responded quickly saying "Are you nuts? Are you losing it?" and a couple that said "Where?"
I looked on-line and connected live to the local radio show. They confirmed an earthquake had struck and that some DC buildings were evacuating. So, I surmised it hit near DC. The very first report was 5.8 on the scale.
Then I got a few texts that said "I didn't, but so and so did!"
After talking to people all day about it I came to conclude that those in an elevated floor of their building had a better chance of feeling it. In my area. Some in the area - it didn't matter where they were - their entire building shook. Still another building a mile away - the workers felt nothing. Perhaps it also depends on the strength of the structure of the building. Makes you wonder.
It is also kind of fascinating to talk to people because an event like this brings out some wonderful stories. "When I lived in California..."
Anyway, it was my first earthquake. I figure all the way to 51 and have never felt one before - I am pretty darn lucky. This rolling motion was about as much as I ever want to experience, thank-you very much.
7 comments:
It is good that your first earthquake was far away but I am surprised you felt it in Ohio. I have been in two I felt, once in Japan, once in California. That's exciting.
Oh I hear ya, we had a small one here about 10 years ago, first one ever. I did not like it one bit. I wouldn't live near a fault line for all the money in the world. Well maybe I do already, but I don't want to know about it.
Amazing to me how far and wide this wave of earth's crust moving went!!
It was also felt here in SW Ohio and in N. KY. Nothing big, just a brief tremble.
I've felt a couple of earthquakes here on the east coast but I missed that one. Since they are always rolling impossibly heavy equipment around in the labs over my office, the building shakes all the time. Oh well.
Mango Momma
I was in an earthquake once while visiting San Francisco but didn't really feel it. I know I wouldn't like it. We get tornados here and that freaks me out as it is.
A shaking ground is pretty scary! I hope there aren't anymore!
Stay safe with Hurricane Irene!
Woofs & hugs, <3
~Bailey (Yep, I'm a girl!)
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