I just experienced my first 5.9 quake - in VIRGINIA!!! Never felt anything like this before. At first I thought it was a really hard gust of wind; but then I noticed the trees were not moving. So many scenarios ran through my mind, but earthquake wasn't one of them until I felt the whole building shudder all around me. The unthinkable, to me was happening, an earthquake, in Richmond, VA. Then I couldn't remember what to do. I tried to remember all those times I'd heard about the quakes in California. Ah heck, what the devil did they say to do???? Am I supposed to stay in the building, am I supposed to go running down the stairs, screaming like a mad-woman? What? For some reason, the disaster movie, Earthquake, jumped into my head. Little help there since the only thing I could remember was the title of the movie and that it was about a disaster. No help there. Not reassuring either.
Fortunately, the emergency preparedness training kicked in, just after realization struck a few seconds later; kick started by one sane voice saying, "It's an earthquake - remain calm. The tremor has stopped, let's evacuate the building." It was my supervisor, he was smiling. I figured if he's smiling, I can stay calm. This galvanized me to grab my zone warden cap, the list of employees on my floor, and make sure everyone evacuated from my section. Needless to say, didn't need to tell anyone twice.
Thank goodness everyone here is okay. But it bought home something pretty important. It's important to be prepared, to know what to do, and to remain calm. So I'm sharing a link for what to do during an earthquake. Believe me, I'm definitely going to commit this to memory. They say there may be aftershocks later. http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/earthquakes/during.asp
Do you have your emergency list prepared? Do you know what to do, where to go? What you should absolutely have in case of an emergency? Have you reviewed your contact list and what to do if you can't use your phone or cell phone to check on family and friends?
