Midwest Earthquake...did you feel it?
 

Moderate Quake Hits Midwest, South
Tue Jun 18, 3:26 PM ET
By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press Writer

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) - A moderate earthquake ( news - web sites) rattled church bells and nerves Tuesday in portions of the Midwest and South, but authorities had no immediate reports of serious damage.


The quake, which struck at 12:37 p.m. CDT, registered a magnitude of 5.0, said John Bellini with the U.S. Geological Survey ( news - web sites) in Golden, Colo.

The epicenter was 10 miles northwest of Evansville, Ind., near the small town of Darmstadt.

"Initially, it was this thunderous noise, and then the actual vibration," said Vicki Stuffle, an employee of Old National Bank in Darmstadt. "We actually saw the building moving."

The quake was hard enough to sound the bells inside a church steeple, she said.

The quake shook buildings in downtown Evansville and was felt in Indiana as far north as South Bend, about 250 miles away. It also was felt in Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.

The only damage immediately reported was cracked chimneys and broken glass in the Evansville area, said Alden Taylor, spokesman for the Indiana state emergency management agency.

Officials were inundated with calls from people asking about the tremor.

In Louisville, Ky., Jerrod Pratt, who works the night shift at a Ford Co. assembly plant, said the quake shook him from his sleep but didn't appear to damage his house.

"I was laying in my bed and my bed was shaking, my house was shaking," Pratt said. "I looked out my window and my neighbors were all standing outside looking around."

"It was weird," he said. "I'd never experienced anything like that."

Bill Smith, a U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist, said the Wabash Valley region periodically is struck by small earthquakes ( news - web sites), typically ones that are not strong enough to be felt.

"This is much larger than average for the region, but not unprecedented," Smith said

The strongest earthquake in the region in the last 100 years happened on Nov. 9, 1968. Centered in south-central Illinois, it had a magnitude of 5.4 and was felt in 23 states.

Maj. Tom Wallis of the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Department felt the quake in his office and said authorities were checking bridges and other structures for damage.

"We were shaking, rattling and rolling," Wallis said. "I thought it was Jerry Lee Lewis doing the big one."

I felt that one. I was wondering what was going on.LOL!

Many of my friends especially those tht work in high-rise buildigs felt it....I however work very near a generator which would impair me from feeling a richtor scale 7 if the fault was under my desk. Most f my friends sad they felt it though

Northern Cali Earthquake!
 

We just had an earthquake yesterday (6/17) in Northern California. It registered a 5.3 My roommate was laughing at me because she heard me getting pissed off because I had to get out of bed :)

Does anyone know how much the weather really has to do with earthquakes? I ask because the weather has been really wierd in my neck of the woods. Saturday morning started out cloudy and ended up being a beautiful sunny day. The night got cold and the same happened on Sunday. However, Monday (earthquake day) morning was pretty warm and sunny and it ended up raining all afternoon and evening. Today, was sunny once again!