Complete WHAS11 Earthquake Coverage

Surveillance video captures earthquake

Slideshow: Earthquake damage

Slideshow: Damage at the Kentuckiana Works Cosmopolitan Building

GMK anchor team recaps their earthquake experience

Raw Video: Earthquake Damage

First reaction to the quake on WHAS11

Facts about the West Salem earthquake

Did you feel the earthquake? Tell us about it

Take our quake quiz

GMK on the air as the earthquake hits

Louisville, Ky. (WHAS11) - Kentuckiana is buzzing about the earthquake that happened Friday morning.  WHAS11 News has gathered stories from across the area, about the quake that measured 5.2 on the Richter scale.  The quake hit at 5:36am, centered in West Salem, Illinois.  It was the one wake up call you couldn’t miss.  Then at 11:14am, a smaller aftershock was felt, but not by everyone this time.  Little damage has been reported in Kentucky and Indiana and there have been no reports of any injuries.

Just about a month ago, the National Guard wrapped up working on another earthquake that measured 7.5 on the Richter scale.  It was a training exercise.  But because of that recent training, state officials say they were prepared, had today’s quake been worse.

“My first thought is, what’s going on?  My second thought is I better call and find out,” says Gov. Steve Beshear, (D-Kentucky) who says the quake woke him up.  “We have to step up and do our part in any tragedies like that.”

And the governor says the state did step up for training just last month.  The Kentucky National Guard met across the state back in March to prepare for the case of an earthquake.  But Friday’s shake-up was no drill.  Some minor damage was reported, but most of all, officials say the quake was yet another opportunity for training.

“It’s a great opportunity to reinforce that training to ask, what would you have done if it were an earthquake of significant record?” says Doug Hamilton, Metro Director of Emergency Management.

Although today’s 5.2 earthquake was not considered “significant,” the damage is still being surveyed on both sides of the river.

“There will probably be an ongoing investigation for us for maybe the next several days,” says Joe Wainscott, Indiana’s Director of Homeland Security.  “Because some damage may not be readily apparent.”

That means especially structures like the bridges that connect Kentucky and Indiana that will continue to be surveyed for safety.

“They just send inspectors out to make sure tremor didn’t cause any problems internally,” says Gov. Beshear.  “They check on the structural integrity of the bridges.”

The Department of Homeland Security says you should also inspect your own home.  You should look for new cracks in the walls or floors and have them checked out because even if you can’t see the damage, you could have internal damage to the structure of your home.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

**PREVIOUS STORY**

WEST SALEM, Ill. (AP) -- Residents across the Midwest were awakened Friday by a 5.2 magnitude earthquake that rattled skyscrapers in Chicago’s Loop and homes in Cincinnati but appeared to cause no major injuries or damage.

The quake just before 4:37 a.m. was centered six miles from West Salem, Ill., and 45 miles from Evansville, Ind. It was felt in such distant cities as Milwaukee, Des Moines, Iowa, and Atlanta, nearly 400 miles to the southeast.

“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 only place in metro Louisville that sustained any damage was the Kentuckiana Works Cosmopolitan building at 3^rd and Kentucky.    Luckily there was only superficial damage.  The building currently houses a JCPS youth job office and goodwill office.

 After the cleanup business resumed as normal.

In Mount Carmel, 15 southeast of the epicenter, a woman was trapped in her home by a collapsed porch but was quickly freed and wasn’t hurt, said Mickie Smith, a dispatcher at the police department. The department took numerous other calls, though none reported anything more serious than objects knocked off walls and out of shelves, she said.

Also in Mount Carmel, a two-story apartment building was evacuated because of loose and falling bricks. Police cordoned off the building, a 1904 school converted to residences.

Bonnie Lucas, a morning co-host at WHO-AM in Des Moines, said she was sitting in her office when she felt her chair move. She grabbed her desk, and then heard the ceiling panels start to creak. The shaking lasted about 5 seconds, she said.

