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Where were you when the earthquake hit?

Surveillance video captures earthquake

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- Scientists say they know far too little about Midwestern seismic zones like the one that rumbled to life under southern Illinois Friday morning, but much of what they do know is striking.

The fault zones beneath the Mississippi River Valley have produced the largest modern U.S. quakes east of the Rockies, a region covered with old buildings not built to withstand seismic activity.

And, when quakes happen, their vibrations are felt over hundreds of miles of bedrock.

  Friday's quake was a magnitude 5.2 temblor centered just outside West Salem in southeastern Illinois, a largely rural region of small towns that sit over the Wabash fault zone. The area has produced moderately strong quakes as recently as 2002.

But it hasn't been studied as closely as quake-prone areas west of the Rockies, particularly along the Pacific coast.

"We don't have as many opportunities as in California," said Genda Chen, associate professor of engineering at the University of Missouri-Rolla, which sits near the well-known and active New Madrid fault zone.

"We cannot even borrow on the knowledge they learn on the West Coast" because quakes that happen in California -- where tectonic plates beneath the Earth's surface collide -- are so different from Midwestern quakes that happen far from the edges of the nearest plates, Chen said.

It isn't entirely clear, for instance, whether the Wabash faults are related to the New Madrid faults.

Some scientists say they are, noting that the Wabash faults, which roughly parallel the river of the same name in southern Illinois and Indiana, are a northern extension of the New Madrid zone. Others say they're not.

And some scientists, like Illinois State Geological Survey geophysicist Tim Larson, say maybe.

"They're distinctly separated, at least in the upper rock," he said. "But at depth there could be some relationship between them."

The New Madrid fault zone produced a series of mammoth quakes in 1811 and 1812 that reached an estimated magnitude 7.0, the strongest known quakes to have occurred east of the Rockies. The quakes changed the course of the Mississippi River and were felt in New England.

Experts say quakes that happen in the Midwest commonly radiate out for hundreds of miles because of the bedrock beneath much of the eastern United States.

"Our bedrock here is old, really rigid and sends those waves a long way," said Bob Bauer, a geologist with the Illinois State Geological Survey who works in Champaign.

He compared the underground rock, which in much of the Midwest lies anywhere from a few thousand feet to just a few feet below the earth's surface, to a bell that efficiently transmits seismic waves like sound.

USGS

Red box shows location of earthquake.

  "California is young bedrock," he explained. "It's broken up ... like a cracked bell. You ring that, the waves don't go as far."

The question of whether Friday's quake was centered on a branch of the New Madrid zone is of more than academic interest. The area produces regular, smaller quakes, and experts say it has the potential to produce the kind of quake that could devastate the region.

The Wabash faults have the same potential, at least based on history, said Columbia University seismologist Won-Young Kim.

The strongest quake produced in recent history by the Wabash was a magnitude 5.3 in southern Illinois in 1968, but researchers have found evidence that quakes with a magnitude of 7.0 or more occurred 4,000 to 6,000 years ago.

And it's possible that the region, if given time to build up enough energy, could do it again, though knowledge about the region is too thin to say whether it's likely, he said.

That 1968 quake was one of the few in recent history in the region to have killed someone, according to U.S. Geological Survey spokesman Gary Patterson. A teenager was killed by a parapet that fell from an older brick building.

The older buildings that cover the Mississippi Valley are among the most vulnerable to quakes. They were built decades before building codes even considered the need to stand up to earthquakes, said Amr S. Elnashai, director of the Mid-America Earthquake Center at the University of Illinois.

The earthquake center models how earthquakes might play out across an eight-state region around the New Madrid fault zone for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he said. Researchers use detailed information about thousands of buildings in the area.

Those models assume few buildings in the region meet tough seismic standards, he said.

And trying to bring even public and commercial buildings up to those standards would be a monumental task, Elnashai said.

He said any push to change that "would have no impact on our buildings for the coming 25 years, until some percentage are built to this magic recipe.

"So we are really stuck with what we have."

