Earthquake! Right here on the east coast of U.S. Strange!
By mentalward
@mentalward (14690)
United States
July 16, 2010 7:10am CST
What a shock to hear that we had an earthquake here near Washington, D.C. this morning! We don't get many and those we get, spaced YEARS apart, are always small. This one this morning (5:04 a.m. eastern time) was not a big earthquake but did make it to 3.6 on that Richter Scale or whatever it's called.
I was asleep at the time but did wake up around that time this morning. Nothing like an earthquake registered in my sleepy brain so I went back to sleep. Waking up like that is not uncommon for me so I thought nothing of it.
Then, I turn on the computer and they tell me we just had the largest recorded earthquake for this area. I turn on the Weather Channel, which I normally do each morning to see what I can expect for the day and they're also telling me about the east coast earthquake.
Did anyone actually feel this thing? I can't say I did or didn't. All I can say is that I woke up around that time this morning so maybe my brain did register something, at least in my subconscious.
If you did experience this quake, what did it feel like? The news article has quotes from residents in the area who said it felt like an ocean liner heaving in the water. I think it would have been kind of interesting to experience it and I would have if my sleepy brain had awakened. 
Of course, there was the joker in the article I read who said, "It's all the BullSh*t in Washington, D.C. that finally got too heavy for the ground to hold up." That, sadly, is too real a statement to be really funny.
Of course, there was the joker in the article I read who said, "It's all the BullSh*t in Washington, D.C. that finally got too heavy for the ground to hold up." That, sadly, is too real a statement to be really funny.3 people like this
16 responses
@syankee525 (6261)
• United States
16 Jul 10
ok i feel out of bed this morning lol. yeah i am outside of dc and i didnt feel nothing at all.
1 person likes this
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
16 Jul 10
I guess we would have had to be awake at the time this happened in order for it to register to us. My husband works with a guy who lives almost directly where the earthquake was centered. He said he felt it. Of course, he was awake at the time.
Funny you should mention that about falling out of bed because my husband just did that yesterday. I heard this big THUMP and there he was, on the floor. 
He said he was having a dream about fighting. I guess he lost that fight. 
He said he was having a dream about fighting. I guess he lost that fight. 1 person likes this
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
16 Jul 10
No, Virginia, due west of D.C. I grew up in Maryland, though. Baltimore. My husband works in Dullas, VA, which is just outside of D.C. His coworker told him that his walls were shaking. I think that's about it, though. Not much damage has been reported, at least not yet.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
16 Jul 10
After the Northridge earthquake in 1994, we used to try and gauge the aftershocks. Ooh that felt like a 4.2... We were very casual about it. But the folks who were visiting us from Georgia who lived through the quake got the hell out of So Cal as fast as they could and swore they were never coming back.
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
16 Jul 10
Trust me, you don't want to be in a big one!
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
16 Jul 10
I guess it's all what you're used to. Personally, I feel I'm dizzy enough without having the ground adding to it. I think I'd like to experience it ONCE, as long as it wasn't too strong and nothing came tumbling down.1 person likes this
@marguicha (223819)
• Chile
17 Jul 10
Trust ME! You don´t want to be in a big one, as Dawn says. I´m chilean and the one we had on Feb 27 was the 5th ever recorded in Mom Earth. Of course, as we chileans are fond of records, we also have the gold medal in earthquakes(1965). And I was nicely tied to a hospital bed at the worst aftershock of this one. I postponed my surgery for one week so I would not have any problems. But you know about Murphy and his laws
.
.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
16 Jul 10
Are there more earthquakes recently or am I just noticing them more? We had one recently that originated in Canada and people in the city just west of me felt it but I was awake and up and around and felt nothing. My dogs weren't even aware of it or if they were, thought it wasn't important. But it was big enough to rattle some buildings 25 miles SW of us!
I'm glad it didn't do any damage to you or your house. That joker was right about the bullsh*t. There's so much hot air there that the country is getting scorched and if it keeps up we'll all burn.
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
16 Jul 10
Hi dragon. I do think there are more earthquakes now. Either that or they're just all happening around the same time instead of spread out through the year. Nah, I really do think we're having more. I'm not going to blame global warming or anything man has done to cause them, though. It's probably just that time in Earth's evolution to do some stretching here and shrinking there. This has probably happened many times in Earth's history, we just haven't recorded it before now maybe because we (humans) weren't around the last time this happened.
