All Shook Up in Maryland

FIRST PERSON | When the 5.9 earthquake hit Tuesday, I found myself just finishing up some shopping in a local supermarket in Wheaton, Md., not all that far away from the epicenter in Virginia. Like everyone around me I was completely surprised and, for the first few moments as the store shook and some loud noises engulfed everyone, more bewildered than frightened. A store worker shouted very loudly "EARTHQUAKE!" Very quickly I and almost all other customers and workers left the store quickly but with no panic.

As I looked back at some of the aisles, I could see some items had fallen from shelves.

Most interesting was some of the immediate thoughts being expressed by me and fellow shoppers, namely that living in the Washington, D.C., area we hoped that something other than an earthquake - like a nuclear explosion - was not the cause of the shaking ground. An earthquake was what we hoped would explain what we had felt!

Several decades ago when in Tokyo, I was asleep in my hotel bed when it began moving like a swing. That was a far more frightening experience than what I felt today; I never felt unsteady on my feet.

I went back in the store, found my cart and checked out. Store workers were being instructed over the speakers to pick up all the items that had fallen in the aisles. By the time I got into my car the world around me seemed totally normal and radio stations were reporting on the unusually large size of the earthquake for this region and how it was felt all the way up to New York City and Canada.

When I arrived home my wife reported how much our 60-year-old house had shaken but nothing fell off shelves or walls.

Now we're waiting for aftershocks.