Midwest earthquake!!

Our family was awakened by an earthquake early this morning around 4:35 am. Super freaky!! I wondered who was shaking the bed and thought it might be the cat, until I realized nobody was there. It was scary at first to realize nobody was there doing the shaking and that’s when it dawned on me– it was an earthquake. The shaking started slowly and grew to a sizable rumble before gradually fading away. It shook for about 30-40 seconds.

My husband called out our names and hustled everyone outside (which we found out later was the wrong thing to do. Hey, we’re Midwesterners- we know how to take cover from tornadoes, not earthquakes). It was weird trying to walk down the hall and downstairs with the house shaking. It was like being in one of those fun houses at a fair, where shaking walkways and moving stairs are part of the fun. It was still dark and we didn’t even think to turn on the lights. Once outside, I noticed a few neighbors were turning on their lights. By then it was over, so we came back inside and I hugged both kids. I wasn’t sure whose heart was beating harder– mine or theirs. My husband picked up the cat and she seemed happy to be held and scratched under the chin.

One of our local news stations was already on the air when the quake happened. Shortly afterwards they said it was a 5.4 on the Richter scale. It originated near West Salem, IL, about 40 miles west of here. The local weather people checked their radar first, thinking there were there thunderstorms in the area. Local stations quickly began fielding phone calls and emails from around the region and other states in the Midwest. Our local NBC affiliate has the best earthquake coverage, including a video of the weatherman trying to do the weather during the earthquake.

We didn’t have any damage that we know of, unless we spy a crack in the plaster or foundation later. We haven’t felt any aftershocks here, although they have felt them in West Salem.

Update: They’re saying the quake was the same magnitude as the one that happened November 9, 1968 and was closer to Mt. Carmel, IL. The local news showed footage of damage from Louisville, KY.

Update: The local news said there were TWO earthquakes this morning!! One was near West Salem, IL, and the other was the one near Mt. Carmel, IL. They happened seconds apart, so we felt them both, but as one. Maybe that’s why it lasted so long. They said both were 5.2 on the Richter scale.

Our schools are in session, which bummed out my son. He was hoping for an ‘earthquake day.’

Update: The USGSshows only one 5.2 magnitude quake, so that’s probably right. The inforamation keeps getting revised as they learn more about it. Still– very exciting stuff for the Midwest!

UPDATE: We just felt a pretty good aftershock at about 10:15 am CDT! Things rocked and rolled here at work– for longer than 30 seconds this time. Stay tuned… apparently we’re not done yet. The aftershock was 4.5 on the Richter scale, according to the USGS. No wonder we felt it!