I felt our earthquake last night!

@TheHorse (220274)
Walnut Creek, California
April 27, 2019 10:58am CST
I was lying in bed, counting my toes and trying to get back to sleep, when I felt the house moving. It lasted only about 4 seconds and was really mild. My first thought was, That's only about a 2.5 here, but how can we tell if it's a little quake close by or a larger on further away?" My second thought was, "I'd better check the time (2:36 AM) so I can validate this in the morning." Then I went back to sleep. Turns out it was a 3.4, centered in Pacheco, about 7 miles Northwest of here. The photo is of my Eeyore, who fell six feet from my book shelf and landed on my turntable in a more powerful quake. He was not injured. Have you ever been in an earthquake? Did it make your heart beat faster?
34 people like this
31 responses
@FourWalls (69033)
• United States
27 Apr 19
JJ wrote about one that happened in April 2008. We felt it here in Kentucky, too: it felt like someone had hit the side of my house with a sledgehammer or their car. I’ve never had any experiences with “major” earthquakes. Heck, I didn’t even see the movie Earthquake.
6 people like this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Apr 19
Ours usually start with a jolt, like someone drove a truck into the side of the building. This one didn't--at least not here.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (80784)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
28 Apr 19
@FourWalls time to watch Earthquake so you are prepared but I sure hope you don't have to worry about any earthquakes.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Apr 19
@RasmaSandra Is that a fun movie? I missed it somehow.
1 person likes this
@much2say (56088)
• Los Angeles, California
27 Apr 19
I've been in Los Angeles all my life . . . oh yah I grew up with fun earthquakes. The '94 one was a serious doozy - especially since we were pretty much at the epicenter. The scary thing is we haven't felt much lately . . .
3 people like this
@much2say (56088)
• Los Angeles, California
27 Apr 19
@TheHorse That's what they're saying . . . it's a matter of "when" .
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@much2say (56088)
• Los Angeles, California
27 Apr 19
@TheSojourner Yes! That '71 - the Sylmar one (forgot the official name) - yah, we were here too - Chatsworth. I don't really remember that one as I was less than 3 . . . but my parents said I hid under the kitchen table when the house shook ! Little Hubby was even closer to you but more south.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Apr 19
I hope mother earth is not storing up energy for another big one.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (182204)
• United States
27 Apr 19
Yes, we had an earthquake here. That big East coast quake in 2011 was centered in this county..We seem to get all the weather events here! You name it we get it! As a matter of fact just happenstance I am wearing a t shirt that proudly proclaims I am a survior of the 2011 quake. I bought it a winery the next year, for half price when they were trying to get rid of them..
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (182204)
• United States
27 Apr 19
@TheHorse I think it was 6.3 or 6.4. Lots of people had property damage, mostly to chimneys and interior walls. The high school had to be rebuilt. FEMA was parked here for a couple of months. The aftershocks were worse than the original quake..not in intensity just in scare value.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Apr 19
Heh. How big was the quake?
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Apr 19
@snowy22315 That does not sound like fun. I find it odd that the most powerful quake I've felt was in Indiana. I thought we were supposed to worry about tornadoes there. Was anyone injured or killed in your quake?
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (117146)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Apr 19
Never been in a quake but I got some stories about tornado`s. While in a large parking deck a few days ago, I could feel it moving, I thought " this must be what its like to feel the earth quake.
3 people like this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Apr 19
You mean a nearby tornado made the ground shake?
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (117146)
• Anniston, Alabama
28 Apr 19
@TheHorse No, just the wind made the parking deck move.
@CarolDM (203422)
• Nashville, Tennessee
27 Apr 19
No, I have never been close to an earthquake. Tornadoes but nothing like you experienced. Is that Eeyore I see laying down? I hope he survived the excitement.
3 people like this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Apr 19
Hes. He just lay there feeling a bit sorry for himself.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Apr 19
@CarolDM Heh. He's back up on the shelf now.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203422)
• Nashville, Tennessee
27 Apr 19
@TheHorse He needs a hug.
1 person likes this
• Belews Creek, North Carolina
27 Apr 19
I lived in Pasadena for 10 months and felt a couple of minor tremors. Enough earthquake exposure to make diving under the table or into a doorway a natural response to floor movement. ....a year or so later I worked in an office with a guy who would drop the last few inches into his chair. Computer cables were strung under the floor so there was a lot of bounce in the floor surface. I had to school myself not to dive under my desk every time he dropped into his chair. I hope Eeyore wasn't too upset by his fall. He's such a sad sensitive fellow.
3 people like this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Apr 19
He was OK. I believe he said, "Of course I'd be the only one to fall."
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Apr 19
My natural response to earthquakes is to go to Facebook and see who else felt it. Then I go to the USGS website and complete their little survey about what we felt.
2 people like this
• Belews Creek, North Carolina
27 Apr 19
@TheHorse that was my response to the one centered near DC in 2011. Once I determined it wasn't one of my kids bounding through the house or the washing machine out of balance. I was a bit surprised to see family in Canada asking if anyone else felt the 'quake.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
27 Apr 19
Earthquakes in the UK are, thankfully, rather rare. I heard about the last one we had (some years ago now) when I was asked "Did you feel the earthquake just now?" and I had to say "No, I coughed and missed it!". That one was some 60 miles away from here but it was felt over quite a large area of England. Eeyore looks rather contented lying where he is, but then Eeyore would. He didn't really notice when his tail was gone, though he was glad when Pooh found it and nailed it back on.
