My wife, dog, cat, and I live about 12 miles west of Charlottesville, which seems to situate us around 40-50 miles from the epicenter of this afternoon’s 5.8 earthquake. We all came through it fine (though both Mosby The Dog and his people were scared); thanks to those of you who’ve asked.
I experienced several quakes at Stanford during college and grad school, but I don’t remember one that shook as much as this one did. I of course didn’t time it, but it certainly must have been at least 30-45 seconds of quite dramatic activity. Jessie reported right after that she felt it — and it was enough to scare her cat — in her 20-something floor apartment building in White Plains, NY.
Luckily nothing of ours crashed, cracked, or broke, but a few smaller objects did wind up not quite where they had been. Our new Subaru, which arrived a few weeks ago from Japan, must have felt quite at home.
In New Hampshire, I think the hummingbird feeder swung a little bit.
Around the country, relatively new construction, easy, cheep, fast, and delusionally overpriced, “suffered” some damage. Grandiose Gub’mint type buildings cracked. My 200+ year old post and beam, mortise and tenon, granite block foundation, wooden clapboard, horsehair plaster, home and barn was MADE with a bit of “movement” in mind.