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

USGS Quake Data

Region:ILLINOIS

Geographic coordinates: 38.520N, 87.872W

Magnitude: 5.2 Mw

Depth: 5 km

Universal Time (UTC):18 Apr 2008; 09:36:56

Time near the Epicenter: 18 Apr 2008; 04:36:56

Location with respect to nearby cities:

 12 km (7 miles) E (90 degrees) of West Salem, IL

 14 km (8 miles) NE (53 degrees) of Bone Gap, IL

 14 km (9 miles) W (266 degrees) of Allendale, IL

 67 km (41 miles) NNW (335 degrees) of Evansville, IN

 206 km (128 miles) E (93 degrees) of St. Louis, MO

Felt like my mom was trying to wake me. I looked and there was no one there.

My husband was on a 9 ton trackmobile that moves trains around the yard. It shook the whole machine.

We live in Hermann, Missouri. The quake woke myself and my husband. It lasted for at least 15 seconds and occurred at approximately 4:36 am. It was frightening and I was unable to go back to sleep.

i live in the wentzville new melle area and it felt like a washing machine with a lop sided load

i from st. louis, mo and now staying in dayton, ohio. i didnt feel the earthquake but it was felt here in dayton. my daughter who stays in st. louis called me that morning to tell me but when i watched the morning news here it was broadcasted all over that we had the experience of the quake here.

I had been on the computer all night watching Big Brother feeds, then I went to my room to watch "Guiding Light" in which I had recorded on the DVR. At 4:40a.m., I looked at the clock, my bed started shaking. I looked out of the window to see if someone was trying to break in, because my bed is up against the window. Then I thought maybe there was a large truck that had driven by really fast and shaken the house, but there wasn't. And the house was shaking a little longer than it should've had that been true. At that time, my Luther Vandross scrapbook page fell off of my mirror on my dresser, then I knew something was wrong. I thought, OMG! THERE'S A GHOST IN HERE! Well, actually I thought of Reagan in "The Exorcist".LOL Think about it. Your bed shaking, mirror, pictures of a dead man falling. It was creepy! Then I called out to my daughter and my son and asked if they felt the house shaking. They did. My son got up, looked outside to see if everything was still in place, and it was. After a minute or so, everything went back to normal. My kids went back to bed. The cat was still sleep. I stayed awake, talking to my oldest sister who called, traumatized. I thought it was hilarious. We talked for 45 minutes, until she calmed down, then after a couple of hours, I went to sleep. The kids went to school, where they witnessed the aftershock, which I slept through. This was my first experience of an earthquake. I have to say it was kinda scary, but it was also rather interesting.

I am a fairly light sleeper unless I am just exhausted, so I was in one of those sleeps where I could occasionally make out what was being said on the television in my bedroom. Anyway, I was jolted up by rumbling beneath my bed -- I could feel the vibrations making the bed rock literally. I looked around, but I could not see anything moving, but I could feel the bed and the wall it sits against both continuing to rumble. My first thought was, "tornado"! I knew that rain was supposed to be coming in our area Friday, so it was a logical assumption. But when I got up to look out, the ground was dry. I thought after that, "maybe it was an earthquake." When the news came on 20 minutes later, I found it that it was. I didn't feel the 10:14 aftershock, though.

Woke me up, and my cats were going crazy an hour before it happened. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with them, they usually sleep right through the night but the earthquake explained the noisy wake-up call and the noisy cats!

Not sleeping well lately I was up doing laundry. When the house shook, the first thing I thought was "That's a heck of an uneven load in the washer!" Finding that was not the reason I came to the realization of the cause. Flipped the TV on and nothing for 10 minutes was said about it. Then, it was on all channels.

