apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Yeah, it woke me up. I was up in East Lakeview, in a six-story building. I thought I was going crazy though, and didn't realize what it was until my mom called and asked if I felt it.

I was sound asleep, but there was a guy at the coffee shop this morning who was awake and said he could feel it.

Is it weird that I want to experience an earthquake? No natural disasters over here...

It's something you should hear about more in the mid-west. The New Madrid Seismic Zone runs through 8 central US states and has a history of catastrophic activity. There hasn't been a major quake since 1812, but it will make Katrina look like an afternoon shower when it happens again. Mid-westerners should be aware of thier risk and consider their earthquake preparedness.

Yup, I felt it! My bed rattled so hard I thought it was getting ready for takeoff ;) Of course, I went right back to sleep and thought I had dreamed it, until I came in to work and my boss said, “How about that earthquake last night!" It was super weird. I'm in Old Town, by the way.

I live in Monmouth, Illinois. It is about 285 miles north and west of the epicenter. My dog woke up about 4:30 AM and started rummaging around the bed, so I thought the bed shaking was him being restless.

A few of my coworkers remarked about waking up to some shaking. Others slept right through it.

It sounds as if the area to the south of the epicenter experienced more than the areas to the north.

i could sleep through the apocalypse... but about 10:20 local time i felt my building move back and forth a little. this is in the city of chicago. if felt like a bit of lateral movement. aftershock? anyone else feel it?

I felt it! Woke me right up. Quite rude of the earth, really.

I'm in Dayton, Ohio and it woke me up. Unfortunately I was so groggy that as soon as I managed to think, "Is this an earthquake?" I fell back to sleep. What woke me up was the shaking of my body and the bed, and then my bedside lamp was rattling and making all sorts of noise.

When I got up for work, I remembered it and I figured I was crazy, but the news reports of a quake tipped me off. I was glad to get to work and find out that I was in fact (mostly) sane, since others felt it as well.

Luckly, I'm going to start the process of moving this eveing, so almost all of my things are packed in boxes and off the walls and shelves. I don't think it would have been pretty if this wasn't the case!

We felt it over here near South Bend....dogs woke up first, then the shaking started. Them be smart dogs!

I live in Lafayette, Indiana. We felt it, it woke me up and was shaking pretty good, then my wife woke up. She says "what's that", I say "it feels like an earthquake", she says, "no it's not"

then we're watching the morning news, and she's like yeah you were right!

We live near a hospitol and the helicopters kind of buzz low, so that's the only other thing i could think of it being at the time.

Also, I swear like an hour ago, i felt an aftershock. The building i work in started shaking a little and i could kind of hear a little rumble of the buildings out the window. Only lasted a second or 2.

I felt it in Cincinnati. Our [extremely solid, 150-yeard old] building swayed and swayed, and the windows rattled really loudly. I did notice some new [minor] cracks in the paint and/or drywall this morning.

To those reporting aftershocks: apparently it was small or I wasn't paying attention, but a co-worker swears up and down that she felt one just a little over an hour ago here in Dayton.

You can also read about it here.

http://www.rrstar.com/news/x883018520

I'm in the dot marked Springfield and it definitely woke me up! My first thought (in my 4:37am stupor) was 'it's a tornado'- then it hit me this might just be an earthquake- we're not very familiar with them around here!

The best was a comment posted online for the newspaper: "my headboard hasn't rocked like that in a long time" haha

(and yes- there was a tremor at 10:15ish this morning as well)

I woke up at about 4:45 a.m. to my bed shaking. My first groggy thought was that it was neighbors below me having a little early morning nookie, then when I felt the wall and floor and didn't feel anything I realized it was an earthquake -- the first I remember since first grade in northeast Ohio!

Minor earthquakes really aren't so uncommon in the midwest. I recall family in Ohio telling of a few 3.somethings in recent years.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/

Neat site where you can see the most recent EQs in the US (or the world). And if you scroll down there's a link where you can report what you felt!

I didn't feel it but my two cats went SUPER crazy at about 4:30 or so this morning. I just kicked them out and went back to sleep.

Guess I'm a sound sleeper. Felt nothing in east Roger's Park. I wonder if the Lake has a dampening effect?

Guiltily, I'd kinda like to experience a [MINOR] earthquake--I've heard they're like being on the El platform when a train's going by. Can anyone confirm?

I definitely felt it here in St. Louis. It was strong enough to rattle our windows and you know how they say it sounds like a freight train? Well, it actually did! I had a hard time falling back asleep, and moved the bed away from the wall so the stuff I have hung right above wouldn't fall on us in an aftershock.

I also felt the aftershock here around 10:15. I'm strangely relieved to have experienced this, though, because now I have a much better idea as to what to expect if we get one on the New Madrid fault that is a bit stronger in the future.

It's strange...it makes you realize how much power the earth has over humans, even when we think we have so much control!

I live in Rogers Park on the third floor corner unit. I woke up to the early morning aftershock and heard my my neighbors downstairs. As my bed shook, I though the neighbors were going at it and drifted back to sleep. Then NPR set me straight.