The quake is believed to have involved the Wabash fault, a northern extension of the New Madrid fault about six miles north of Mount Carmel, Ill., said United States Geological Survey geophysicist Randy Baldwin.

The last earthquake in the region to approach the severity of Friday’s temblor was a 5.0 magnitude quake that shook a nearby area in 2002, Baldwin said.

“This is a fairly large quake for this region,” he said. “They might occur every few years.”

Initially reported as a 5.4-magnitude earthquake, the USGS revised its estimate to 5.2. Two aftershocks during the next three hours measured 2.6 and a 2.5.

“This was widely felt, all the way to Atlanta, a little bit in Michigan,” said USGS geophysicist Carrieann Bedwell.

In Cincinnati, Irvetta McMurtry 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.”

In Chicago, officials were checking structures downtown to ensure there was no damage. The quake also shook skyscrapers in downtown Indianapolis, about 160 miles northeast of the epicenter.

The strongest earthquake on record with an epicenter in Illinois occurred in 1968, when a 5.3-magnitude temblor was recorded about 75 miles southeast of St. Louis, according the USGS. The damage was minor but widespread and there were no serious injuries.

In 1811 and 1812, the New Madrid fault produced a series of earthquakes estimated at magnitude 7.0 or greater said to be felt as far away as Boston. They were centered in the Missouri town of New Madrid (pronounced MAD rid), 140 miles southeast of St. Louis.

Experts say that with the much higher population in the Midwest, another major quake along the New Madrid fault zone could destroy buildings, bridges, roads and other infrastructure, disrupt communications and isolate areas.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

woke me up from a light sleep.

I didn't feel the earthquake but I did feel the aftershock and it was the scariest thing ever

I still feel the ground moving every once in a while

I thought that we were having a tornado

I had gotten up to use the bathroom. I was still sitting on it -flushed it- and because I have a bad knee, I sat a minute to get footing to get up, when the water beneath me bubbled up and girgled and the water in the tank behind me began to bubble up Then the comode started to shake from left to right. I thjought at first it was fort knox, but it was not like we usually hear.I thought it would be just like what an earthquake would be couldn't beleive it- but then I thought something was wrong with the plumbing. That was a little past 5:30 !

I did not actually fell the real earth quake, because I was sound asleep, but I did fell 2 after shocks. The one at 11:15 Friday morning and the one at 1:37 Monday morning! Both times I was laying down, not moving. If I had been up moving around I probally would not have felt them.....

I am normally a really deep sleeper, not much wakes me up, but I awoke when I felt my bed shaking. I saw the walls shaking and heard the windows rattling. One of my cats was in the bed with me, standing, trying to balance herself on the edge of the bed. My other cat jumped off the bed and ran. I only felt about 10 seconds of the earthquake. When it was over I got up and looked out the window, I thought maybe a sever storm had caused the shaking. I was still half asleep and I just couldn't figure out what had happened. It never occurred to me that it could be an earthquake. I thought maybe I had imagined it and went back to sleep.

I was so scarred I could not go back to sleep it really stressed me out ,I thought it was the end of time.

I was asleep in bed when my husband woke me up yelling what is that. When I noticed our bed was shaking it only took me about a half a second to jump across the bed to be next to him and I had tears rolling out of my eyes. It was just a really scary thing to wake up to. Our entire house was shaking and it felt like we had one of those vibrating beds.

We live in E-town and was awakened by our bed shaking again this morning about 1:40 AM

Elizabeth Indiana I first thought it was a plane going over our house. Then I yelled at the kids to get out but they ran to the dogs to get them out with them. I then set them down and told them yes we love the dogs but they come first and since we live on top of the hill in a trailer to always run outside. My oldest goes to college in Evansveille Indiana and stays with my folks I called her to check on her and my folks since it all started close to her. They been saying for year its going to happen here and in the Bible it says at the end of time we will have them. Come on Jesus I'm ready!!!

