Just experienced my first earthquake

[donheff]

DC just got hit by a minor earthquake. The whole house shook. Scared the heck out of the dogs. Never felt one before so at first I thought a bomb might have hit the Capitol or something. Doesn't sound like much damage from the news.

 

[FIREd]

Magnitude 5.8 according to CNN. Is it really considered minor?

Glad you're safe.

 

[GregLee]

I'm watching the CNN coverage of the quake. Time out from covering the fighting in Tripoli. Quite a day.

 

[REWahoo]

DC just got hit by a minor earthquake. The whole house shook. Scared the heck out of the dogs. Never felt one before so at first I thought a bomb might have hit the Capitol or something. Doesn't sound like much damage from the news.

Maybe that will shake some sense into that bunch up there. Oh yeah, they're all on vacation...

Glad it was only a rumbler and not a tumbler.

 

[Janet H]

Here's a link to the usgs data: Magnitude 5.8 - VIRGINIA

 

[rescueme]

China closet rattled a bit. Nothing more than if a big truck would come by (although that would never happen, since we live off the beaten path).

DW called. They had a few cabinet doors at w*ork open/close on their own (she's about 3 miles away), and we're about 50 miles north of Phila (home of flash mobs that cause more damage than any immediate earthquake can )

 

[Nuiloa]

It's kind of a sad commentary on the state of the world that you thought the trembling was the result of a bomb going off.

Sigh.....

 

[bbbamI]

Experiencing your first earthquake can be scary.

I've experienced several while I lived in MO. The first quake I experienced, I was 10 years old and sitting on the toilet.

 

[Purron]

DH and I are in the DC area. First thing I thought was terrorist attack.

 

[travelover]

.......... The first quake I experienced, I was 10 years old and sitting on the toilet.

The first one I experienced was when I was 16 years old and in the back of a Chevy.

 

[FrankZ]

This is the third one I have been through here in MD, though the worst.

One cat didn't care, one cat got weird.

It felt like a fleet of big trucks drove down the street, but it got everyone's attention.

 

[Nuiloa]

My first earthquake was actually a volcanic eruption. I was living on the island of Guadeloupe when the La Soufriere volcano rumbled into life. It was a scary few weeks, because they thought the island was going to blow up.

I was doing my taxes when I felt the 2nd quake. I thought I was passing out and was all set to blame it on the Canadian government.

All in all, I preferred the volcano.

Nui

 

[bbbamI]

The first one I experienced was when I was 16 years old and in the back of a Chevy.

 

[FinanceDude]

Well, there was that foosball table incident when I was 18.......

 

[MichaelB]

This is the third one I have been through here in MD, though the worst.

One cat didn't care, one cat got weird.

It felt like a fleet of big trucks drove down the street, but it got everyone's attention.

Hi FrankZ, welcome to the forum. Looks like it took an earthquake to get you here. Anyway, stop by here and tell us a little about yourself.

 

[sheehs1]

DC just got hit by a minor earthquake. The whole house shook. Scared the heck out of the dogs. Never felt one before so at first I thought a bomb might have hit the Capitol or something. Doesn't sound like much damage from the news.

Same here donheff. Didn't know what the heck it was. I'm in southeastern Virginia...about and hour and a half from the epicenter. Blinds swung against windows, kitchen chandelier was swinging a bit, felt the house swaying.....etc. Nothing major but it was odd. An earthquake never crossed my mind.

Dominion has brought down the North Anna and Surry nuclear plant as a precaution. I'm sure you heard about that on CNN.

As we all have an eye out for Hurricane Irene.:

 

[donheff]

I was surprised how widely it was felt. I understand that we have one big plate out east and it reacts to a quake like a gong striking a bell -- it rings all through. On the west coast there are numerous substantial faults that absorb some of the tremors so the intensity falls off more rapidly.

 

[KingB]

DC just got hit by a minor earthquake. The whole house shook. Scared the heck out of the dogs. Never felt one before so at first I thought a bomb might have hit the Capitol or something. Doesn't sound like much damage from the news.

When I read the title of the thread, I thought it was about the Colorado earthquake, the largest Colorado quake in 40 years. Can these be related?

Largest Colorado Quake Since 1967 Shakes Homes - ABC News

 

[Nemo2]

The first one I experienced was when I was 16 years old and in the back of a Chevy.

+1

 

[sheehs1]

When I read the title of the thread, I thought it was about the Colorado earthquake, the largest Colorado quake in 40 years. Can these be related?

Largest Colorado Quake Since 1967 Shakes Homes - ABC News

This is quite the coincidence. I have no idea. The one in Virginia measured 5.9 . We'll have to wait and see if the experts tie them together...

 

[Nemo2]

How long before the "It's caused by Global Climate Warming Change" crowd jumps in?

 

[Amethyst]

Doesn't it seem like the Earth is in a period of higher seismic activity - Japan, Haiti, Chile earthquakes, Iceland volcano...Makes you wonder where the next shoe will drop!

Amethyst

 

[donheff]

When I read the title of the thread, I thought it was about the Colorado earthquake, the largest Colorado quake in 40 years. Can these be related?

Largest Colorado Quake Since 1967 Shakes Homes - ABC News

From this it looks like there were a bunch of them centered around Cokedale, CO. Here is the USGS main page.

 

[Purron]

How long before the "It's caused by Global Climate Warming Change" crowd jumps in?

I blame Lyndsay Lohan.

 

[GregLee]

Doesn't it seem like the Earth is in a period of higher seismic activity - ...

No. Earlier, the CNN meteorologist gave a blizzard of relevant statistics, among which was that we on Earth get about 500 quakes as severe as the Virginia quake every year.