This was the first time I felt one. At least I know when the real one happens, I'll wake up in a second.

My family is in St. Louis, and they all felt it. The last aftershock rattled my mom's downtown office building.

I live in a coach house in Ukrainian Village, Chicago, and I woke on the dot of 4:37am. My bed was shaking, and I could hear glasses shaking in my kitchen cupboards. At first I thought it was work on a construction site (never-ending condos-on-steroids going up in my neighbourhood), but the rattling was coming in waves, and it was too early.

I felt an earthquake in my apartment back in 2002, and this was similar. Definitely not man-made! I had a moment of thinking "This is scary--you never know what's coming in life," and then fell asleep. Nobody else in my workplace felt a thing, so I'm not sure if some constructions feel these shakes more than others, or if I'm a light sleeper!

I woke up this morning thinking that my boyfriend was shaking the bed and rattling me nightstand. I yelled at him and kicked him, only to find that it was the earthquake!!

I slept right through it in Lincoln Park... I'm on the 3rd floor of a high rise. I wonder if my neighbors up higher felt it?

I have to add that I love how many people just thought, "Eh, horny neighbors." Hilarious!

I live in Cincinnati and it woke me up. At first I thought that someone was shaking my bed, but being that I live alone that's nearly impossible. Come to find out it was actually an earthquake...

southsider here...i wake up at 4 am and i wake the kids up at about 4:30. when it hit i thought mabey a bus or a train were passing by, but it was to long to be either. so i thought the kids were jumping in the bed. when i went to ask my daughter she said wide eyed "Dad did you feel that?" i would have never imagined an earthquake here in Chicago. i do remember one about 5 or 6 years back but it was only about a 3 on the scale. should i buy earthquake insurance???

I didn't feel it here in Des Moines, but several people I've talked to did. It woke my parents up in way southern Missouri.

That's what that was this morning, haha. I woke up around 430, cuz I heard some rattling, but like any such name, I thought maybe the neighbors were getting frisky.

I felt it in the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago's southside. It woke me up and i noticed that it was happening in waves, it was a strange feeling!!

Does anyone else remember the earthquake in Chicago in the mid 80's? I was a little girl and it was a Sunday afternoon in summer, my family was sitting down to dinner (my Mom is a southerner, Sunday dinner is eaten between 2-4 pm) and suddenly the Kool-Aid was swishing in the pitcher and our apartment was shaking... It was VERY exciting to me. I think that was when I realized that it's not all about me!

First thought was that someone was shaking my bedframe... here in Evanston, just a few blocks from the Lake.

So, I touched the plaster wall to be sure I wasn't asleep. It was cool to the touch, but moving as well! (Or I was in relation to it). Then my bedroom door popped open on its own-

Strangely enough the Mid western shaker happened on the 102th anniversary of the 1906 quake in San Francisco today. And yes we in S.F still meet at the exact time of the quake at the one fire hydrant responsible for saving part of the city! I personally didn't get up at 4am for the festivities!

Wow so I totally slept through it here in Dayton, OH. I am surprised my cats didn't wake me up (or maybe they tried?). Oh well, maybe next time.

I felt it in Lexington, Kentucky, where I was awake and about to leave for work. It felt like two big shudders. I didn't feel the last New Madrid fault quake 15 years ago or so, so I was pretty excited to notice this one.

I didn't feel anything over in Hammond, IN, but in all likelihood I probably wouldn't have noticed. I live about 200' from a freight train line, and well they go by at every hour of the day and night. The house rattles and rolls all the time. Surprisingly, the house had and has minor haircrack lines in its plaster walls nothing more than that. Guess it has good bones.

I live in Louisville, KY and and felt it. I was awake and wasn't sure what was happening. It sounded like a strong wind blowing by at first, but then everything started shaking and I woke my wife up to make sure I wasn't just losing my mind. It woke the dogs up and scared them too.

I was out like a light. My best friend in Wisconsin e-mailed me first thing to ask if I was okay - I hadn't even heard about it until she asked.

As much as the earth shaking below my feet freaks me out, I kind of wish I had been awake to feel it.

It jolted us out of bed here in Champaign IL. Took us a while to figure out what was happening, but it rattled our little modern ranch pretty well. Like lots of people, at first we thought it was a strong wind. Also felt an aftershock at about 10:30 this morning, but that wasn't quite as vigorous.

we live in an older house at naperville,il .My kid woke me up with a not-so-strange question...Why's the house shakin ?....Our home vibrates with every train passing by.
The shaking and window rattling didn't stop for quite a while... got worried about this old home..was it giving up after all the pain & pleasure of being renovated:)
Woke up to see no cracks ,got news of the quake when my friend called up to query.

we're in st. louis and it definitely woke us up...the bed shook and our dog was barking and sniffing the floor. felt the aftershock at work almost six hours later, too. haven't heard much about damage in the area, but it does make me more cognizant of the fact that i live in an earthquake-prone region.

I live in STL..I felt it right at 4 in the a.m. Slept through the first 85 seconds, woke up for the last 5 seconds, thought it was wind (I live on the 6th Floor - it was a nice gentle sway) then went right back to sleep. Then my mom and dad called to see if I was okay.

