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My Earthquake Story
Aug. 23rd, 2011 06:18 pmIt happened sometime between 2 and 3 in the afternoon today while I was at work. I was slouching back in my chair, working on a report I really didn't feel like doing. Two of my coworkers were in the cubicle next to mine, chit-chatting about various things. Suddenly, I felt a bit of a jolt. My first thought was that it was something construction related or generator related (its shuddering can sometimes be felt). But then I could feel the whole building start to shake. Then, for a second or two, the walls in my cubicle started to shake. "...an earthquake?" I thought to myself, not quite being able to compute, especially here in the Northeast US, where perceptible earthquakes pretty much never happen. Meanwhile, my coworkers didn't seem to notice and just kept chatting. I wish I could have seen my face, which was probably a mixture of shock, puzzlement, and incredulity. I finally blurted out, "Do you guys feel the ground shake?" My one coworker, who had been sitting, said she had. The other coworker, who had been standing up, said she hadn't felt a thing. By then, the shaking pretty much started to die down. Some other coworkers were coming out of their cubicles with confused looks on their faces as if to say, "Was that just me...?"
So what's the first thing I do? I log on to Facebook of course. Two of my friends had already posted a comment on feeling an earthquake, but to my surprise, one of the friends was posting from Washington, D.C., and the other from southeastern PA! Then other Facebook messages started pouring in, almost in real time...Holy smokes! People were feeling it all the way in New York, Delaware and Salisbury! I learned that the epicenter was in Virginia and that the magnitude was at first thought to be 5.8 but then it became 5.9. I then checked Twitter, where tweets were also pouring in and whole lot of earthquake-related joking and snarkiness was going on. It had been felt along pretty much the entire mid-Atlantic region and apparently there had been an earthquake in Colorado too...What the hell!?
These earthquakes happened in places that usually never get earthquakes, so for many, this was the first time they had experienced one. While in Japan, I experienced two, maybe three earthquakes that were of any significance (to me, anyway). The strongest one I felt there seemed stronger than the one I felt today. While the 5.9 magnitude of the one today did not feel insignificant, it must've been nothing compared to the devastating earthquakes that have happened recently, especially the one in Japan. Of course, I barely remember the strongest one I've experienced, which was the powerful earthquake that hit Mexico City in 1985. All I remember was hearing our metal and glass door shake and it sounded like our dog was pounding on the door. My dad assured me it was not and carried me out of the house and to the backyard. Thankfully, we were fine since we lived a significant distance from Mexico City, but my dad remembers the swaying walls that sectioned off our back yard.**
So first, the heavy downpour on Friday and now an earthquake, all in less than a week...what's next?
I just found it so interesting, though, that the first thing I thought to do for affirmation in the aftermath of something happening was to go to Facebook and Twitter. It's all so strange...it's become a mass congregating place...on a regional, national, and even global scale.
**Update: Just to clarify, at the time, we were a significant distance away from Mexico City, so the town we lived in didn't sustain as much damage (and we were thankfully safe in the end) but the earthquake came on pretty strongly there too. Also, a correction! I believe it was my mother, not my father, that carried me outside that morning when the earthquake hit. I know, details, details, but it's best to set the record straight! ;-)
So what's the first thing I do? I log on to Facebook of course. Two of my friends had already posted a comment on feeling an earthquake, but to my surprise, one of the friends was posting from Washington, D.C., and the other from southeastern PA! Then other Facebook messages started pouring in, almost in real time...Holy smokes! People were feeling it all the way in New York, Delaware and Salisbury! I learned that the epicenter was in Virginia and that the magnitude was at first thought to be 5.8 but then it became 5.9. I then checked Twitter, where tweets were also pouring in and whole lot of earthquake-related joking and snarkiness was going on. It had been felt along pretty much the entire mid-Atlantic region and apparently there had been an earthquake in Colorado too...What the hell!?
These earthquakes happened in places that usually never get earthquakes, so for many, this was the first time they had experienced one. While in Japan, I experienced two, maybe three earthquakes that were of any significance (to me, anyway). The strongest one I felt there seemed stronger than the one I felt today. While the 5.9 magnitude of the one today did not feel insignificant, it must've been nothing compared to the devastating earthquakes that have happened recently, especially the one in Japan. Of course, I barely remember the strongest one I've experienced, which was the powerful earthquake that hit Mexico City in 1985. All I remember was hearing our metal and glass door shake and it sounded like our dog was pounding on the door. My dad assured me it was not and carried me out of the house and to the backyard. Thankfully, we were fine since we lived a significant distance from Mexico City, but my dad remembers the swaying walls that sectioned off our back yard.**
So first, the heavy downpour on Friday and now an earthquake, all in less than a week...what's next?
I just found it so interesting, though, that the first thing I thought to do for affirmation in the aftermath of something happening was to go to Facebook and Twitter. It's all so strange...it's become a mass congregating place...on a regional, national, and even global scale.
**Update: Just to clarify, at the time, we were a significant distance away from Mexico City, so the town we lived in didn't sustain as much damage (and we were thankfully safe in the end) but the earthquake came on pretty strongly there too. Also, a correction! I believe it was my mother, not my father, that carried me outside that morning when the earthquake hit. I know, details, details, but it's best to set the record straight! ;-)
