I feel the earth move under my feet...

A little under 2 hours ago, as I was playing Everquest, I had the oddest sensation. It was a kind of a buzzy feeling, like someone had put my pager on the top of my head as it was going off. Everything was vibrating for about 5-10 seconds, and then it stopped. I didn't think much of it, figured it was windy out or a big truck had gone by (we have a neighbor that drives an 18 wheeler).

Imagine my surprise when I get an email alert from our local NBC affiliate about the 3.8 quake that struck the western carolinas tonight at 11pm. WHAT? Earthquake? This isn't California! Apparently people from Knoxville to Augusta felt it, and there were four people in my zip code that reported it according to the United States Geological Survey website. I'll have to call my parents tomorrow and see if they felt it because their zip code showed up on the map as well. Someone in Cleveland, Georgia felt it!



If you look at the enlarged image, you can see the star indicating the epicenter of the quake, and the different colored counties indicate the intensity felt. This map was generated by the USGS.

One person, I think, from where Amy lives reported it and I'd be willing to bet the report came from her house. I don't think it was felt far enough over for Susan and Dave to have felt it because Cobb County isn't represented on the zip code map. This is just the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me...I can't imagine living in a place like California where these things happen often. I remember Scott being out there for work once and I told HIM there had been a small quake in San Diego. He didn't even NOTICE.

I can't wait until tomorrow when I'm more awake and can read more on the USGS site. Wow. An earthquake in South Carolina...who'da thunk it?