5.4 earthquake rocks Illinois; also felt in Indiana

A 5.4 earthquake in Illinois has rocked people awake as far away as Indiana , surprising residents unaccustomed to such a large temblor in the Midwest.

[Ende M]

We felt a huge tremor here in Louisville this morning. It shook our entire house, including the basement. At first, we thought a car might have run into the house, since we are truly not accustomed to earthquakes in this area.

[Laura Garrett]

I live in Belleville Illinois 20 miles from downtown St.Louis. I was awakened by, what I thought, were my 3 cats going nuts at the foot of my bed. And I heared things rattling & shaking all around my room. I sleep with the windows open and everything seemed to sound like it was in stereo. Then it dawned on me, "I'm not in California anymore" and we were in the middle of an earthquake. Slow & steady it was here, quite long.

[Just me]

I felt it here in Hammond... around 4:30 or 4:40. I wasn't sure what it was at first!

[Jim]

We felt the bed and room shake.
We checked the computer and it was about 4.40am.

Very interesting.

Shake, rattle and roll Friday.

[Ben]

We felt it in West Lafayette, Indiana to the point where pictures fell off the wall and i could see things moving back and forth. I just happened to be up studying for a test and was lucky enough to be awake to experience it.

[judy]

i live in fort wayne, in. and it woke me up, i felt the bed shake. i first thought someone ran into my house with a vehicle, then i turned the t.v. on while trying to convince myself it was a bad dream. according to the news report it was very real

[TNT]

judy wrote:

i live in fort wayne, in. and it woke me up, i felt the bed shake. i first thought someone ran into my house with a vehicle, then i turned the t.v. on while trying to convince myself it was a bad dream. according to the news report it was very real

It was probably just Obama trying to pull his head out of Rev. Wright's

b u t t.

[MajicMuzic]

Hi,

I live in Dayton, Ohio and felt the quake this morning... very strange!!

[liner]

Ben wrote:

We felt it in West Lafayette, Indiana to the point where pictures fell off the wall and i could see things moving back and forth. I just happened to be up studying for a test and was lucky enough to be awake to experience it.

Hope you pass your test!

[Allisa]

I live in Belleville Illinois and felt it! My whole apartment was shaking, I went outside to see if thee was some kind of crash...nope, definately an earthquake.

[chan ho]

My son thought it was a truck passing in front of the house, but said it went on for a really long time. Crazy.

[jm purdue]

Yeah, I felt it at Purdue, around 533 i think. i don't know it woke me up and knocked most of my shot glass display on the ground. damn.... oh well, at least i have insurance on all my stuff....
but, yeah, does anyone know the Richter scale measurement in Indiana yet?
dang.. 5.4...... amazing.

[Chris Fenn]

Im not sure where you are gettng your info but it seems to be incorrect according to the USGS.
Earthquake Details
Magnitude 5.2
Date-Time Friday, April 18, 2008 at 09:37:00 UTC
Friday, April 18, 2008 at 04:37:00 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 38.450°N, 87.890°W
Depth 11.6 km (7.2 miles) set by location program
Region ILLINOIS
Distances 7 km (5 miles) NNE (13°) from Bellmont, IL
9 km (6 miles) E (88°) from Bone Gap, IL
11 km (7 miles) N (350°) from Keensburg, IL
60 km (38 miles) NNW (331°) from Evansville, IN
206 km (128 miles) E (95°) from St. Louis, MO
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqs...

[dr no]

kansas city missouri. my dog woke me at about 4:40am. thought she might have been scared by thunder. no thunder just a distant earthquake.

[oldsagejoe]

Maybe now these midwesterners will understand that a 5.2 earthquake is a subject for cocktail party chatter and not a destructive life changer like a Category 5 hurricane or tornado.

[david]

i live in hammond i was playing poker this morning on my ps3 and i was so freaking high that i thought i felty a earthquake and i said no way cuz we in hammond indiana but the whole house was shaking and i was high but not tripping man this is some crazy stuff never went thru this before ever

[Christina]

Nice sized tremor just now, at 11:25am in Fort Wayne, IN. Enough to shake the bed I was sitting on and start the mirror hanging on the wall to swaying.

[Millie Unger]

I was lying in my bed (Southern Indiana). It felt as if someone were shaking it violently. I noticed no damage in my house. Later on another smaller tremor occured (Aftershock). This just doesn't happen in Indiana--phone calls were flying thick and fast from family and friends.

[Jason]

Just a few days ago, scientists said they could predict a major earthquake in California up to 30 years out. But none of them predicted the Illinois earthquake. Proves once more that no one can predict earthquake although the easiest thing in the world to say is that California will have an earthquake...especially 30 years out. Oh, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, California had over 500 last week...all minor, of course, but earthquakes. I predict CA will have some earthquakes next week.

[Gringo]

We didn't feel a thing, but some of my cousins got into the Astro-van to see if they could help themselves to any left over valuables. They came back empty handed. Well, almost.