Tuesday, 23 August 2011 02:58 pm
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deckardcanineIn all my 29 years of life in D.C., I have never felt an earthquake. Until minutes ago.
At first I thought there was some construction going on a few rooms away, albeit virtually inaudible from here. As the shaking increased to the point that the venetian blinds swayed and a file drawer slid open, I decided it was something else. Soon I could hear the consternation of co-workers. (I missed my office mate's scream as she thought the restroom would collapse.) But just as I was jogging my memory of what to do in a quake when on a ninth floor, it began to subside. The noticeable vibration lasted about a minute all told. The building's alarm was not triggered, so a company email said there was no need to evacuate, tho that didn't stop another company on our floor.
Before that email, I looked out the window, wondering whether something had exploded on a lower floor or we weren't the only ones shaking. There's no damage in sight, but people in other buildings were looking out their windows and many evacuated. Further evidence for the quake theory was an inability to make many calls, including from one cell phone to another. That situation has gotten better.
I now know that the epicenter was in Virginia with a 5.8 or 5.9 and could be felt as far away as NYC. No word yet on how bad the effect was locally.
Technically, this was not my first tangible quake. The first was in California, in an area that undoubtedly got them more often. Only thing is, I slept thru it. I woke up wondering why so many items had fallen off the shelves.
One possible personal benefit of today's quake: an excuse not to usher Arena Stage's Oklahoma! this evening. Not only would it be the third time, but they want me there at 6 this time, meaning an unusually early or late dinner. Who knows how soon I'd have to leave to make that deadline now?
At first I thought there was some construction going on a few rooms away, albeit virtually inaudible from here. As the shaking increased to the point that the venetian blinds swayed and a file drawer slid open, I decided it was something else. Soon I could hear the consternation of co-workers. (I missed my office mate's scream as she thought the restroom would collapse.) But just as I was jogging my memory of what to do in a quake when on a ninth floor, it began to subside. The noticeable vibration lasted about a minute all told. The building's alarm was not triggered, so a company email said there was no need to evacuate, tho that didn't stop another company on our floor.
Before that email, I looked out the window, wondering whether something had exploded on a lower floor or we weren't the only ones shaking. There's no damage in sight, but people in other buildings were looking out their windows and many evacuated. Further evidence for the quake theory was an inability to make many calls, including from one cell phone to another. That situation has gotten better.
I now know that the epicenter was in Virginia with a 5.8 or 5.9 and could be felt as far away as NYC. No word yet on how bad the effect was locally.
Technically, this was not my first tangible quake. The first was in California, in an area that undoubtedly got them more often. Only thing is, I slept thru it. I woke up wondering why so many items had fallen off the shelves.
One possible personal benefit of today's quake: an excuse not to usher Arena Stage's Oklahoma! this evening. Not only would it be the third time, but they want me there at 6 this time, meaning an unusually early or late dinner. Who knows how soon I'd have to leave to make that deadline now?
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