They have been saying we would have a big one for years. When it started I was getting dressed to take dogs to vets. I yelled for the kids to get outside cause we live on a hill in a trailer. They ran to the dogs while I wanted them outside. Says in the Bible that in the end of time we would have earthquakes. Seek God before its to late all!

Between Crestwood & Centerfield. The tremor woke me up - house felt like a roll of thunder came through & bed jerked.

i called a friend to make sure it was a tremor because it woke me up at about 1:40 am but they didn't feel it and for the entire morning everyone thought i was crazy until it showed up on the news

My son slept through the Friday morning earthquake, but it shook him out of bed. We live in Butchertown on the third floor.

I slept through it. I later found out when I turned on the T.V. to find the news talking about it.

I miss everything!

I just felt another one. Already listed on the USGS site. It was 1:40am Mon 21, 2008. It was listed as a 4.5

i was laying awake when my bed began to sway from side to side.then started to jump up and down. it knocked a slat out of my bed and shook things on the wall.

I thought someone was playing a prank on me. The bed was shaking pretty good and I just knew someone was shaking it!

To me, it sounded as if dual-propeller helicopters were landing on my house...

I, like some of the other commentators, slept through the whole quake, only to be told about it later by others!

I awoke to my bed shaking. I thought i was being possessed. it was like something from a scary movie! Very cool though after i realized what was going on and that i wasn't going crazy!!

I looked over at my husband, who was just waking up, and asked him, "What's going on?!?!"

I live near Chicago and I felt it! It was like airplane turbulence. I felt like my bed was bouncing up and down!

Yeah, first night shacking with a new girl and the earth really shook. It was pretty amazing

iam from leitchfield kentucky and yes i felt the earthquake. my daughter and i were asleep and when it started i thought that she came in and jumped on my bed, it scared me .

felt the first two wave seconds apart at 5:37 yesturday morning. My wife and I were laying in bed with the first cup of coffee we were in the upstairs bedroom

I live in Hillview and felt it as well. It woke me up but my boyfriend slept right through it. Pretty scary.

The lady that called the morning of the quake to say that she slept on the floor of her trailer and had felt rumbles before was absolutely right.
Our family,too, has noted these rumbles.

On the 4PM radio new 4/18/08 Jim Williams gave a U of K site to check seismic activity but I couldn't write it down at the time. Could someone please send that web site to me. It didn't come up on Google.
My e-mail address: LBJackRN27@aol.com
THanks,
Lynda

I found myself filled with dread when it was time to get back into my bed last night. --A fearsome NOISE was the dominant dimension of my earthquake "experience." It sounded as those a huge avalanche of gravel were being dumped against the outside walls of my house. I expected the wall behind my bed to cave in or come crashing down. I now believe that EACH concrete-like asbestos shingle siding piece was vibrating -- enough to cause a constant - seemingly endless - barrage of clapping/crackling sound as they hit each other where they overlap. My inspection yesterday revealed a few cracked shingles that I hadn't noticed in the past, but I can't say for certain whether they were caused by the quake.

I felt like the world was falling.When I was 3 I said"a tiger is under my bed" at an after shock.At first I thougt it was a twister.Thankyou for your time.

I was laying in bed My husband and I had just woken up. All of a sudden I heard something then the bed started shaking. I asked my husband if he heard and felt it. he said yes. I asked what it was he replied "nothing in my house makes that sound" I started laughing but he got up to look around. I laid in bed thinking what it could be. I thought maybe a truck, air plane or even a gas line exploded. But I didn't hear and fire trucks or EMS so I turned on the tv to find out it was an earth quake. Scary stuff but in a way exciting!

I heard a loud noise like a plane flying low over my mobile home. The mobile home was rocking from side to side. My bed was really shaking. It felt like my mobile home stared shaking from the fron to the back. Like I was on a catipilliar ride. It really rocked.

