I live in Oklahoma City, right smack dab in the middle of the state. Also, there are a few fault lines that run through the state and we do get a lot of tremors, mostly in the 2 and below range. Earlier this year we had a 4.2 south of here that we felt and the day before yesterday there was a 4.7 in Prague. But last night.... last night. Whew.
My mom & sister are visiting for my birthday and Eldest Son and his Lovely Girlfriend were over as well. I had thought about building a fire outside, I opened the patio door and I thought I heard thunder. Odd, it's supposed to rain on Monday.
Well, the evening was closing up, Son & his Girlfriend had left, Mom & Sis were in bed and it thundered again. But it got louder...and the house started shaking...and it got louder still.. and the house shook harder. We were having another earthquake and it was a big one this time. It probably lasted about 45 seconds.
Now you may laugh at our reactions. I know we do when folks that aren't used to it encounter torrential rain, hail the size of softballs, tornadoes that rip the foundation out of the ground, months of 100+ heat. But I promise, God, that I'll never do that again. We ended up experiencing a 5.6 earthquake, centered in Sparks, Oklahoma, about 60 miles straight east of us. (The old record was 5.5 back in 1952.)
Of course, reports came in from all over as to who felt it. First was Joplin (187 miles) and Wichita Falls (187), but the we heard of Dallas (232) and Kansas City (345) but this morning I'm reading of Chicago and Milwaukee (848 miles).
Needless to say, I won't be mocking folks in the other parts of the country when they have a tornado.. not unless they call the TV news and say this...
I'm sure that Amy speaks for me and everyone else in the state.
"I won't be mocking folks in the other parts of the country when they have a tornado..."
ReplyDeleteHey, don't forget those of us who live in "Hurricane Alley"! I wouldn't wish one of those on my worst enemy!
Glad you're safe and sound...
I hope that you are all ok! It's funny, you don't think of Oklahoma when it comes to earthquakes. It has been a WEIRD year for weird weather!
ReplyDeleteWell we have actually suffered hurricane damage. Years ago one ripped straight north through Texas and we lost a tree in our front yard
ReplyDeleteI get what you mean regarding earthquakes. Once in a blue moon, we'll get tremors up here in Michigan, usually stemming from a quake elsewhere in the country. I recall about 25 years ago, when I was in elementary school, we were taking a test when my desk started trembling. Since all our desks were situated into groups of 6 (the fronts butting against each other) I thought somebody was goofing around. I look up and see that everyone else in my group is looking as well, along with all the other students in the room. By the time we realized it was an earthquake, it was over.
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