Share Your Earthquake Experiences

[Orion21]

My first earthquake experience was in San Francisco about 10 years ago. I was laying in bed when I heard a rumble and started to feel a vibration. Then, without warning the bed was jerked to the left and then to the right about two feet both times. And then as suddenly as it started it was over.

It was the weirdest and scariest experience of my life. You literally go into shock and are like "did what I think happen just happen?" The power is amazing and to top it off that quake was so small it wasn't even registered on the news that day. . .

[tinknocker924]

I was on the beach in fire island, NY yesterday and I guess because I was on the sand it must have absorbed the shock because I didn't feel anything thank god there was'nt a tsunami after..

[tmac77]

First Earthquake that I felt was in Tokyo Japan. I was drunk at the time, however, and just thought that I was alot drunker than I imagined as I couled not keep my balance and kept falling down. Found out the next day that it was an earthquake.

[Puros Y Vino]

Last summer's quake near Ottawa/Montreal. I was on the 17floor of my office building. My chair started bouncing up and down..the window in front of me started to groan and creak. I called down to the security guys. I said.."earthquake boys"? They said yup, just confirmed with other properties in the city. We're about to announce a general evacuation. I said "OK thanks", hung up the phone, closed the lid of my laptop, packed it up and walked the eff out. I don't get paid enough to stick around for aftershocks in an old building.

[Guest robusto101]

First Earthquake that I felt was in Tokyo Japan. I was drunk at the time, however, and just thought that I was alot drunker than I imagined as I couled not keep my balance and kept falling down. Found out the next day that it was an earthquake.

If we had a contest for best story, you'd get my vote. Hilarious!

As for me, we had just moved to San Diego from the east coast within a year or so and sometime in the middle of the day the house started shaking. Nearly everything in our kitchen cabinets fell out and I was freaked (was only 9 or 10 maybe). It didn't last too long but to this day it's hard to get used to the feeling. It's just so unusual and unnerving. Although having lived in SD for over 15 years I have gotten used to the smaller ones. Fortunately we haven't had a big one since then.

[B.HOBS]

Northridge quake in '94. I was only 10 years old at the time, but that was one scary, violent quake. Freeways and buildings collapsed, fires raged, no phone service, and relentless aftershocks. Ive been through quite a few more since then, but nothing as hardcore as that morning...I could only imagine what those massive earthquakes in Japan and Chile just have felt like...just waiting for California's turn for the BIG ONE!!!

[TankerT]

February 2010 - I was up early working on a software update. I was doing this from home... and at about 4am(ish) thought a snow plow went by. (Those of you that have snow plows drive by in the winter, you know how they shake things up...) I didn't think it had snowed, and I didn't see the flashing lights... so got up and looked. Nothing. Odd.. so I thought. Found out later, it was an earthquake.

Quite uneventful. That's how I like my natural occurrences. Uneventful.

[Squarehead]

From yesterdays quake I felt nothing,other than that I expierienced a couple of light ones here in Ontario and a couple in my hometown Stuttgart/Germany.On one, the glassware and china rattled in the chinacabinet and the other just a shaking for about 15 second while I was at work in the Mercedes-Plant.

[KB24]

Northridge Earthquake in 94 as well. That **** was scary. Was 12 at the time and I ran from my room to my parents and when I dove into their bed, I bashed my ear/head on their bed post and got a concussion. After things had settled down, my father some how got access to a bull dozer and went around to all of our friends house in Northridge and helped clear streets and debris. I'm almost 30 and earthquakes or the thought of them still scares me. Earthquakes and bees hahahahahahaha!

[capnshazam]

I was home and awake I think I was shaving at the time and didn't feel a thing. Didn't even nick myself. My dog freaked out though I guess he felt it.

[Rehman]

It's when earthquakes happen where they normally don't (such as Virginia) that they're especially unsettling. They were unheard-of here in peninsular Malaysia until the Boxing Day Massacre of 2004. The quake that triggered the Asian Tsunami woke me up in my fourth-floor apartment in KL. The water in my bedside tumbler was rippling. My first thought was to envy the neighbours' merry Christmas. But a glance out the window revealed them already in the quadrangle below with a gaggle of other residents, staring in horrified fascination at the little waves in the swimming pool. My next thought was: Dayyum, an EARTHQUAKE?! Was that factored into the design and construction of this tower block?

I don't live there any more.

[CBL]

My first earthquake was when visiting my grandparents in Taiwan when I was between 12 and 16 I guess. I remember not being able to sleep and all of a sudden seeing the hanging lamp on the ceiling swing from side to side. Don't remember the shock, just remembered that spooky image.

I've been lucky enough to not be around for the biggest quakes of the past couple of years, but since May, there's been some tiny quakes (nothing past 5.4 I think) almost every month, luckily I've always been home while they hit. I'm always worried that I'll be on my scooter on my way to or from school. My school is on top of a mountain with a notorious road leading up to it that floods during storms

Here's a quote from wikipedia regarding our school and it's road:

many students chose to ride scooters up to the main campus. This has resulted in a high number of student injuries and fatalities each semester.

Thankfully all our buildings have had earthquake absorbers installed in them

[stefan850]

No earthquake experiences, dont know if it counts but earth did move, and all of my windows broke back when my city got bombed for 3 months back in 99. Since then my cat gets really really scared every time there's a thunderstorm

[sblevit]

I've been through both Landers and Northridge, each of which were 7+ and a couple in the 5+ range while sitting in my office on the 43rd floor of a downtown office building, watching the building sway back and forth. They are unsettling for sure. But they are a fact of life in So. Cal. At this point, I think it would take a 9+ to really scare the crap out of me.