My puppies were cyring and my bed shook and I heard something fall off the wall. I live in a mobile home and I felt like I was on a amusement ride. The mobile home shook like a snake crawls. It just started wiggling from the front to the back of the mobile home.I also heard a loud noise which I thought was a plane flying low. I live close to the airport and UPS.

Yes, we felt the earthquake in New Albany. Greeting cards that I had stood up on our TV hit the floor along with other small ornaments. Also, our glass dishes that we display on shelves were clattering together so much that we thought they were going to hit the floor. We felt the earthquake gain momentum and then suddenly stop.
Thanks - Suzann
suzannschrader@insightbb.com

I was awake in my bed when it started shaking. I also heard things under my bed rattle.

We live in Hardin County, about 10 miles south of Fort Knox. The quake shook our house and the bed enough to wake my husband (normally a VERY sound sleeper). Later, the aftershock (11:15AM) was very noticable to me as my shelves rocked from side to side and I could feel the floor bounce. Overall, a very surprising day!

My husband was getting ready for work and our 3 cats were asleep, then all of a sudden all 3 of them took off running downstairs and I felt the bed shaking and thought what is going on then it kinda clicked that it was an earthquake and we just stared at each other saying we just had and earthquake. I then got up and went down and turned on the news and sure enough that is what it was. It was not what I expected a earthquake to feel like. The cats knew what was going on well before we did.

Live in Pleasure Ridge Ky and bed was rocking and items on dresser were rattling. My husband said that he heard a loud noise before the shaking started.

I was woken up to the trembling in my trailer. I thought my boxer was jumping around in the bed. My brother ran back the hall way yelling, and I seen the gun cabinet moving. We ran outside and could not see anything. Than we turned on the news. I live in Shepherdsville ,Ky.

I heard a big boom and then I was in my bed. I woke up and then my bed started to shake. I just thought it was my dad slaming the door really hard. I was shocked when I heard that it was an earthquake

I was up at that time and before I felt the quake the air pressure in the house changed (it that normal?),the air went from warm to cool, then the air swirled around like it was getting ready to storm then the house started rocking back and forth. What a ride!

well this morning i woke up around 5:30 and couldn't get back 2 sleep. i looked at my lava lamp nightlight and saw the glitter in it move. then all of a sudden i heard a loud noise that sounded like one of my parents fell in the hall really hard. then all of a sudden my bed started to shake. i heard some things falling of my dresser and heard my metal dresser drawers vibrating. then today during school my teacher said that there was an aftershock but no one believed her because no one felt it. but the experience was quite frightening for me.

i didnt feel the actualy quake, but i felt aftershocks

Please tell me I'm not the only one who slept right through it!

I have a train by my house. It went by as the eathquake was felt. My bed shook and I could hear rattling. I thought it was just a really powerful train, and thought to myself, "I bet this is what an earthquake feels like.", and rolled back over and went back to sleep. I turned the TV on as soon as I woke up, and it said "Late breaking news, and earthquake felt in KY and IN"

Yes, I definately felt it for several seconds. I live in the south end of Louisville, on Taylor Blvd, and it woke me up and I ran into the bathroom cause the window was open and was shaking loudly, to close it. The floor shook as did the toilet too. I thought it was a storm coming on, until I turned on the TV to find out. Then when I finally got back to sleep a couple hours later, I was again awoke by the shaking of the windows. Both times it was very loud and very frightning.

I was in bed asleep. I heard my ashtray fall off my table, I thought it was my 5 yr old son getting up and running into something so I got up to assist him, all of a sudden my wife screams and my 11 yr old daughter screamed!!! Everything looked fine to me so I just climbed back into bed to "try" and get a last 20 minutes of sleep (which was hopeless) Later I saw were it was a earth quake?

I was asleep at the time and my husband woke me up and yelling my name AMANDA....AMANDA....wake up do u feel that and i woke up to my bed shaking and banging up against the wall it was freaky!!!!

