Anyone feel the Quake today??!! Are you ok??!! How can the people on the west coast get use to this!! I hope and pray everyone is fine and no real damage....BIG HUGS TO ALL...

I live near Virginia Beach, VA and I felt it! I didn't know what it was at first - I thought one of my daughters was crawling around behind my chair and joggling it!....Then I saw the water in the glass on the table shaking. :-)

I agree! I'll take driving through a blizzard any day over what I felt today. I really felt like my building was collapsing.

Best wishes to everyone!

Well, I was in the radiology department at the big hospital, xrays had been taken, I was sitting on the edge of the huge xray table in my 2 hospital gowns with *nothing else at all* underneath, chatting with the lovely techs, waiting for the "torturer" with the needle to arrive.

I felt that quake, shot off that table like I'd never had a hip pain in my life, grabbed up my purse and ran to stand in the doorframe!! When I saw all the staff swarming out into the corridor, I said "Momma knows to stand in the doorframe during an earthquake, don't you guys?!"

They looked at me and many stepped back into doors, but they all said "Was it an earthquake? Really?" We quickly found out it was from a supervisor who had been on a conference call with people in Richmond, VA. The building shook and the phones/computers are gaflooey while I was there but we were able to reach my aunt by phone before the cell towers went nuts.

Came home to my little cottage to learn the neighbor had been outside, and felt it, saw utility poles sway, her flag on the house wave, her flower pots clatter, but she said all the animals -- cows, horses, dogs, cats -- seemed oblivious. I did find a couple of things had shifted slightly in the cottage and some mortar on the outside (unused) chimney popped out of the bricks. So, all and all here in Lynchburg and Bedford we seem to be okay, very minor damage, no injuries.

Jan in VA

This was pretty much my reaction. There was at least a half-dozen things I thought it could be before I accepted it was an actual earth quake. I'm glad you're alright, Jan!

Wow! I didn't feel it, as I was in the car driving, but many of my friends did here in PA. My DBIL was in a 10 story building in Baltimore, MD and was evacuated. Couldn't get home for a while as his car was parked in the basement parking garage and wasn't allowed back in to get it! Hope everyone effected is ok. Man! When I felt the quake in New Zealand, I said, "I'm going back to PA! We don't do this there..." Well, I guess everyone had to be wrong once in a while! Yikes!

Hope everybody in VA and surrounding areas are okay.
I got used to earthquakes now, after living in Japan for 22 months. Just part of living here.

The safest place in an Earthquake is OUTSIDE in the open where things can't fall on top of you! Especially if you are near the center and buildings are coming down.
A doorway or under a table is for tornados.
I used to live in San Diego, we had Earthquakes a lot. Everyone knew what to do when they happened.
Table or a doorway are not going to protect you if the structure comes down.

I grew up in the middle of the US and for an earthquake it was always taught doorway or heavy furniture such as a table (not that we ever needed to even though we were on the largest fault line in the US). For a tornado you get as low as you can such as a basement (best) or a room with no windows if you don't have a basement. I've seen houses where only the floor and the basement stairs were left, the house was a couple miles down the road.

I remember in california back in the late 60's when i was in grade school,we would have earthquake drills.and I kid you not we had to get under our desks for the entire time of the drill.Fire drills of course we went outside.I'll never forget it,even though i was in the fourth grade,that didnt make sense to me

Yeah, if you're in a tornado DO NOT stand in a doorway or get under a table unless it is literally breaking down your door before you have time to get underground. Even then, the doorway is a good idea for structure but horrible for flying (horizontal) debris.

At least in an earthquake a table can protect your head from anything falling (vertically) from the walls or ceiling.

There is no "outside" where I live that can't be reached by falling buildings and debris. Good thing we don't have these earthquakes often, I suppose.

this is totally true and why when the large earthquake hit the Bay area there were so many deaths. I lived there then and couldn't wait to get back to the east coast. We had a month of aftershocks that did more damage to my house than the earthquake did. We lived on an island and there was no safe way off of it. Now we know we get them here but I'm still glad I came back here (I've lived here mostly since 74) at least the chances of us getting one is very slim.

Felt it in central KY, Lexington area.

Cathy S/Willowwind

Over the years they have discovered that being under a doorway or table in an earthquake ended up with people getting crushed.
Tornados have wind, Earthquakes do not. On a building the highest point rocks the most and is more likely to fall.
I can remember one that was located in Mexico City that was about off the scale, it was felt all the way to Nevada! It was in the middle of the night, my birds started screaming, I jumped up and grabbed their cages and held on to ride it out. Felt like the building was going to come off the foundation.
There are also ones that have demolished ball parks, where people got under the seats and were killed by the falling upper levels.

Well ya know what?? I'm so glad none of you were hurt and were able to live & write to tell about it!! Thank God!! :lol: :-D

Deb, *getting* outisde in an earthquake can be very difficult and dangerous. Actually, the California standard for earthquake safety is "Drop, Cover, and Hold on". (Researched this after the fact......well, better late than never!)

This from their website:
"Trying to move during shaking puts you at risk: Earthquakes occur without any warning and may be so violent that you cannot run or crawl; you therefore will most likely be knocked to the ground where you happen to be. So it is best to drop before the earthquake drops you, and find nearby shelter or use your arms and hands to protect your head and neck. "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" (to a table leg) gives you the best overall chance of quickly protecting yourself during an earthquake... even during quakes that cause furniture to move about rooms, and even in buildings that might ultimately collapse.

The greatest danger is from falling and flying objects: Studies of injuries and deaths caused by earthquakes over the last several decades show that you are much more likely to be injured by falling or flying objects (TVs, lamps, glass, bookcases, etc.) than to die in a collapsed building. "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" (as described above) will protect you from most of these injuries."

I did discover on this site that standing in a doorway is not the safest thing, contrary to what I'd been told. At the moment I jumped from the xray table, I seriously considered ducking under it, but thought I wouldn't fit, LOL! :? :oops: That's why I opted for the doorway next. Hopefully I won't be in an xray lab the next time I experience such a decision!!
http://earthquakecountry.info/dropcoverholdon/

Jan in calm, quiet VA this morning

If I duck it is under a turned over sofa, that is sturdy. I lived in quake country for over 40 years, getting outside after the initial shaking has ended is advisible, the aftershocks are at times more dangerous than the original quake.
I had a warning system of one coming with my dog, when he started howling and did so nonstop, my neignbors and I knew one that was going to be felt was about to happen.
We got a 3 day advance warning.
Calif has quakes all the time, not all are regristered on the scale - you don't feel them.