Earthquake

Anyone else wake up to an earthquake?

Our bed was shaking pretty hard, so I thought Mal was snoring… but it was actually a 5.4 magnitude quake centered about 110 miles away from here in West Salem, Ill.

From the Associated Press:

WEST SALEM, Ill. - A 5.4 earthquake that appeared to rival the strongest recorded in the region rocked people awake up to 350 miles away early Friday, surprising residents unaccustomed to such a powerful Midwest temblor.

The quake just before 4:37 a.m. was centered 6 miles from West Salem, Ill., and 66 miles from Evansville, Ind. It was felt in such distant cities as Chicago, Cincinnati and Milwaukee, 350 miles north of the epicenter, but there were no early reports of injuries or significant damage.

“It shook our house where it woke me up,” said David Behm of Philo, 10 miles south of Champaign. “Windows were rattling, and you could hear it. The house was shaking inches. For people in central Illinois, this is a big deal. It’s not like California.”

The quake shook skyscrapers in Chicago’s Loop, 240 miles north of the epicenter, and in downtown Indianapolis, about 160 miles northeast of it. Residents of Cincinnati and St. Louis also reported feeling the earth shake.

Irvetta McMurtry of Cincinnati said she felt the rattling for up to 20 seconds.

“All of a sudden, I was awakened by this rumbling shaking,” said McMurtry, 43. “My bed is an older wood frame bed, so the bed started to creak and shake, and it was almost like somebody was taking my mattress and moving it back and forth.”

Lucas Griswold, a dispatcher in West Salem, said the Edwards County sheriff’s department received reports of minor damage and no injuries.

“Oh, yeah, I felt it. It was interesting,” Griswold said. “A lot of shaking.”

Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle in Evansville said there were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake occurred in the Illinois basin-Ozark dome region that covers parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas and stretches from Indianapolis and St. Louis to Memphis, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The organization’s Web site said earthquakes occur irregularly in the area, and that the largest historical earthquake in the region — also a magnitude 5.4 — caused damage in southern Illinois in 1968.

I think there was an earthquake here back in the late 80s… but I don’t think we were living here at the time.

Our cat, Max, was pretty jumpy this morning right after it happened. I felt bad for him, for once he wasn’t doing anything wrong and he looked like a scolded little child… he just sat in the middle of the living room with the biggest eyes I have ever seen.

Mal went right back to bed and thought I was stupid for getting up.

• Earthquake Report (USGS)
• Earthquake rattles Tri-State (Evansville Courier & Press)
• Earthquake measuring 5.4 rattles St. Louis region (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• 5.4 earthquake rocks Illinois; felt 350 miles away (Yahoo News via AP)
• Earthquake Data Center (USGS)

And another fun angle… the Post-Dispatch is using Twitter to update people with short messages as news comes in.