I live in Hillsboro, Illinois and am a very sound sleeper but this woke me up. I heard a loud rumbling and the house shook violently. At first I thought something was happening to me medically because I was disoriented and the thought of an earthquake did go though my mind but I thought no it can't be that then my kids were up and we were trying to figure out what happened so I turned on the news and saw yup, it was an earthquake. Scared the sht out of me. I do have some structural damage - a few cracks in my basement walls, and the kids (who go to the high school here) said the cafeteria has a crack in the wall and the new gym building has a crack in one of the beams which shifted out of place.
I just watched the news and they said within the next 50 years we should expect a significant size earthquake. I DO NOT want to be here when that happens! I NEVER want to experience this again.
Oh yeah, the aftershock felt just as strong as the first.
I hope everyone is safe and will remain safe during any future aftershocks. God Bless.

I believe that my cat tried waking me up before the earthquake, because she had meowed really loud, but I put her next to me in bed and told her to go back to sleep. The next thing that I knew is that the telephone was ringing and I thought to myself (Is anyone going to answer it). Then my husband came into the bedroom and said that my daughter was on the telephone and that there had been an earthquake. Of course I didn't hear the earthquake, because I was sound asleep.

it woke me up and I live in st. louis

I was downstairs on the couch. My husband was uptairs in bed because he hadn't been feeling well, so being the good wife I am, I let him have the bed. I felt what felt like the house vibrating from the washing machine. My husband came down and said he thought we had an earthquake....we turned the news on and saw that we indeed had one.
Then at 10:15 while sitting on the toilet (LOL) we had the aftershock which swayed me and the toilet. My husband slept thru that one.
It just goes to show that in a moment someone's life can change forever. We all were fortunate, this time. We're in ballwin.
Stay safe everyone and God Bless.

i was in bed and because i was able to disengage my alarm clock to awaken i saved electricity and at least part of a tree.
this must have been earths' first green earthquake.

I live in Olney, Il

I woke up to my dog barking. At first I thought that I had just dreamt it until I woke up and turned on the news at 6. We just moved to St. Ann, but my old neighbor off Olive said the fan was shaking and he had a crack in his basement this morning.

my dog woke me up befor it started at first i thought my ex went nuts and was driveing his truck in mu home when it kept up i new what it was scared me

I was in my bed, and the movement of my bed and the sound of things on the windowsill clacking back and forth woke me up. It took about ten years off my life. I was terrified!!!!!!!!

I was returning to bed from the bathroom when my building started shaking. Being from Jacksonville, Florida I was not sure what was happening - but my dresser and mirror was shaking and all the furniture in my bedroom.
My next thought was, this must be an earthquake. I went to sleep when the shaking stopped and woke up to listen to the news and learned it really had been an earthquake. I am calling my children in Florida to tell them that I lived through an earthquake.

Me and my cat slept through the whole event. I didn't feel the aftershock either. I guess I am a deep sleeper and a hard worker...because I didn't feel a thing! I honestly thought my husband was nuts when he told me about it...I didn't believe him until I heard the news reports. Great I guess we'll have to start worrying about the New Madrid fault again...quick rearrange the furniture in your house for safety!

I was sleeping. And heard my ceiling lamp shaking, and thought, it was just the lamp, i got up and took it off and argued with my boyfriend , that it was the lamp. And then when i laid back in bed, i realized it wasnt just the lamp that was shaking. By the time i realized it , it was over, and i went back to sleep!

I live in Witt Il.I was sleeping .I felt it and so did the dogs.My husband is a truck driver and he was in Ohio and he felted it

I'm a college student and my sleeping hours are very irregular. I was awake through the earthquake. As I laid in bed, I felt a rumble, which isn't unusual considering we live very close to the railroad tracks (they're literally about 400 feet down my street) and sometimes a heavy train will cause the house to rumble. At first I looked past it, thinking "Oh, another train, whatever" but as the shaking continued I began to realize that this was more than just a train. It wasn't until a shot glass from Chicago (I've attempted to collect them since the age of 14) fell off one of my shelves and shattered across the TV below it that I realized what was going on. My father being very paranoid, I was also taught from a very young age that in the case of an earthquake, you either need to get to a desk or a door frame, so I ran to my door and braced myself there until the shaking stopped about thirty seconds later.
Another thing that may or may not have been related... I went outside at about 4:00 AM to smoke a cigarette and took my dog with me. She was unusually active, given the hour. Usually when she comes outside with me she goes out and lays down casually in the grass and takes a nap. That evening she roamed about the yard, sniffing about multiple spots in the yard for a few minutes here and there. I didn't notice any birds at that time, though I certainly did notice them after the earthquake.
My parents slept soundly through the whole event. As 5:00 rolled around and I had the TV on, I knew exactly what the breaking news on your channel was going to be. While it was certainly alarming, I'm glad I experienced it. Thank god it wasn't anything more severe, I hear St. Louis is far overdue for a strong quake like the one that occurred back in the early 1900's.

