Friday, April 18, 2008

Shake, Rattle and Roll!



Well now. THAT was an interesting way to start the day.

We were lying in bed this morning , around 5:40, and a very loud motorcycle went rumbling by, and then it was gone. But the rumbling didn't stop and the rattling continued. The bed was shaking, and it lasted for about ten seconds. The vase on the shelf by my side of the bed jingled quietly for about half a minute more and the door by Romie's side of the bed did the same.


Romie said, "Did you feel that?" I sure did. We discussed whether or not it could be an earthquake, because they aren't uncommon here, but are seldom felt. The last time I remember feeling one was in the early '80s, when Kara was a toddler. That one was centered near Cincinnati.

Reports are that this earthquake had a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter scale and was centered seven miles east of West Salem, Illinois. That's southwest of Vincennes, Indiana. (Did you feel it, Lisa?) This earthquake was along the New Madrid fault zone, and there are an average of two earthquakes a year involved with this line, most of which are not felt. An earthquake of this magnitude usually doesn't do much damage, but it can easily be felt. We're 251 miles from the epicenter and we certainly felt it!


22 comments:

Anonymous said...

I didn't feel a thing this morning, and I'm a bit north of Dayton, Ohio....wow, you posted so fast on this one!! I am impressed. Hope you enjoy this glorious, sunshiny day. cathy

Lisa at Greenbow said...

You bet I felt it. The epicenter is only about 30 miles from here as the crow flies.

It shook us awake and as you mentioned the noise. Wow I thought it was a tornado at first it was so loud and the house was shaking I thought our house was going to explode. It stopped quickly. Poor Luna headed to her safe spot and wouldn't budge for a few minutes.

We don't have damage. We did have one picture that fell off the wall. Some of the knick knacks are shuffled on the shelves.

You are so right about it being such a weird feeling. I ran to look out the back door to see if I could see anything but it was still dark. I don't know what I thought I would see but that was my reaction.

A friend of mine was packing her car for a trip. She was standing on their stone patio and she said it felt like she was standing on jello. She also said that all the birds started flying out of the trees. Poor things didn't know what was happening.

Thank goodness nothing was damaged and all are well.

Anonymous said...

I didn't know there were earthquakes in that part of the country. It sounds exciting, but I'm glad nothing was damaged.

Anonymous said...

This is Cathy again....I was wrong! My hubby said to me later (when he was at work, and I still at home in process)"Did you feel the quake?"....he said it was quite noticeable. Also, the news showed reports of damage in Indianapolis. I checked the gardens this am before I left...no damage there...lol....have a good day!

Unknown said...

Hey Kylee! I felt it, although I was sleeping at the time. -Jen :)

Katie said...

I heard about that this morning - glad you and yours are safe and everything is ok.

Hugs from earthquakeland, California.

Katie

Robin's Nesting Place said...

You felt that in Ohio too? Wow it scared me. I didn't hear a noise though but sure felt the shaking. Did you feel the another one about 11:30 this morning? It must have been an aftershock. Scary!

Dave said...

We felt it way down here in Tennessee. I'm glad it wasn't bad but it is kind of an interesting experience.

Muum said...

glad for the update about the earthquake... you'd think tornados would be enough excitement for y'all! j/k!!

Barbara said...

Woke me up in Indy and I'll sleep through just about anything! It woke my dad up in Ft. Wayne too. He said his pillow was vibrating and he thought his neck was having a spasm :)

Unknown said...

Yikes, that's pretty scary. It MUST be a sign you're going to have blue poppies bloom, Kylee!
SEriously, though I'm glad no one was hurt and hopefully no one had any damage. What a scary thing!

Rose said...

Kylee, Loved the cartoon. We are much closer to the epicenter than you, yet I managed to sleep through the whole thing (must have thought it was my husband snoring). Seriously, I must have been really tired, because it woke up my daughter; she said her bed was shaking.
I don't think I could sleep through a tornado, though.

Unknown said...

WOW. I have never felt an earthquake, either here or "back home"... I don't think I'd like that, at all. Isn't the New Madrid the fault line that runs all the way down through Arkansas... the one that they think will be the site of a hugely damaging big quake sometime in our lifetimes?

Aiyana said...

I think it's easy to forget that earthquakes can happen in many parts of the country. For some reason, I always thought that in the mid-west, only Missouri had a fault line. I guess I need to read up on geology or weather or something!

garden girl said...

It woke my husband, who said it felt and sounded like a freight train derailment. (the tracks are several blocks away from here.) I slept right through it!

Ewa said...

Dear Kylee,
I just tagged you - have a look at my blog. I hope you come to the game :)

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Saw this on the news last night, so thought I'd check up on you. Wow! What a wild thing for Ohio. Glad it didn't cause any trouble (other than an early wake up call!)

Jessica said...

craziness! We didn't personally feel anything here in Columbus area, but we have a friend (who lives only one mile away who says he felt it!)....such excitement for Ohio!

Cindy Garber Iverson said...

When I saw the report on the news I thought, "I'll bet it was too far away from Kylee for her to feel anything." I was wrong!

Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage

Connie said...

It's been over 20 years since I felt my first and only earthquake tremer, but I haven't forgotten the eerie feeling.

Shady Gardener said...

We're next door in SE Iowa and I'm afraid neither my hubby nor I even woke up! ;-) Must be sound sleepers.

Shady Gardener said...

Kylee,
check out this earthquake quiz! :-)
http://www.nwcn.com/sharedcontent/features/flash/quake/during.html

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