# Did we just have an earthquake? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 23, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803 "2011-08-23T17:55:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/121 "2011-08-23T19:49:20Z")
Trying not to be all jaded and blase… I was watching CNN at the gym, and they’re pulling out all the stops. Every Californian has had, in their lifetime, a dozen inane water cooler conversations in the form of "I was sitting at my desk, and it went “ca chunk chunk” and then I looked up and saw the light fixture swaying, and I was all like “whoa” Since this event happened on the Eastern seaboard, all those conversations are now being recorded for posterity on CNN. 🙂 It is weird how widespread it was felt, though. Atlanta to Toronto? Dayumn. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/122 "2011-08-23T19:51:05Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > People are over-reacting? Really? [This is what’s going around on my FB page.](http://jmckinley.posterous.com/dc-earthquake-devastation) That’s because I have the coolest friends. That is hysterical! ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/123 "2011-08-23T19:51:18Z")
Has anyone been watching FOX? Wonder when they will confirm this is Obama’s fault for going on vacation… ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/124 "2011-08-23T19:51:19Z")
That was pretty scary. I’m right outside DC. At first I thought it was a train passing, but then I realized we weren’t anywhere near the Metro tracks and it was getting stronger and stronger. The floor started shifting under my feet, which was a very unpleasant sensation, and the walls started rattling and vibrating. We evacuated the building, went back inside briefly, then were evacuated again when they discovered roof damage. Everyone just went home at that point. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/125 "2011-08-23T19:53:14Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Has anyone been watching FOX? Wonder when they will confirm this is Obama’s fault for going on vacation… It’s well known that socialism weakens not only the fabric of the nation but the very ground beneath our feet. Note lack of earthquakes during Bush’s tenure. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/126 "2011-08-23T19:53:33Z")
My mother (near here) suffered significant knick-knack damage. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/127 "2011-08-23T19:54:26Z")
Perhaps we need a thread to collect approved reactions to natural disasters so those of us who experience things for the first time know what we are and aren’t allowed to feel and think, so when you’re caught in your first tornado or first blizzard or first hurricane, you don’t embarrass yourself in front of the cool kids… ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/128 "2011-08-23T19:54:56Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > It’s well known that socialism weakens not only the fabric of the nation but the very ground beneath our feet. Note lack of earthquakes during Bush’s tenure. And now we are expecting a hurricane this weekend, too! A HURRICANE! ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/129 "2011-08-23T19:56:05Z")
I am in Fredericksburg VA and it was quite an experience. I lived in Southern California for 5 years and never felt an earthquake that big. It seemed to last a while too. No real damage, though a few of my bookcases did throw up… ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/130 "2011-08-23T19:56:19Z")
The aftershock will be coming… Hope they are ready. Sometimes they can be worse. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/131 "2011-08-23T19:57:26Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Really? I didn’t feel a thing. But a friend in PA e-mailed me to say that her whole office was shaking. Canton, nothing. (though most of my local FB friends did feel it) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/132 "2011-08-23T20:03:13Z")
I work on the 12th floor of a 12 story building in Arlington, VA. I felt it sway quite a bit, and the windows were wobbling. They evacuated the building, and going down the stairs, I noticed horizontal cracks in the plaster on every floor. This was my first significant earthquake, forgive me for being an unjaded rube. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/133 "2011-08-23T20:12:48Z")
I did not feel anything here in northern NJ. But my husband works in NYC. He definitely noticed it. He described as like his cell phone was vibrating. His entire building was evacuated for an hour. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/134 "2011-08-23T20:21:52Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Perhaps we need a thread to collect approved reactions to natural disasters so those of us who experience things for the first time know what we are and aren’t allowed to feel and think, so when you’re caught in your first tornado or first blizzard or first hurricane, you don’t embarrass yourself in front of the cool kids… What I love is that this time around we started getting “OMG NOOBS ARE OVERREACTING” posts _before the damage reports were even in_. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/135 "2011-08-23T20:26:53Z")
Somers Point, NJ, chiming in. Just came back from taking my mother to lunch. On the way at a stop sign, the car started doing the shimmy-shimmy-koko-pop. She says “Cut it out”, thinking I’m pumping the brakes or something. I thought I was just in a crosswind. A minute later we hear the news on thew radio and we’re both like :eek: at each other. ---
**Author:** ![Bri2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/48db29/32.png) [@Bri2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bri2k)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/136 "2011-08-23T20:31:49Z")
Barely felt it in my 1st floor office out by the airport in Pittsburgh. They evacuated the Harrisburg office though. I hope everyone’s safe! Bri2k ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/137 "2011-08-23T20:35:38Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > That’s the right reaction. I know the news vultures’ jobs are to find the biggest chicken littles and get sound bites from them, and NY1 was doing such a good job at finding them, like the woman who walked down 30+ flights of stairs because the building swayed less then it does during a nasty Nor’Easter. I had to walk down 27 flights of stairs because our building was evacuated. Then they wouldn’t let us go back inside so I got to go home early today. I’m not sure why they made us evacuate unless they are sending someone to check on the building structurally or something but whatever, I’ll take an extra couple of hours off of work if they insist! ---
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/138 "2011-08-23T20:39:03Z")
Good size shaker. Anything in the upper 5’s is significant. Having been through some 6’s and a 7.3 (Landers, CA. about 40 miles from home in Palm Springs), I empathize with all you East coast people who felt this for the first time. Be prepared for aftershocks and make a plan with your family about where to meet if you are separated and can’t use a cell phone. Stay calm, unless you are working in a nuclear power plant. Then I suggest fleeing the area like a bat out of hell… ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/139 "2011-08-23T20:39:33Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Is it normal for a quake to have such a wide reach? Boston to Cleveland to North Carolina is a pretty huge area. I never feel any of the California quakes in Vegas, and I’m closer than those cities are by quite a margin. Minor nitpick - at least a few places in SC felt it too. I’m close to Greenville, SC. It was super faint tho - my coworkers were walking around, and I was seated. I was the only one who felt anything. Thought I was imagining things until I saw the news reports. Someone posted to the thread from Charleston that they didn’t feel anything, but a few news reports have said that some people in Charleston were lucky enough (or in quiet/still enough areas) to feel it there too. As faint as it was, I bet there are a lot of people who felt something and just immediately dismissed it as traffic vibrations or wind gusts or something. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803/140 "2011-08-23T20:47:10Z")
I’m amazed they aren’t warning the east coasters about the aftershocks. It can be a hiccup or a really wild ride. Never know. Wait a day or two before rehanging your pictures on the wall. > [@beckwall](#): > > Good size shaker. Anything in the upper 5’s is significant. Having been through some 6’s and a 7.3 (Landers, CA. about 40 miles from home in Palm Springs), I empathize with all you East coast people who felt this for the first time. Be prepared for aftershocks and make a plan with your family about where to meet if you are separated and can’t use a cell phone. Stay calm, unless you are working in a nuclear power plant. Then I suggest fleeing the area like a bat out of hell… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-just-have-an-earthquake/593803.md?page=8)