Earthquake Spurs Baltimore Family to Prepare

FIRST PERSON | BALTIMORE -- Many area residents experienced their first earthquake ever today as a magnitude 5.9 quake, centered in Virginia, could be felt by residents in several East Coast states including Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C., among others. I live in Towson, a suburb of Baltimore, and today my family and I experienced our first earthquake ever.

Just before 2 p.m., I was lying on my living room sofa, writing on my laptop -- as I do most days. Suddenly, my whole house began to shake. At first, I thought it was just the washing machine or dishwasher, but I quickly realized that pictures on the wall and the TV stand were shaking. The TV looked very unstable, so I ran over to grab it and move it to a more stable position. As I did this, our family dog put his tail and head down and whimpered a bit. It took me a while to realize that this was an actual earthquake! Within about 20 seconds or so, the whole thing was over.

Once the shaking stopped, I immediately pulled Facebook up on my computer, and sure enough, people were already posting about this unusual East Coast earthquake! Within minute, major news sites like CNN and The Baltimore Sun had begun posting stories about the quake. I learned that even though the earthquake was centered near Charlottesville, Va., I was able to feel it all the way in Baltimore.

My family and I are fine, but to be honest, the thought of an earthquake occurring in Maryland had never crossed my mind. Because of today's events, I feel like I need to start preparing my family in the event of an emergency like a severe earthquake, or other natural disaster. The fact of the matter is, it doesn't take a whole lot of time or money to make sure your family is prepared for a disaster and, in my mind, it is better safe than sorry.

I will be shopping for emergency supplies as my budget permits, and I think many people that live in "safe areas" should do the same thing. Today was the worst earthquake to ever hit the state of Maryland and I did not expect it at all. You never know when something like that can happen to you.