my cats and dog woke me up about an hour before the quake. they were very restless and agitated. Just before the aftershock at 10:14 this morning the dog started whining and the cat started walking around in circles and squalling. This is not normal behavior for my pets.

I live in Florissant, MO and I was asleep when my dog started going crazy, she was whining like she had to go outside or something. So i looked at my alarm clock and it said 4:37 and so i laid back down because my alarm doesnt go off until 5:50. As soon as I laid back down my whole bad started shaking. I thought it was a dream because I was still pretty groggy. Then I thought it was most likely a thunderstorm because my walls have shaken during storms before. I looked outside and it was completely still. Then I thought to myself, whoa, was that an earthquake. But I was like, hey this is Missouri, our chances of an earthquake is not very large. After that I thought, oh crap the New Madrid fault line, and I got scared because I thought maybe this is a warning that its getting close to being set off. My grandparents called and asked if we felt it and my mom said yes. Then my grandpa said it was an earthquake. So I texted two of my friends and they said it freaked them out. At school it was all anyone could talk about. So i was sitting in my third period, pre-calc, when the aftershock hit. I looked around and asked if anyone felt that but they just looked at me like I was crazy, but one girl was saying something in the back. So after class I asked her if she felt it and she said yea, and so did a ton of people in the halls. It was so weird!!!

I was still awake and my bed was shaking, I thought I was crazy and my dogs were going crazy.

Woke up, yelled at the dog, realized it wasn't her, waited for the shaking to stop, and went back to sleep.

A sound woke me up. I sat up in bed and felt my building shake (high rise)

The first one woke me up out of a dead sleep. I was sitting at my desk when the aftershock hit and I could feel my office shake. (I was on the 9th floor.)

At first, I thought someone was trying to break into my apartment (I only live a block from where the postman was shot). Then I realized the bed would shake if that were happening. I was at work when the aftershock came. My fiancee, however, slept through both of them. Must be nice!

I was asleep in North St Louis

Rumble like the house walls were shaking--woke me and wife up around 0430 Friday. Thought it was gust of wind and storm

But i'm in branson missouri

woke me up in Affton

I was in bed when i felt my bed shaking and heard a loud noise. I just laid there and held on to the bed post, that seened like a long time. Wondering what it was, After it stopped i turned on Channel 4, and heard it was an EARTHQUAKE. aGTER I GOR TO WOK ABOUT 10:00, I FELT 3 MORE. Where they aftershocks or Earthquake.

i was lying in bed, at first i thought my daughter was climbing up on my bed the way it was shaking then the walls started shaking.

It woke me and I knew right away it was an earthquake I was surprised how long it lasted

My bird woke me up flying and bumping around his cage. I went to check him and he finally setteled down. About 2 minutes later he did it again. I uncovered him and went back to bed. Everyone else in the house felt it about 5 minutes after I had gone back to bed.

What am I? Hard of feeling? Of course I felt it!

Felt another aftershock about 1:25pm

We were all in bed sleeping. Our cat jump on me and woke me up.

My husband and I awoke from our dog barking like crazy... My husband got up and said hunny why are you shaking so bad?? I said I'm not the bed is shaking. The doors were making noises and my daughter also woke up and said her bed was moving really weird. CRAZY!!! Then I felt another one at work around 10:20!!!