PS: I heard and read several top geological professors assert that New Madrid no longer posesses a serious threat - just insurance companies selling snake oil.

I live on the West Side of Chicago, and it woke me up. I have one of those old Wisconsin farmhouse beds, and it rattles and creaks when a large truck rolls by... but this was different. I have never felt an earthquake before, so I was rather unsettled by it, dangerous or not.

I live on the top floor of a three story building in East Rogers Park, and I was semi-awake for the 4-5am movement. My bed started sliding back and forth, but I thought I was just dreaming it. Then this morning, both of my roommates said they woke up last night feeling like someone was moving their beds. Googled Chicago and earthquake and there was the proof that we're not crazy!

@eightdouble: I thought I felt aftershocks around 10:20am too. I was sitting at my desk and my bookshelf started swaying back and forth just a little.

I live in Humboldt Park and was getting ready for work at 4:30am when I felt the house slightly vibrate. I thought to myself that it was just the Blue Line passing by and then I remembered I no longer live in Logan Square and not even close to the tracks anymore.

That's when my bed started moving across the floor. I had no idea what was going on! Maybe the wind REALLY picked up, a convoy of trucks was passing down Augusta Blvd, plane crash... who knows?! Living in the midwest, the last thing you assume is earthquake! When my buddies at work asked me "Did you feel the quake this morning?" all I could say is "THAT'S WHAT THAT WAS?!"

It's also a little unsettling to know that I have NO IDEA what to do in case of an earthquake.

I'm near St. Louis, and it woke me up as well. In my half asleep state I wasn't certain what it was. I have this train that goes through right behind my building, and sometimes it causes the building to shake a bit and even the cabinets to clatter lightly depending on the train. My initial thought was that it must be a pretty big train to shake as much as it was! Then I thought, "it's shaking too much to be just a train, maybe it's an earthquake..." Then, I thought, "nah, that's crazy", and went back to sleep. When I heard on the radio this morning that there was indeed an earthquake, I was like, "No Way!" Weird. I felt the aftershock mid morning as well. I was more alert to it that time. It's odd when it feels like your floor is sitting on jello... :)

I live in Illinois and it woke me up. We used to live in SoCal, so I knew immediately what it was. Nothing was broken, but it went on for a decent amount of time, enough to make it a bit difficult to go back to sleep. This morning, a neighbor and I were talking about how high our deductable was on our earthquake insurance.

We woke up with the bed rocking back and forth about 5 times - crazy! Felt like being in a sleep car of a train. We thought maybe it was strong winds, and being in an old brick building... we're here in West Loop of Chicago. Pretty exciting I must say!

It woke me up at 5:40 AM in Indianapolis, Indiana. I thought my daughter was climbing into bed with me. This is the third earthquake I've felt in the 34 years I've lived here -- all three were minor but it's a very distinctive feeling! I knew right away it was an earthquake. I was driving later in the morning so I didn't feel the aftershocks.

I live in the South Loop, Chicago. My cat woke up at 3:30 a.m. (as usual) and I grabbed her and locked her in the bathroom. Then around 4:30, I felt the bed shake and thought, "How on earth did she get out of the locked bathroom?" But she didn't - - she was nowhere to be seen and the bathroom door was still closed! I figured, like some of the other posters here, that a large truck rumbled by - - -but I don't live right on a big street! Then I woke up to the news of the earthquake on the radio . . . didn't feel the aftershocks in my Loop office, though.

I live in NW Indiana. I slept through it, but my dad was awake and felt it... my mom slept through it too.

Back in the mid-80s when I was at IU in Bloomington there was an earthquake. I'll bet it's the same faultline. It was weird. I was in a sewing lab on campus in an old building. It was funny how we just kept working until a few minutes past and we started asking one another if anyone "felt that" as if each of us was checking to see if she imagined it.

Better believe it...I live 60 miles from the epicenter. Had aftershocks at 10:43 that were almost as strong.

Waiting for the locust any minute

It was 437am on the dot
....and I was sleep.
I woke up at 600am
to get ready for work.

The End.

Charleston, South Carolina, was hit by a minor earthquake last week that caused mostly minor damage. No homes were destroyed, and there weren't major injuries as a result. Charleston isn't known as an earthquake hot spot in the U.S. like California is, but quakes do happen there. The most recent one measured a 3.6 on the Richter scale. 3.6 isn't a major event, but cleaning up after it is a royal pain in the neck. The history of the region has been that a small quake, like the one that just happened, is a usual precedent of a much larger one to come. An earthquake rocked Charleston in 1886 that killed upwards of a hundred people and cost millions to repair, and measured between 6.6 and 7.3 on the Richter. The Great San Francisco Quake of 1906, by comparison, was over 9.0 on the Richter. (A 10 has never been seen or recorded in the span of human history, and isn't achievable by atomic blasts.) Earthquakes are tough to predict, because the only indicators that tell of one happening are apparent only right before the event. You can read the article called "Charleston Earthquake | Payday Will Be Spent Fixing Drywall", on the payday loan news blog at personalmoneystore.com.