I can't sleep and I'm messing around on the computer tonight. Well, about 15 minutes ago, the room started shaking. I have the local news on and people have felt it as far as Bloomington, IN. There haven't been any reports of damage yet. It woke my mom up on the other side of town.
http://www.reporter-times.com/?module=disp...amp;format=html <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>A 5.4 magnitude earthquake that appeared to rival the strongest recorded in the region rocked people up to 450 miles away early Friday, surprising residents unaccustomed to such a powerful Midwest temblor. The quake just before 4:37 a.m. was centered six miles from West Salem, Ill., and 66 miles from Evansville, Ind. It was felt in such distant cities as Chicago, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Des Moines, Iowa, 450 miles northwest of the epicenter, but there were no early reports of injuries or significant damage. “It shook our house where it woke me up,” said David Behm of Philo, 10 miles south of Champaign. “Windows were rattling, and you could hear it. The house was shaking inches. For people in central Illinois, this is a big deal. It’s not like California.” Bonnie Lucas, a morning co-host at WHO-AM in Des Moines, said she was sitting in her office when she felt her chair move. She grabbed her desk, and then heard the ceiling panels start to creak. The shaking lasted about 5 seconds, she said. The quake shook skyscrapers in Chicago’s Loop, 240 miles north of the epicenter, and in downtown Indianapolis, about 160 miles northeast of it. Irvetta McMurtry of Cincinnati said she felt the rattling for up to 20 seconds. “All of a sudden, I was awakened by this rumbling shaking,” said McMurtry, 43. “My bed is an older wood frame bed, so the bed started to creak and shake, and it was almost like somebody was taking my mattress and moving it back and forth.” Lucas Griswold, a dispatcher in West Salem, said the Edwards County sheriff’s department received reports of minor damage and no injuries. “Oh, yeah, I felt it. It was interesting,” Griswold said. “A lot of shaking.” Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle in Evansville said there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake occurred in the Illinois basin-Ozark dome region that covers parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas and stretches from Indianapolis and St. Louis to Memphis, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The organization’s Web site said earthquakes occur irregularly in the area, and that the largest historical earthquake in the region — also a magnitude 5.4 — caused damage in southern Illinois in 1968. "Just hang tight and let us find out what is going on, but get educated and learn what to do when there is an earthquake," said Pam Bright, director of public information and outreach for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. She said that information is available at the department's Web site at www.in.gov/dhs.</div> This map fro the U.S. Geological Survey Web site shows the center of an earthquake that rocked the Midwest at 5:37 a.m. today.
We got lucky. It was significant enough to scare the poop out of people, but no real damage. One building in Louisville had some concrete fall off of it and it's been on TV every 30 seconds since the quake. I keep thinking that someone should sweep it up so that the media will move on. I will admit that once I realized what was going on, it scared me pretty good. I was awake and surfing on the web, so I ran from my computer to a doorframe. I looked down the hall and Sasha, my cat, looked pretty scared too.
It hit the far east suburbs of Cincinnati as people I work with felt it. Not the first or last earthquake I'll sleep through. I remember my wife waking me up about this one and the only way she was able to convince me there was an earthquake was because the pool water was lapping very hard against the wall.
Glad to hear that you are ok. I have been reading about how Northern California is 93% chance to have a ~7.0 quake within the next 20 years. Southern California was given a 99% chance of the same. I'm guessing that because California has more fault lines running through it, that a big one on the south side could trigger more in other areas. Did you know that the Cal Berkeley football field has a fault line running right through the middle of it? Any bets on whether we will get hit while they are playing the Cal/USC game some year?
HA! Someone at the Louisville Courier-Journal came up with the headline, "Thunder Under Louisville." (That's a tip of the hat to the ginormous fireworks and air show, Thunder Over Louisville, which kicks off the Kentucky Derby Festivities. It was held this past Saturday.) It kills me how everyone is rushing to photograph or shoot video of the few pieces of concrete that fell on the 300 block of West Kentucky Street. You would think that the entire city is laying in ruins. Get a dustpan and a broom, people. Geez. Here's the story!
No wonder I woke up at 4 in the morning, I'm a super light sleeper. My teacher told me she felt something at around 4 in the morning as well.
Good to know you are okay DD. I was watching the news this morning about a quake in Indiana but did not think about geographic proximity. I've heard the New Madrid fault line is nothing to mess with. There was a small one (3.?) in Wells, NV (2.5 hrs west of SLC) a little while back. Its only a matter of time before the Wasatch fault line (here in the SL Valley) goes off.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (o.iatlhawksfan @ Apr 18 2008, 02:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>No wonder I woke up at 4 in the morning, I'm a super light sleeper. My teacher told me she felt something at around 4 in the morning as well.</div> No offense, my friend, but this post is rich with implications and ready for someone to really run with... I swear I won't start or have I already? rofl.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (blackadder @ Apr 18 2008, 10:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (o.iatlhawksfan @ Apr 18 2008, 02:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>No wonder I woke up at 4 in the morning, I'm a super light sleeper. My teacher told me she felt something at around 4 in the morning as well.</div> No offense, my friend, but this post is rich with implications and ready for someone to really run with... I swear I won't start or have I already? rofl. </div> lol