Ballwin, MO. I was awake at 4:30 and at first I thought my son was in my room shaking my bed. Then I heard everything rattling and I knew it was an earthquake. I clearly remember an earthquake in the middle of the night in St. Louis when I was a little kid (around 1980?). After it was over, my son starting crying. I went in his room and told him it was an earthquake. He was pretty intrigued.
I felt the aftershock at 10:15, too. Everything was rattling again. My kids didn't notice it.

I was sleeping at home in Mt. Vernon Illinois. The first quake woke me up because the bedroom windows were rattling for what seemed like a long time. My first groggy thought was, "Earthquake!" and I heard my husband say, What the He is that, an earthquake?" I told him it maybe it could be low rumbling thunder, but he disagreed. I got up & checked the weather radar online & saw there were no thunderstorms in the area. I went back to sleep. Upon waking for the 2nd time, I checked Kmov.com and saw that it was indeed an earthquake! I did not feel the aftershock at 10:15, even though I was up and busy in the kitchen. My husband felt it at work an hour away, toward St. Louis.

Early this morning, around 4:35 AM, I woke to go to the bathroom.

While sitting on the toilet, I began to feel the house rumbling. I touched the bathtub and the vanity on either side of me and was blown away at what I was feeling. It was pretty intense.

My first though was that a tornado was coming and that, if the house was shaking this severely, we had little chance to survive the assault when we were hit, and that it would hit within seconds.
I ran to a window, looked out, and saw no signs of foul weather.

Then, I thought, OMG, something (like the boiler) downstairs is about to explode.

By this time, the shaking had fully stopped (it probably only lasted 8 or 10 seconds).

I figured if the explosion hadn't happened, yet, it wasn't going to happen. And contemplated the unlikely scenario that someone had plowed a very large vehicle into the house. We live in a very remote area with little traffic, so I thought that would be a low but possible probability.
I went to the front room, looked out, and saw nothing.

Then, I realized, I had experienced an earth quake. It had to be.

So, I went to the computer and did a search.
It did not take too long to find a website that had a specific link for Central US locations.
It had been just a few minutes from the shaking to the time I found the website and they had already listed a 5.4 earth quake about an hour and a half from us to the southeast. This morning, I saw that it had been updated to 5.2 and they also listed the 10:14 AM after shock.
It was quite the experience.... of course, my "hybernating bear" husband felt nothing in his slumber.

I live in Granite City Illinois and felt the house shak things bouncing on my desk, it lasted about three seconds.

i was in a deep sleep when i woke up to rumbleing wondering why my phones alarm clock was making that noise (the phone didnt even go off nor did i check the time). i was in that just-woke-up-foggy-state-of-mind so i didnt even think of earthquake. so i took a shower like i planned at 5:30. got out and checked my phone, i had a text from a friend asking if we just had a quake...now i was aware. what a morning!

Pevely, MO - I woke up about 15 mins. before the first one from a dream about a tornado. Was awakened by my daughter later who wanted to know what was shaking the house.
I felt the second, however, living close to railroad tracks, thought it was a heavy train.

I woke up right when it happened. It is all too familiar to me. I lived in California 20 years ago and had my first experience of what an earthquake really felt like unlike some tremors here in St. Louis. I am a St. Louis native and when you experience a good earthquake, you will never forget what it feels like to be awaken by it. It was spooky at first, and when the after shock hit while at work, it was even stranger.

I thought the trash men dropped the dumpster. They make enough noise everytime at 4am anyway. Should have been more concerned when I felt the basement moving!

Yes, I felt both the earthquake and the tremor at 10:15. The first woke me from a sound sleep. I teach in O'Fallon, MO, and the second shook our building for quite a few seconds.

Didn't feel it but heard the storm windows and doors ratteling and thought it was a strong wind and rain storm.

Bed was shaking, heard bedroom door rattling.

Well, I felt the aftershock that's for sure! Scared the heck out of me AND my cat! I didn't feel the earthquake - I was fast asleep and it would take a freight train to wake me up!

I was on my computer and the dogs came into the room and stood there looking up at me...before I felt any vibrations...