Who knows? We here in the U.S. might just join up with Europe again! That would be kinda cool to be able to visit our friends over the pond without having to cross that pond. But, I would miss the Atlantic Ocean. I'm supposed to be setting up a sort of mini-vacation to Ocean City in Maryland for this summer. I guess I'd better get to it soon before we shift. Might be kinda interesting if we broke off the main continent and became an island, as long as there aren't any volcanos involved. 
1 person likes this
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
16 Jul 10
Hey, johnckyip, welcome to myLot!
I'm not so sure I'd want to survive if the Earth started falling apart. I don't think life would be very good if it all went nuts with earthquakes, volcanos, bigger and bigger hurricanes/typhoons, etc. I always said that, if World War III ever happened and we had nuclear missles heading our way, I'd want to be at ground zero. Maybe my attitudes comes from a lifetime of "surviving". I'm too old for all that nonsense now. 
I do, however, have lots of edibles growing on our property now, lots of fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, etc. and you're welcome to them if it turns out we all need to go into survival mode. 
I do, however, have lots of edibles growing on our property now, lots of fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, etc. and you're welcome to them if it turns out we all need to go into survival mode. 1 person likes this
@johnckyip (60)
• Hong Kong
16 Jul 10
Maybe we are better learn some surviving skill now to prepare for the "big" earthquakes that might happen in the future everywhere!
1 person likes this
@AnnieOakley1 (5596)
• Canada
17 Jul 10
We are in the same boat. Here in Ontario, Canada we had an earthquake just last week for crying out loud! I don't know if we have EVER had an earthquake here before. If we have, it was before my time, anyway. Ours was a 5.5! Then, we had a bloody tornado set down later the same day, too! Another strange weather occurence that is not known to regularly happen here. I'm still shocked.
1 person likes this
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
16 Jul 10
Me either. Would've been kinda cool, huh? I'm getting reports from my husband about his coworker who was awake at the time. He lives in Leesburg and said his walls were shaking and windows rattling. I'm sure a lot of people were surprised since we don't get earthquakes around here very often.
I noticed that you're in Front Royal. So cool! Another neighbor! I'm about 20 miles up the road from you, in Winchester. Maybe there will be an aftershock or two that we'll be able to feel.
Hey! If they keep up and are all centered just east of us, maybe that part of the coastline will fall into the ocean and we'll end up owning beachfront property! Way cool!!! 
Would've been kinda cool, huh? I'm getting reports from my husband about his coworker who was awake at the time. He lives in Leesburg and said his walls were shaking and windows rattling. I'm sure a lot of people were surprised since we don't get earthquakes around here very often.
I noticed that you're in Front Royal. So cool! Another neighbor! I'm about 20 miles up the road from you, in Winchester. Maybe there will be an aftershock or two that we'll be able to feel.
Hey! If they keep up and are all centered just east of us, maybe that part of the coastline will fall into the ocean and we'll end up owning beachfront property! Way cool!!! @matersfish (6306)
• United States
16 Jul 10
As long as all the criminals and politicians fall into the ocean and don't decide to relocate. I'm all for it.
I'll even help out with a lil' push. 
@pmbhuntress09 (1608)
• United States
16 Jul 10
This is just the start. I hate to say it, but the quake activity is getting worse, and it will continue. We are sliding into the milky way, we will no longer be on the arm of it, and many things will start happening. This is just the beginning, in fact last year they said that half of the planets have already had polar shifts, yet NASA, says they don't know why it happened??? Yeah freaking right. They know, they just don't want to scare the crappers out of all of us.
1 person likes this
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
16 Jul 10
Could be the whole polar shift deal.
Then again, it could just be some tectonic activity. We're still technically floating - being the upper mantle and crust. There's a whole other "world" down there hard at work.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
16 Jul 10
I seen that. I wonder if a bigger one will follow. I am glad it was small and no real damage was reported. I am in Ohio and we have had small ones in the past too.
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
16 Jul 10
Nothing so far as much as I know. I hope there won't be any aftershocks. One is scary enough, especially when they are so rare. I just hope this one isn't an indication that stronger ones will follow since this was the strongest ever recorded here. I've always thought that this area was pretty safe from really serious natural disasters. I hope it stays that way!
