What It Feels Like to Be in an Earthquake

Not all earthquakes are alike. How it feels depends on where you are at the time, what you're doing and how intense the shaking is. Here are a few of those I've experienced.

Whittier Narrows: This was a moderate quake, but we were quite some length away. We were at the local donut shop, eating morning meal when it hit. Our seats were next to the plate glass window. At first, I wasn't even sure what was going on.

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The man and woman who owned the shop easily knew. He was out of the kitchen where he'd been frying donuts faster than I idea he could move. Before I knew it, he was wheeling the stroller our toddler daughters were sitting in out of the store and she'd grabbed my arm to move me out and away from the window. Then the ground easily did some rolling. Quite an introduction.

Landers/Big Bear: Again, we were quite some length from the quake. It woke us up, and the house sort of jiggled like jello for a long time. It was scary, but too far away for us to have damage. We also felt the second jolt, the one in Big Bear. That one was closer and did a small more rocking and rolling. I'd call it like trying to get your sea legs once you get on a boat.

Northridge: I *never* want to go through something like that again. In fact, as soon as the ground stopped moving, I strongly suggested we move elsewhere. There are a consolidate of ways I can spin the sensation. Have you ever watched your laundry go through the cycles, or seen the dryer tumbling clothes? That's a fairly good fit.

I was sound asleep when it started, so I didn't feel the mild, warning jiggle. I woke up to thunderous noise, the sound of things crashing nearby me and the most violent shaking I could ever imagine. It seemed to go on forever. We could also see transformers going out and power lines arcing when we opened our eyes.

When we ultimately got everybody together and go outside, it was eerie. The only lights illustrated (aside from stars) were those power lines and the police cars that streamed down the road on a regular basis, checking for problem areas. Our road is a main thoroughfare, so we saw a lot of them.

What we could hear, aside from the occasional scream, were car alarms. Every single one in our area was going off at once. It took quite some time before the owners were able to still them. I think that lasted about an hour.

What we saw and felt that day is hard to put into words. The most spectacular, sight of all, however, came late in the afternoon. There is a mountain north of our city that used to look a lot like halfdome in Yosemite. An aftershock hit it, and it slid. We could see it from the start, the dirt pouring down the cliffside, and then the dust from it came over our area and we all had to go inside. Amazing.

I have been through many disasters. I was in Cleveland when an F5 killed 200 habitancy there. I was in a flood that left some counties in Wv underwater. I've even experienced being covering in a blizzard. I can tell you this; earthquakes beat all of those experiences hands down.

What It Feels Like to Be in an Earthquake