I'm a deep sleeper and don't feel anything if i am not awake. even if you rock me,I won't wake up.

Ididn't feel it because I was in my car at the time.. My girlfriends's daughter said she felt it and thought she was going crazy, until her brother came out of his room and asked "Did You Feel That".. She confirmed by saying yes, but he still asked her if a large truck had drove by... I thought that was funny
Adam Rose
Covington

My bed was shaking. I thought it was my husband's leg shaking the bed. My mother-in-Law felt her bed shaking, and had pictures fall off the wall. This is in Palmyra, IN

i felt disoriented at first than i thought i was just going crazy

it made my whole house shook for a good 20 seconds.no major damage though.it was really scary

I was sleeping and I dreamed my roommate was shaking my bed...I woke up this morning and heard about the earthquake and realized my bed really was shaking!

My husband and I are from Borden, Indiana. We were woken up out of a dead sleep. The bed was shaking and so was the whole house. We got up because we were unsure of what it was. I told my husband that I thought we just had an earthquake. He did not believe me. So we turned on the tv and sure enough, WHAS11 was broke in with the story. It knocked over our patio furniture on our deck and shook the floral arrangement off of the front of our house.

MY HUSBAND WOKE ME UP WHILE THE QUAKE WAS OCCURING, AT FIRST I THOUGHT I WAS DREAMING THEN WHEN I RELIZED I WAS AWAKE I THOUGHT IT WAS AN AIRPLANE CRASH, MY HUSBAND ON THR OTHER HAND SAID FROM THE BEGINNING THAT IT WAS AN EARTHQUAKE. MY DAUGHTER WAS THE FUNNIEST ABOUT IT THOUGH, SAYING, "STOP SHAKING MY BED, MY ALARM HASN'T GONE OFF YET SO IT'S NOT TIME FOR ME TO GET UP." THEN WHEN SHE RELIZED WHAT HAPPENED SHE WAS A LITTLE FREAKED OUT. THE REAL FUNNY THING, IF ANYTHING IS FUNNY ABOUT THIS, IS MY DAUGHTERS LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTABALL TEAMS NAME IS 'THE AFTERSHOCK', IRONIC, HUH?

Actually, we felt the aftershock right at 11:30am here in Brandenburg. We were in Shepardsville when the first quake hit and didn't feel that.

I was sleeping when I was awaken by what I thought was an attack on the U.S, or a plane that had crashed. I began hitting my husband to try to wake him up. When I had told him that our bed, the baby bed and the house was just shaking, he thought I was dreaming. I didn't know what was happening, just that it was real and not a dream!

It felt like our deck was being torn off the back of the house...a lot of rattling and banging noises. And the windows were all rattling too.

I woke up thinking I was having a seizure until a stack of dvds in my room feel over. I ran down the steps and jumped off the fourth step to the bottom. When I was in mid air, I could see the steps and wall moving about a half a foot in one direction and then the other direction. When i landed it was still shaking but it didn't look as bad as when i was in mid air.

I did not wake up during the earthquake this morning (in Okolona), but my 5 year old son ran to our bed saying "My bed is shaking! There's a monster under my bed!" However, at 11:16, I was teaching reading at Stonestreet Elementary and my students and I felt the tables and chairs shake!

I was making coffee when the quake hit, and for a minute i thought something was wrong with the coffeemaker...ha ha

I was in the bed sleep and all of a sudden the bed started to shake it lol . I thought I was being haunted because I always look at this show called a haunting on cable tv.

I had just woke up for no reason around 5:30 and i was sitting there thinking how werid would it be if we had an earthquake and then my bed started shaking and i thought i was dreaming for a second and then my friend text me and asked if i felt the earthquake and then i knew it was an earthquake

yes I did and I thought it was the end of the world

I had just had surgery yesterday so I was on pain medication and thought I was LOOSING my mind!

