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.
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.
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.
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…
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…
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.
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.
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!
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…
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.