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
27 Apr 19
@TheHorse That was my distant cousin, Wol.
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Apr 19
As I recall, you were using it for a bell ringer.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (47677)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
27 Apr 19
So glad Eeyore wasn't hurt in his fall.
2 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (47677)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
28 Apr 19
@TheHorse Well, of course.
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Apr 19
Thank you for your kind concern. He's still sad, though.
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
27 Apr 19
Here, the few tremors we had have been almost insignificant. So far, we have never had a notable earthquake.
2 people like this
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
28 Apr 19
@TheHorse Maybe they don't like the cold weather.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Apr 19
Interesting. I wonder why they are rare up there.
1 person likes this
@amadeo (111938)
• United States
27 Apr 19
I feel the earth move under my skin.Great song from here.Have not been one but we do get the shakes now and then
2 people like this
@amadeo (111938)
• United States
28 Apr 19
@TheHorse I know I loved that album Tapestry.Good morning
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Apr 19
Haven't heard that song in years!
@xander6464 (44421)
• Wapello, Iowa
27 Apr 19
I've felt two quakes...But oddly, never in California. One was here, maybe 10 years ago and one was in Hawaii (At about 4 in the morning, my bed started shaking violently and I thought, "At last! I'm being possessed by the Devil!" But no, it was just an earthquake). The one here threw me out of my chair but that was it. They were both very short and there was no damage to anything. At least not that I could see.
2 people like this
@xander6464 (44421)
• Wapello, Iowa
28 Apr 19
@TheHorse Not even a little bit. The worst part is that Linda Blair didn't even show up.
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Apr 19
Your head didn't turn all the way around?
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (108197)
• Marion, Ohio
27 Apr 19
I am so glad that Eeyore was ok from that fall. I felt a tremble one time here but that is it.
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (108197)
• Marion, Ohio
27 Apr 19
@TheHorse Yes 6 or 7 years ago I think. Could have been 8. They were fracking in the southern part at the time and that was the consensus for what caused it.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Apr 19
@wolfgirl569 I've heard about a relationship between fracking and earthquakes. I haven'd looked at the science closely.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Apr 19
Was that in Ohio?
1 person likes this
@nela13 (58710)
• Portugal
28 Apr 19
I have never felt a earthquake, I am glad you are okay. I hope it is everything well with Eeyore too, my daughter loves it.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Apr 19
Tell her he's fine. I put him back up on the shelf after letting him wallow in self-pity for a bit.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Apr 19
@nela13 Heh. He is one of my favorites as well.
1 person likes this
@nela13 (58710)
• Portugal
28 Apr 19
@TheHorse that is a relief, Eeyore is such a sweet.
1 person likes this
@Nevena83 (65277)
• Serbia
27 Apr 19
Oh, I'm afraid of the earthquake. We had a few years of earthquake of 4.4 magnitude and it was terrible.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Apr 19
4.4 isn't too big. Did things fall off of the shelves? Anybody hurt?
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@May2k8 (18389)
• Indonesia
27 Apr 19
What I'm worried about is land that can move at this time, some places experience a fairly large earthquake of more than 6 magnitude.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
27 Apr 19
Yep, the earth is an active place!
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (37381)
• Toccoa, Georgia
23 May 19
I have been in a trimmer that lasted around 30 seconds. This was when I was in Montana in the 80s.
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@LeaPea2417 (37381)
• Toccoa, Georgia
24 May 19
@TheHorse Wow, how big was that rare tornado, on the scale from 1 to 5?
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
23 May 19
Interesting! I've never felt one that lasted that long, and I've never felt one in Montana. I was in Hilger Montana (in a trailer, of course) when a rare tornado passed through.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (472060)
• Switzerland
28 Apr 19
When I lived in Italy and in the south of France we have been in earthquake. One in Monte Carlo was strong enough to throw all our books out from the shelves.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (472060)
• Switzerland
28 Apr 19
@TheHorse It was scary for us who lived at the 4th floor, but it was terrifying for a friend who lived at 42nd floor, he said the building was waving and he could not get up from his chair.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Apr 19
Wow. That must have been scary.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
23 May 19
@LadyDuck I've often wondered what it would be like to be in a tall building during an earthquake. Nightmare material.
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@RasmaSandra (80784)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
28 Apr 19
Glad your alright and hope the earthquake does not do a repeat performance. I have only felt small tremors several times when I lived in NYC.
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@RasmaSandra (80784)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
30 Apr 19
@TheHorse I don't know if they have them still but while I lived there several times at least what would happen is the ground moves beneath your feet and the walls shake a bit and I tell you that is some feeling for the seconds or minutes it lasts especially when I live on the fifth floor.
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@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
30 Apr 19
@RasmaSandra I've NEVER been in one that lasted for literally minutes. That would be scary to me.
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@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Apr 19
I didn't know they had earthquakes in NYC.
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@1creekgirl (41752)
• United States
27 Apr 19
We've had one minor quake that I remember, but hurricanes and tornadoes are what do so much damage around here. Glad yours wasn't too bad this time. I was extremely relieved to learn that Eyeore is safe.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Apr 19
He says, "Thanks, but it will probably happen again. Oh well."
1 person likes this
@acelawrites (19272)
• Philippines
28 Apr 19
There were strong earthquakes in our country recently; and still there are afterquakes! There are so many faultlines here, according to scientists. The reason why we have so many earthquakes and we are in the earth's ring of fire.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (220274)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Apr 19
Ah, I thought you might be in the ring of fire. Are there active volcanoes in the Philippines?