Earlier this evening, I was talking on the phone with a friend on the Gulf Coast. All of a sudden, one of my cats jumped up and got into "defensive alert" posture, the glass in the French doors rattled, and I could hear things banging around in the kitchen. There was a noise outside that sounded like something fell. I'd say it all lasted less than 10 seconds, and it just felt a bit ... odd. The cats were looking suspiciously towards the back door, so I thought, is someone trying to break into my house? My second thought was, is Mt. St. Helens erupting again?
Well, close.
2.8 earthquake shakes Portland and surrounding areas
A magnitude 2.8 micro earthquake centered in southeast Portland rattled the city at 6:01 p.m., according to the University of Washington.
The quake was felt in downtown office buildings and throughout the metro area. Reports of the earthquake came in from across the city, from Gresham in the east, Lake Oswego in the south and particularly in the West Hills of Portland, where the quake was apparently centered.
The quake occurred about nine miles down in the earth.
T
hese are places I feel quite familiar with now, since for the last 1 1/2 months I have been driving around and around and around, getting lost and finding my way out, learning my new territory. Just to note, the West Hills area is where I first stayed when I arrived in Portland last month. Although I'm not sure why they're saying that's where the epicenter was, since the West Hills are not in southeast Portland.
During our conversation, my friend (she is currently living in a FEMA trailer) and I were discussing what we're looking forward to in the New Year and agreeing that it's going to be better than 2005 because, after all, "what could happen worse than we've been through?" Then we both laughed and said that perhaps we shouldn't ask.
Edited to add update: Here's a topo map showing the epicenter location. Even though the quake was centered in the southeast part of town, people in that exact location did not report anything unusual. Apparently, the effects were more strongly felt elsewhere. The Oregonian reported people's online reactions:
Many described it as a sharp jolt that rattled windows for a few seconds and just as quickly stopped.
Yep, that's exactly how it felt.
the earth moves for you ;)
Posted by: marlaine | Sunday, January 29, 2006 at 06:27 PM
:) :) :)
Posted by: Kitty | Sunday, January 29, 2006 at 08:42 PM
Earthquakes are terrifying! I experienced my fair share during the years I lived in Japan, including some fairly sizeable ones. But I never got used to them -- especially the ones that occurred in the dead of night and literally shook you out of your sleep. Terrifying!
Posted by: Michael | Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at 07:58 PM