Something rocked Montana's world.

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — An earthquake damaged an apartment building and knocked bricks off the facades of Main Street buildings in southwestern Montana on Tuesday, authorities said.
The 4.6 magnitude quake, reported at 9:46 a.m., was centered about nine miles northeast of Sheridan. It was felt in Helena and as far away as Idaho, according to the U.S. Geological Survey website.

Students at Sheridan Elementary School were under their desks Tuesday morning, in some cases before teachers realized an earthquake was shaking the area, the school secretary said.

"It was a hard jar, and really loud," said secretary Jenny Burke. "It was like somebody just shook the heck out of us for two seconds."

The school was not damaged.

One Sheridan family was evacuated from their damaged downtown apartment until it can be proven safe, said Frank Ford, Madison County's former emergency management director.

Madison County Commissioner Jim Hart was on the third floor of the courthouse when the earthquake hit.

"We all just kind of held onto the table for a second or two, and then went, 'We need to get out of here,"' Hart said