# What the heck just happened to my house? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 3, 2016, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865 "2016-09-03T12:30:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/1 "2016-09-03T12:30:00Z")
My heart is still racing a little. About fifteen minutes ago I was sitting here, tapping away at the computer, when I heard what sounded like a tapping on the glass of my south windows. It got a little stronger and then I felt what seemed to be wind blowing against the house. Except it couldn’t be wind because I could see outside and the trees weren’t being blown around. The “blowing” got harder and I could actually see the computer monitor in front of me vibrating back and forth a little. My dog and cat were alarmed, the cat running around and the dog whining in alarm. I could feel the shaking from my chair. Then it stopped. I sat for a minute, then went to my east windows and looked out. Nothing going on it seems. I do know the power never flickered, at least so that I noticed. I sure hope the house wasn’t getting ready to explode, or have a monster emerge from under the basement.🙂 But I’d like to know what happened. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/2 "2016-09-03T12:33:18Z")
Are you somewhere in the central part of the USA? There was just a magnitude 5.6 [earthquake in Oklahoma](http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us10006jxs) and it was felt over a very wide area. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/3 "2016-09-03T12:46:26Z")
I had just woken up and was laying in bed when I felt the bed shaking, but I honestly thought it was just my wife and her jimmy legs again. Then my stepdaughter called and said “Did you feel that?” I checked FB and saw that some friends near Wichita had posted about it. ---
**Author:** ![DoggyDunnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@DoggyDunnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoggyDunnit)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/4 "2016-09-03T12:49:51Z")
Yeah, if you live in any of the Central Plains states, you felt the earthquake that happened this morning. I’ve been up for a while now, though due to grogginess (I pretty much never get up before 9 AM on Saturdays) I don’t remember the exact time. I woke because dogs, cats, and other animals in the neighborhood were acting real odd, quite noisily. Then, a couple minutes later, the bed starts rocking back and forth. And then, “breaking news” notification on my phone. Sure enough, quake, centered in Oklahoma. Felt it here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/5 "2016-09-03T12:50:48Z")
**Baker** is in Kansas, which is shown on the USGS map being affected by the earthquake. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/6 "2016-09-03T12:52:26Z")
Yep, I’, in NE Kansas, in Topeka. Wow, so I felt an earthquake for the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/7 "2016-09-03T13:01:58Z")
I didn’t even know there was an earthquake just now, and that was going to be my suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/8 "2016-09-03T13:13:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I didn’t even know there was an earthquake just now, and that was going to be my suggestion. It was my guess when I saw the thread title. I live in Northern England so I’ve only ever felt two small earthquakes in my life. “What the hell just happened here?” was pretty much what I thought too. I guess there’s really only one rare event that comes out of the blue that’s going to produce that feeling in an adult 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/9 "2016-09-03T13:50:53Z")
Now the local TV stations websites are reporting on the earthquake. ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/10 "2016-09-03T14:53:54Z")
I read the OP as far as “blown around”, and thought “earthquake”. Any amount of time spent living in Southern California will do that to you. People on the East Coast have asked me what an earthquake feels like, and I say that it feels like riding on a train - and that description usually suffices, except that I have a friend, in his 50’s, who’s never been on a train. One thing about an earthquake - it’s guaranteed to freak out the animals. Sometimes they’ll warn you it’s coming. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/11 "2016-09-03T14:56:42Z")
> [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](#): > > One thing about an earthquake - it’s guaranteed to freak out the animals. Sometimes they’ll warn you it’s coming. Our cats find earthquakes really upsetting, for hours, so I’m always careful to spend extra calm time with them on the sofa or something. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/12 "2016-09-03T14:57:07Z")
Earthquake was my guess too. I felt one a few years ago. People joke about mobile homes in tornadoes. I was in a rocking chair in an earthquake. Let me tell you, it _rocked_. ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/13 "2016-09-03T15:13:16Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Our cats find earthquakes really upsetting, for hours, so I’m always careful to spend extra calm time with them on the sofa or something. That’s the sign of a good momma cat. 🙂 I’ve found that some kitties are very effectively calmed by the strategic application of tasty treats. But then you have to worry that they’ll use their supernatural powers to summon more earthquakes. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/14 "2016-09-03T15:22:19Z")
My family from Northwestern Arkansas to Northern Texas is reporting it too. People in California may laugh at a 5.6 earthquake but that thing was felt over a gigantic area across many states. I can’t believe the amount of energy the earth just released to shake that wide of an area. Thank goodness it was shallow and the damage was minimal. Keep in mind that the West Coast is not the only area susceptible to extreme earthquakes. The New Madrid fault in Missouri is a huge one as well and ready to go at any time. Being the pessimist that I am, I just hope that the result of this one just results in a series of smaller aftershocks and it wasn’t a fore-shock for a much bigger one. The amount of energy going off to produce an earthquake even that size is the equivalent of many nuclear bombs going off at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/15 "2016-09-03T15:26:08Z")
I was just about to roll out of bed and felt the bed moving like somebody was shoving on it, the alarm clock went off right after (I was already well awake aND had been for a few minutes). That’s the strange part, alarm is set to 7:05 and the clock is radio synced to the the standard time signal. So I figured the quake would be at about 7:04:45, but the USGS had it at 7:02:44 - two minutes off. No doubt that’s what it was, and I’m a ways outside the “shake zone” on the USGS website, just something off with the time. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/16 "2016-09-03T16:13:49Z")
I’ve felt a 5.1 quake that lasted for about 20 seconds and the best analogy I can give for it is to liken it to cavitation on a boat. When a big passenger ferry switches from reverse to forward and you get a low-level rumbling and shaking as the screws cavitate. You may not have been on a big ferry and so that analogy may well be useless. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/17 "2016-09-03T16:20:51Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > People in California may laugh at a 5.6 earthquake As a native-born, California ex-pat, I’d say 5.6 is respectable. Nothing to laugh at, but not so big as to cause concern. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/18 "2016-09-03T17:08:32Z")
Dammit, I thought that I’d just suddenly got really good at early morning sex. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/19 "2016-09-03T19:53:13Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > As a native-born, California ex-pat, I’d say 5.6 is respectable. Nothing to laugh at, but not so big as to cause concern. I agree. Though it does depend on how far from the epicenter you are. I was very close (less than 2 miles) from the epicenter of the 1994 Northridge earthquake. That was scary. :eek: A close 5.6 would freak me out, a farther away 5.6 not so much. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865/20 "2016-09-03T20:24:49Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Yep, I’, in NE Kansas, in Topeka. Wow, so I felt an earthquake for the first time. First off, **Baker** , I’m glad you rode out the quake OK. Secondly, I find your location to be very appropriate for this thread. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-just-happened-to-my-house/764865.md?page=2)