Illinois Earthquake--M3.8 --12 Miles Away from Me

At 3:59PM--my clock read 4:00AM (CST), I was awakened by a loud bang and what felt like a car or a snow plow slamming into my house.  I got up, went to the bathroom, then looked for damage.  When I realized that nothing had hit the house, I also realized that it had been an earthquake.  I turned on my iPod Touch and the IFeltThat application that tracks earthquakes.  It didn't show the earthquake for 35 minutes.  I couldn't go back to sleep and turned on the local ABC morning news at 4:30AM and heard about the earthquake.

The epicenter of the earthquake was at 42.053°N, 88.412°W, 2 km (1 miles) SSE (168°) from Pingree Grove, IL--roughly 11.9 miles from my house.

It was first thought to be a Magnitude 4.3 earthquake and was later downgraded to a M 3.8 earthquake, striking about 3.11 miles deep.  I lived in Los Angeles  (LA) for a number of years and, while there was an earthquake preparedness consultant.  I had experienced lots of earthquakes while in LA, though this one was louder than the ones I remembered.

The scale for earthquakes moves exponentially, so the higher numbers represent significantly greater earthquakes in terms of shaking and effect.  An M 3.8 earthquake was big enough.  It does give a reference point for the M 6.0 earthquake that first hit Haiti.  That area has since had more than 50 aftershocks, usually about 6.21 miles deep and measuring M 4.3 or higher on the Richter scale.  We had a M 3.8 with little or no damage.

The USGS was actively soliciting first-hand reports from people experiencing the earthquake.  You can report your experience by following this link.

While I know what to do to prepare for earthquakes, I can assure you that my home in Illinois is not so prepared.  We're lucky to have had so few of them lately.