I was in my room when all of a sudden my bed started to shake. I jumped up and ran to my window and looked outside. I was shakin really bad and thought the world was coming to an end. I ran downstairs and it stopped. I was glad it was over but it still scared the heck out of me(As you can tell, this was my first earthquake).

I FELT AS IF SOMETHING JUMPED ONTO MY BED, OUT OF DEAD SLEEP I JUMPED TO MY FEET.

didn't know what happened. i was in the hospital when it hit. just now finding out about it.

I was up getting myself ready for school and I heard my door rattle and the house shook. First i thought it was my sister trying to get into my room. Then i thought it was an airplane flying over the house. I didn't know it was an earthquake until i turned on the tv.

I was just dozing off in our bedroom which is in the basement of our Clarksville home when I heard a rumbling that sounded like someone was running or stomping through the house upstairs. I actually saw the ceiling and walls in our basement shake back and forth. My husband jumped up and said he thought he heard a loud noise like a low-flying jet was passing through or thought it was one of our pets running through the house upstairs. I thought I was going crazy and wondering if I was just imagining the house shaking, but then turned on WHAS11 news and realized it was in fact an earthquake!

Woke up at 5 37 am in the living room.

didn't feel the aftershock either

was sleeping and did not fell it!

My husband & I both sit straight up in bed & just looked at each other. I thought it was a tornado & looked outside, but everything looked calm. So I told him I thought it was an earthquake! We turned on the TV and sure enough it was. About that time all 3 of our children walked in our room wanting to know what was going on. I also felt the one around 11am. I was on my phone at work and my boss and I both looked at each other and the person I was talking to said I think we are having another one & I said I think you are right!

This morning I thought my washing machine was out of balance. Then I realized no one would be doing laundry at 5:39 am! I heard closet doors shaking, the floor and bed were definitely moving! I work for Humana on 123 E Main and we all definitely felt the mid-morning 4.5 quake at 11:15 am. Our cubes and floor were shaking. A very strange day it's turned out to be!

Yes I did feel the Earthquake, I live in the PRP. area and at 5:26A.M.this morning I woke up to the bed shaking as if someone was jumping up and down. The the windows were going ping ping and I really thought they were gonna pop out of the walls. I jumped out of the bed and grabbed the telephone and called my niece Deb. Needless to say she was scared to death. I live alone and all I could think of was get in the tub because then my mind thought it was a tornado. I have experienced this before , but never that strong.. My lights were even swaying.

HI this is Brianna i sleep like im dead. so i slep through it and did not feel or hear a thing.and when my mom told me i missed a Earth Quake i said what ever.

Oh my goodness yes!! I live near Leitchfield and at about 4:38 this morning i was woken up by it.The bed was shaking so hard i thought it would break. At first i thought that Terrorists were bombing Fort Knox.
NO NO NO WAY WORSE THAN THAT!!!

hahah i was eating breakfast

I've never felt something like it before! I live next to Fort Knox so my house gets rattled all the time, but this woke me from a dead sleep, rocking my bed and house back and forth. It was the scariest thing I've ever experienced!

It woke up everyone in our house. My husband thought we were having a storm but we soon realized that it must have been an earthquake. Of course the kids wanted to know if this would get them out of school. lol.

Yes, I was in bed at about 4:37 am and the bed began to shake. This went on for a while and I heard a roar like rolling thunder. The the ceiling in our bedroom made cracking noises.
Then this morning again (about 10:30 am) I felt another earthquake and I looked over and all of my orchid flowers were shaking and swaying.

I woke up to use the restroom and looked at the clock which said 5:10 then went to the basement to go back to sleep. Woke up everyone in the house up. Things were clanging and making noise. Seemed to last almost 30 seconds. In the Highlands off Barrett.

My dog was doing a clack-clack dance on the wood laminate floors for a good minute before the quake hit, and I thought he just needed to go outside, so I was wide awake. Then, the world started rumbling and I felt like there was a rolling sensation beneath me. My 10 year old daughter swears that the whole thing lasted for at least a minute and was surprised when I told her the quake was less than 10 seconds. I was impressed that the dog knew what was going to happen!