In Granite City, at 4:38 am

I was sleeping

It's funny, I hear everyone telling about how their animals reacted to the earthquake. I was asleep. My 3 1/2 month old son has been sleeping through the night, but right before the earthquake started, not 15 seconds before, he woke up and started fussing. As soon as I picked him up, everything started shaking. I've never experienced an earthquake before, but I immediately knew what it was. I felt the aftershock at about 10:25 this morning.

My bed was shaking and windows rattle but did not know it was an earthquake till I saw the news

I was on the couch with my laptop and not only did I feel it, I heard it rumbling! I immediately went online to see if I was the only one up (hee hee) and only KMOV had a confirmation that an earthquake occurred. That was in itself reassuring. I live in Hillsboro, MO.

I thought it was the wind but I couldn't understand why the bed was moving.

Caseyville, Illinois. We were in bed, somewhat awake as my husband had just left for work, my youngest had just went to the bathroom, so he was fairly awake also. I first heard my dressor shaking.My cat was sleeping at the bottom of my bed and he just stood up and stared around the room. I am kind of embarassed to say but I first thought something (large)was under the house (animal,snake?) trying to get out.My dogs were runnin and our Jack Russel jumped in my daughter arms and they just sit there, as her bed shook.My youngest son was crying, he didn't understand what was going on. Turned on the news, but nothing was on,guessed it was an Earthquake,and went back to bed. Felt the one at 10:15 also.

i was in the shower , it was quite frieghting as i live close to railroad tracks i first tried getting out and slipped and fell i thought a train derailed...on another note i have two full grown 50lbs setters both were terrified and trying to get behind the toilet to hide

Live in Dittmer, MO, didn't even know anything had happen until I heard about it on the news. No shaking at my house.

When the second one hit, I was at work (still am). I work for a call center and it knocked our systems out for a little bit! It was awesome!

i was at work this early morn that the quake hit and i was astounded that this could happen in stl.
the second seemed to be longer
i live in florissant mo 63033

I did feel it in
Farmington, Mo. and could hear a rumble and the wind.

I was asleep in bed. It felt like someone was shaking the bed

Felt both the first at 4:25am while in bed and the second around 10:15am during class.

I felt the quake this morning in Breese, IL around 4:30 or so, but also in Highland, IL around 10:30 this morning which I believe was an aftershock. I am on the 4th floor of my building and it shook atleast 3 times and was over within a minute.

I was asleep when our house started to shake. At first I didn't think anything about it and then my mom came out in the hallway and was like "kids, we need to go to the main level of the house because we are having an earthquake." It was quite freaky to be honest because I just thought that there was a bad storm because I knew that there was a chance of storms. But it all makes sense to why my bed was shaking really bad. It was quite an experience.

I was sleeping and it woke me up.

Woke up to loud rumbling and the bed was shaking !

I thought my husband was shaking the bed while getting up. It woke our 11 yr. old daughter up. She wanted to know what was happening.

I was in Alton, sleeping.

I was in bed, not totally sleeping though. I woke up immediately and asked "are we having an earthquake"? To my surprise my husband also awoke and answered yes. We waiting and commented on how long it was lasting

I was asleep when my brother yells earthquake. I got up and went outside and saw that the rocks infront of my house were moving to the side alittle bit. After 5am I went outside and things were still on there correct sides and cars were still on wheel. I thought it was the most amazing thing i have ever seen besides a tornado and large thunderstorms.

Slept through it, though did feel the mid-morning aftershock.

I was laying in bed, and thought it was my cats shaking the bed because it was their breakfast time.

Yes! But I did not realize what it was until my husband came in and told me. I started dreaming my washer was going nuts! My 15 year old so said he started dreaming he was skateboarding on a really rough surface. My husband, who was up preparing to leave for work, came in and said the house swayed back and forth several times. He too suspected the washer, but then realized none of us were doing any laundry at 4:30 AM!!

