Help I've just been in an Earthquake

still waiting for something -- anything! -- official from my place...

1:51 pm ET. 5.9 is now the call on the magnitude. Centered in Mineral which is about 30 miles east of me in Charlottesville. Lasted about 20 seconds and shook the house pretty good. Conflicting reports of how deep it was. A couple of years ago there was a much smaller one also centered in the same area.
It was nothing by CA standards but a big deal on the east coast.

Maybe your place isn't structually sound?

My boss made a good point - do you really think they were able to check the entire building in 20 minutes to make sure it was structually sound?

I go out to eat lunch everyday. When the quake struck here in the Baltimore area I was driving home, I didn't feel a thing.
When I went in my apartment all my blood pressure medication bottles were on the floor. No other problems.

Glad everyone's OK....

Well it appears I don't need to fear a tsunami.

"U.S. officials say there is no threat of a tsunami along the East Coast"

Interesting - I called my husband and kids and they didn't feel a thing either - must have had to be right in a certain area to feel it.

OK so I just get a call on my cell phone - it is from my company with an emergency call stating details about the earthquake and that business is as usual.

A bit over kill ya think?

not at all.
they obviously care about your well-being.
my place is cold and uncaring...

I think that if you are in a car the tires and shocks can make you unaware of a minor quake.

And just another call on my work phone with the same message - I already pressed 2 letting them know I had received it on the cell phone.

I think it is more - they want to make sure we keep working.

It happened sometime between 1 and 2 pm depending on where you are.
I was in the hallway of a building in Cambridge, Ma just going through a door and suddenly it looked like the doorway was tilting. I actually thought I was having some sort of vertigo experience.

There was a big report on channel #7. I thought bricks were flying around in downtown Boston.

I was sitting at home and the ceiling fan was on. This is a ceiling fan that normally shakes a bit, plus I am prone to vasovagal responses and thought it was a combo of the two. Oof.

My gosh - I just read some of this...

"Hundreds of people walked out of US District Court in South Boston after having been ordered to evacuate."

Ok I am just a couple of blocks from here and we didn't evacuate.

"At UMass-Boston, summer classes were cut short and all workers were sent home early after the tremors rattled nerves on the Dorchester campus."

This is not too far either - I guess that is why I kept getting emails and calls at all my phone numbers - to make sure I wouldn't evacute and to continue working.

And the two tallest buildings in Boston were not evaduated either.

http://www.fema.gov/hazard/earthquake/eq_during.shtm

What to Do During an Earthquake

Stay as safe as possible during an earthquake. Be aware that some earthquakes are actually foreshocks and a larger earthquake might occur. Minimize your movements to a few steps to a nearby safe place and if you are indoors, stay there until the shaking has stopped and you are sure exiting is safe.
If indoors

DROP to the ground; take COVER by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture; and HOLD ON until the shaking stops. If there isn’t a table or desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building.
Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall, such as lighting fixtures or furniture.
Stay in bed if you are there when the earthquake strikes. Hold on and protect your head with a pillow, unless you are under a heavy light fixture that could fall. In that case, move to the nearest safe place.
Use a doorway for shelter only if it is in close proximity to you and if you know it is a strongly supported, loadbearing doorway.
Stay inside until the shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to a different location inside the building or try to leave.
Be aware that the electricity may go out or the sprinkler systems or fire alarms may turn on.
DO NOT use the elevators.

If outdoors

Stay there.
Move away from buildings, streetlights, and utility wires.
Once in the open, stay there until the shaking stops. The greatest danger exists directly outside buildings, at exits and alongside exterior walls. Many of the 120 fatalities from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake occurred when people ran outside of buildings only to be killed by falling debris from collapsing walls. Ground movement during an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of death or injury. Most earthquake-related casualties result from collapsing walls, flying glass, and falling objects.

If in a moving vehicle

Stop as quickly as safety permits and stay in the vehicle. Avoid stopping near or under buildings, trees, overpasses, and utility wires.
Proceed cautiously once the earthquake has stopped. Avoid roads, bridges, or ramps that might have been damaged by the earthquake.

If trapped under debris

Do not light a match.
Do not move about or kick up dust.
Cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing.
Tap on a pipe or wall so rescuers can locate you. Use a whistle if one is available. Shout only as a last resort. Shouting can cause you to inhale dangerous amounts of dust.

Make a family emergency plan:

http://www.ready.gov/america/makeaplan/index.html

You can use this tool to develop your plan and print it out for each of your family members:

http://ready.adcouncil.org/beprepared/fep/index.jsp

Thanks - I think these are more helpful for us for hurricanes or nor-esters. This is the first earthquake I've ever experienced. Really doesn't occur around here. Maybe tiny ones that we do not notice.

What I found really funny was this guy in office across from me - comes out looking confused - I tell him it is not you - it is the building. He says, thanks, and goes back in his office.

WHAT the building is shaking and that's OK?

it's a relief to know that it is indeed a quake, and not some weird episode you're having...

Yeah I can see that - but wouldn't you think that the building shaking would be worthy of some concern....