I was sleeping at church in louisville ky when I heard rumbling and then everything started shaking then stoped really quick.

I live in White Mills, KY. We felt it real good here and it woke my husband and I up.

i was in bed and early this morning the cat and i heard and felt the house shake. i thought it was a tornado or good storm that was shakeing the tree down. only lasted a few minutes but did scare us a bit poor angel flew off the bed and headed for the living room. i got up to we were both headed for front door to see what was going on.

I did feel the earthquake around 5:30 or so, I felt it when it first started and it wasn't that strong but then it literally felt like someone was shaking my bed violently and everything on my dresser was shaking and my tv that is mounted on the wall was hanging off of the stand when I checked it this morning. My husdand was sitting on the couch this morning getting ready for work and he has never felt and earthquake before and he said at first it felt like we had a vibrating couch but then he said it got so strong he had to stand up to see what was going on. I have felt an earthquake before back in 2002 it had stemed from the earthquake in Evansville, IN and I was in Palmyra IN at that time and it wasn't nearly as strong or as rough as this one was. I couldn't believe just how rough this quake felt. All in all, everything in my mobile home was fine and nothing or nobody was damaged or hurt. To me this was exciting. Thanks.

We awoke to our alarm clock moving on the shelf. Then our house started shaking and the windows were rattling and since it was a loud noise we thought it was a tornado and jumped up to grab our kids and hit the basement. Then realized it was an earthquake. A strange way to start our day. We live in the Pekin, IN area.

Yes, I was scared to death. It took me a couple of seconds to realize it was an earthquake, but when I did I was terrified that it was going to get worse.
It's amazing how great you think you will perform in an emergency situation, and then what it is you really do when something like this actually happens.
We spent way too much time worrying about what shoes we were going to put on and then it was over. Thank goodness we will get a second chance!

I awoke seething this morning to what I thought was my neighbor reving the engine on his monster truck! Imagine my surprise when I looked outside and all was quiet in the driveway. LOL

I was in bed just outside Palmyra, Indiana and the whole house shook, I asked my husband "What was that?" About 5:45 the phone started ringing with people all around feeling the same thing. I then turned on the news and found it was a quake.

I felt the original quake as it shook my bed and rumbled through my house. I also felt the 4.5 aftershock as I sat in my office. As I looked out the window, the trees were moving back and forth like we were having a storm. I live in Harrison Co. Indiana and work in Floyd Co.

My husband had left for work already and I was fast asleep. My bed shook violently and woke me, I could hear all my dishes rattling in the china cabinet and a roaring sound. It was weird waking from being sound asleep and trying to figure out what was going on. My cat went crazy and was afraid. Later I noticed that all of my figurines on my mantel had moved forward and one was very close to falling off the edge...I always have those figurines pushed way back against the wall so they won't fall off. Floyds Knobs.

I had just gotten up to go tothe bathroom when I heard a huge boom sound and the trailer shook. I thought there had been an explosion. However, the handles on the dresser continued to shake as though there were someone shaking the entire dresser. It was errie.

This is the first earthquake I've ever experienced so it took a few seconds to realize what was happening. My wife and I were awakened at 5:26 this morning when our waterbed started sloshing and glass in the kitchen began to shake. We live in Radcliff so I guess that accounts for the 10 minute difference before it hit downtown Louisville. We also felt the aftershock right at 11:15.

I was asleep and came awake immediately when I felt the bed shaking. It was more like a rolling motion instead of a jolt. My feet hit the floor and I knew immediately what it was. While in the Air Force, I was stationed in Italy, Japan, and Hawaii and I KNOW what an earthquake feels like. I was in Japan when the city of Kobe was nearly destroyed and this was of course a smaller version. But, I had the same sea-sick, out-of-control feeling as I had back then.

Did you feel the earthquake? Tell us about it