I woke up to bedroom doors clanging and the bed shaking. My son woke up and said what is going on. At that time I realized it was an earthquake. Next came my daughter asking the same thing. Everything was shaking. Kind of scarey. The aftershock came this morning around 10:15 a.m. and although not as strong as the early one everything once again was shaking. It makes you wonder if a bigger one is on the way. Our driveway has several large cracks in it.
O'fallon Illinois

Oh, yeah!! I had been up most of the night on the internet (and cleaning up the kitchen). I finally got to bed around 6:00 am. A little earlier the neighbor's cat wanted in, so he bunked wih me. All of a sudden my bed and chair started rattling hard. At first I thought it was the cat moving around, but he was curled up-and wide awake. Then two things came to mind: either we just had an earthquake or Linda Blair came to visit. "Happily", it was an earthquake (tremor).

it woke me up

I was startled out of my sleep when the quake hit. I could hear and feel the rumble of the quake and was quite relieved when it subsided. I am also feeling the aftershocks.

I was awakened. Thought it was the dog jumping beside bed to wake me to go outside.Felt bed moving.Lasted only a very short time. Very odd now that I realize what it really was! Remember last time experiencing that as a kid in this area.

It woke me up, but I didn't realize it was a quake. I fell asleep in the recliner and thought something had happened to the recliner.

The bathroom mirror started to rumble. I thought maybe my house was settling. Then my bedroom closet doors shook. They looked as though they were dancing. I walked further through my house so see if anything had fallen off the walls. All seemed o.k. I thought, "wow, this is strange".

We were asleep and all the sudden our bed started shaking and the doors to our bedroom started shaking. We got up to look outside thinking it was maybe a tornado but things were pretty calm outside. It even woke our son up who sleeps up on the second floor..he said he heard a loud noise and then his bed started shaking. It was definitely a little freaky.

I didn't feel the earthquake, but I did feel the aftershock this morning! It felt like the couch was set on "vibrate" - I had now idea what it was until my Mom called and told me about the quake - I just thought it was the downstairs neighbors doing something strange again!!!

I noticed when my husband left for work at 1:15 am that the birds were singing and I thought that was strange. When the earthquake hit at first I thought it was our dog and then possibly a train but it didn't take long to realize what it was.

i felt an after shock that no one is mentioning at around 10 am this morning...Did anyone else feel that??

I am from Michigan I moved here last year.I have never felt an earth quake before and right around 10:15AM this morning my computer monitor was shaking and my desk was as well. I work from home in Lake Saint Louis. My heart started pounding a little bit.

I was in bed. Not sure if I felt the shaking first or if my dog running around woke me up. I haven't expierenced an earthquake in over 30 years, so I wasn't sure what was going on at first.

I was at home in bed during the initial quake at 4:47 a.m. and the bed started shaking as well as the t.v./entertainment center in our room. Then the whole house started shaking.
I was at work at my desk during the 10:15 a.m. aftershock. Our building was shaking.

My son felt the orginal quake shake his bed and wake him up. I slept thru that one. But the aftershock I felt!! Scared me to death! Was upstairs in the home. The floors shook and the box on top of the tv for cable was moving up and down. Enough already! Most Sincerely, Rhineland, Missouri (about 1 and 1/2 hour drive from St. Louis near the Hermann Winerys)

There is going to be a lot of crabby people today.

I had just gotten up to get ready for work. I was in the bathroom (sitting) and thought that someone was breaking into our apartment building. The building felt like it was swaying side to side. My two children and my grandmother never woke up and didn't know that an earthquake had hit.

I was sleeping and was woken up. My bed was creaking and the books on my bookshelf were shaking. It was a very creepy way to be woken up.

I was asleep and awoke when I heard some rattling and felt the bed shaking. I live in Jerseyville, IL.

We're from Staunton, IL. My fiance felt the earthquake this morning. I unfortunately slept right through it. He said the whole house shook and the stuff on the dressers where shaking. But I did get to feel the aftershock at work in Edwardsville. It's a small building...the whole place shook and the windows rattled. I could only imagine what it was like this morning since the aftershock was so strong at only a 4.5.

Did you feel the earthquake?