Whole Lotta Shakin'

(Some serious catch-up posts coming soon... I've been a very bad blogger. Until then, join me for a romp in my near-death experience with the Great Monroe Tremblor of 2011.)

"I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet"

I was at home on Friday afternoon, Benjamin was asleep and I was doing some laundry. Suddenly, I felt shaking - I even remember throwing my arms out for a moment, to catch my balance. Nothing big, but what the heck was that? I looked outside to see if a tree had fallen or the construction crane had dropped its load. Nothing. Could it be an earthquake - nah. I told Dave and he just kind of shrugged his shoulders. With no evidence of any crazy, earth-shaking causes, I definitely thought I was crazy. Or, maybe I just imagined it...

Then, this morning, I saw this in the paper:

Minor 3.0-magnitude quake felt near Monroe
The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network says a magnitude 3.0 earthquake Friday afternoon was widely felt in areas north and east of Seattle - The Associated Press

SEATTLE —The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network says a magnitude 3.0 earthquake Friday afternoon was widely felt in areas north and east of Seattle.

Network spokesman Bill Steele says there are no reports of damage from the minor quake. And those who felt the 2:35 p.m. event most strongly described it as just a "light shaking."

It was centered about four miles southeast of Monroe at a depth of 12 miles.

By 5 p.m., more than 300 people had clicked on the seismic network's website to say whether they felt the quake, although some did so just to say "no."

Steele says a 3.0 quake is not unexpected west of the Cascade Mountains, or indeed anywhere in Washington. And he adds, "We have a lot of faults and a lot of quakes because things are moving."

We are about 10 miles away from Monroe, so that is obviously the cause of the weird shake episode on Friday afternoon. This is third time I've felt an earthquake - one while sleeping in my bed in Spokane, working at the UW during the Nisqually Quake in 2001 and now the Great Monroe Tremblor of 2011. And each time, it still takes me off guard and gets my heart racing... but at least I know I'm not crazy!