Quake Wakes Many Throughout the Midwest

I did not feel this morning's quake, because I was not there, but a couple of my children, my granddaughter and a few of my friends were there, did feel it, as well as the aftershock, and here are their first-hand accounts of the quake.

All of my family and friends live in the Indianapolis area. We ourselves are from Shelbyville, Indiana, and most accounts are from family and friends who live in Shelbyville, Indiana.

I first talked to my oldest son, Darrell Goodwin, who lives in Indianapolis, and asked him about the earthquake in the Midwest. Darrell said that the initial quake shook pretty strong, knocking things around in his closet. Nothing fell, or was damaged, but everything shook pretty good. Darrell turned on the TV and the news caster was a bit shaken, and waiting to find out just what had happened. Darrell went to his college class and a friend told him that his wife woke up saying, "there's an animal in the attic shaking the house"! Darrell said he thought the "big" New Madrid quake was happening! Darrell did not feel the aftershock, he thinks it happened while he was in the car, but his wife felt it, and told him that the news said there may be more!

Next I spoke with my son in law, Josh Baatz who lives in Shelbyville, Indiana, and asked him about the earthquake in the Midwest. He slept through the first quake, but was awake for the second one. Josh said that the second quake was strong, and he questions if the two quakes were actually pre-quakes, and the bigger one is still yet to come. Interesting question, and he may be onto something!

I next spoke to Gabby Baatz, my 9-year-old granddaughter, who was awakened by the first quake, and woke my daughter saying, "Mommy, I think we just had an earthquake, and it shook Jessie's shoulder!" Gabby said "the first quake was really scary, I almost cried because I was so scared. I wasn't sure what was happening." Gabby used to have seizures, and said she thought she was having a seizure, or that a volcano was erupting somewhere, or there was an earthquake. She said it was really freaky! When asked about the second quake, Gabby said, "The second quake was creepy, I was sitting on the floor in front of my closet, and it shook everything, and me! It was really creepy."

I also spoke to my best friend, Cathy Kowalski, who also lives in Shelbyville, Indiana, and asked her about the earthquake in the Midwest. Here is what Cathy had to say: "The first quake woke me up, and it was a very different quake from the quake we had a few years ago, it shook hard, and was just not the same. The second quake I didn't feel" Tim, (Cathy's husband), felt the first quake, and thought someone had started a load of laundry that had gotten unbalanced, and was shaking the house. Cathy's oldest daughter felt the second quake, but slept through the first. Cathy's second oldest daughter said, "I thought 911 was happening all over again." Cathy's dad said he never felt anything like it in his life in Indiana.

Although I was not in Indiana for this quake, I do remember the one that Cathy mentioned a few years ago. I was sitting on the edge of my bed, putting on makeup before church on a Sunday morning. It was a light quake, barely noticeable, and just sort of rocked everything for a few seconds, and was over. It was centered in Shelby County, Indiana, and only felt in that county. Apparently this morning's quake was a much more powerful quake, registering at 5.2 on the Richter Scale, and centered in southeast Illinois, about 66 miles from Evansville, Indiana.

The quake was felt hundreds of miles away. There were reports of the quake being felt in, Daytona, Ohio, Southern Michigan, Kansas City, Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Madison, Wisconsin, Des Moines, near Atlanta, and of course, Indianapolis, Indiana. Obviously it shook many states, and woke many people this morning, who are not used to earthquakes shaking with such force.

According to USA Today Blogs, people close to the center of the quake reported their houses shaking with a great force, windows were rattling, and you could hear it.

I've looked at news reports from all over the Midwest, and none have reported any serious injuries, or any major damage from this morning's quake. Below is a large list of links to various news reports on this mornings quake.

For myself, and my husband and three youngest children, we are glad that we are no longer living in the Midwest. The New Madrid fault line is a serious issue, and it is going to shake the socks off the Midwest when it least expects it. Was this morning quake in any way linked to the New Madrid fault? I don't know, but my son-in-law Josh sure has me wondering about the possibility of this mornings quakes being pre-quakes, not a quake and its aftershock.

Reports on this mornings quakes:

Terre Haute News

Michigan News

USA Today

Wisconnsin News

USA Today Blog

National Geographic NewsNew York Times