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
18 Jul 10
Hi Marti
Well I did not feel that one lol but I have felt one and I lived on the Top floor of a Block of Flats at the time I never want to feel it again, it felt like the whole Block was just going to tip over it was scary and horrible
Thank goodness I have not felt one since this was about 15 years ago
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
17 Jul 10
I suppose that wherever you find mountains, you will find fault lines and have earthquakes, even hundreds of miles away. Since we live in the mountains it should not be unexpected to have earthquakes. They're just so rare around here.
1 person likes this
@leenie50 (3992)
• United States
16 Jul 10
Hey Marti,
So when was the last time you felt a quake? I lived in California for 30 years and felt quite a few. I think the largest one I felt was around a 7.? But I was never close enough to the center to feel the full impact.
If there is no damage or injuries then it can be enjoyable to experience. What I mean by that is to feel the ground rolling under you and trying to walk is rather funny. Of course if it does any damage or causes any injuries, it's scary. And of course the after shocks can be even worse.
I do think that is what woke you this morning. You may feel some after shocks through out the day.
Hugs
Leenie@mentalward (14690)
• United States
16 Jul 10
Hi Leenie!
Uh, the last time? Well, waaaay back in the 70's somewhere, we had a quake around 4:00 in the morning and, dang it, I missed that one, too! Actually, the same thing happened then; I woke up, couldn't figure out why and went right back to sleep. I suppose I'm destined to never experience one but I think I can live with that.
I suppose I'm destined to never experience one but I think I can live with that. @mentalward (14690)
• United States
16 Jul 10
Oh, almost forgot. Latest reports are that there is no significan damage, just some things falling off shelves here and there. No injuries, either, so it's all good.
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
17 Jul 10
Hey MW! Heard about the earthquake on the news! We had one in
NY about 25 years ago and I felt that one and it was only a
2.5 or so! It was about 6:3AM and I woke up to this horrendous
load roar like a train but louder and my bed was moving and
so was everything else! Now we don't get earthquakes in NY, do we?
Apparently we do and I was about 10 minutes from the "fault line"!
Who knew?
Next day, in shower, same loud noise,
aftershock! ODG! No more please! It was damn scary! Haven't had
one since, but I'm still waiting...
Who knew?Next day, in shower, same loud noise,
aftershock! ODG! No more please! It was damn scary! Haven't had
one since, but I'm still waiting...
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
20 Jul 10
Sorry I got here late, but better late than never!!! The only reporter I saw on the news from the DC area said he woke up & thought the freight train had just gone by his house & he went back to sleep. When he woke up again later he realized that he didn't live next to the tracks!!! I'm glad that nobody was hurt & there was minimal damage to the buildings. I remember the images of the quake in Haiti & they showed the Presidential Palace in ruins. I had woken up early that morning & was listening to the news when they did a breaking news alert. They announced there had been an earthquake in DC & I immediately thought of the White House as a pile of rubble & all those beautiful monument & great art in ruins. I'm just thankful that it was no worse than it turned out to be!!! I think I would be grateful that my brain didn't register what was happening as that would be a terrible way to wake up!!! Glad that you & yours came through it unscathed too!!! 
I'm glad that nobody was hurt & there was minimal damage to the buildings. I remember the images of the quake in Haiti & they showed the Presidential Palace in ruins. I had woken up early that morning & was listening to the news when they did a breaking news alert. They announced there had been an earthquake in DC & I immediately thought of the White House as a pile of rubble & all those beautiful monument & great art in ruins. I'm just thankful that it was no worse than it turned out to be!!! I think I would be grateful that my brain didn't register what was happening as that would be a terrible way to wake up!!! Glad that you & yours came through it unscathed too!!! 
@crysontherocks77 (1273)
• United States
17 Jul 10
most earthquakes r not as big as like ca we hVe earthquakes here in tn but most of the time they dont reach the surface
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
17 Jul 10
You're on the other side of the mountains. I'm sure our earthquakes on the eastern side of the country aren't nearly as bad because there is less shifting of the tectonic plates here which is the reason our mountain range is not nearly as high as the Rockies. I think I'll stay right here on the east coast because, all in all, it's a lot safer than the west coast! Well, at least here in Virginia, it is. I can't talk about down near Florida where they get some really nasty hurricanes.
@Lunar01 (151)
• United States
17 Jul 10
Uh oh it's the beginning of 2012! On a less grim note, earthquake happens frequently and because one place doesn't usually have earthquake means it will never have it. I received a text message about it this morning but completely forget about it until my friend started bringing it up.
