And the Earth Shook

Years ago I realized there is no place on the planet immune from natural disasters. Hawaii is a volcanic island prone to tsunamis. California is prone to wildfires and earthquakes. Florida has hurricanes. The mid-west has tornadoes. Upstate New York has blizzards. Iceland is so cold body parts feel like they are going to fall off. Australia has animals whose mission in life seems to be to kill humans.

Put that way, New Jersey is pretty calm. Sure, it snows some. Sure we have some hurricanes. Typhoons, no! Tornadoes, no! Earthquakes, no! 

Oh wait! In 2011 we had our first earthquake, which was a non-event. The epicenter was in Washington, DC. In 2021 we had our second tornado, also a fairly rare event. Yesterday we had our second earthquake, this time the epicenter was a mere hour from here in Tewksbury, NJ.

Just before the quake, Mimi Kitty jumped on my lap and stayed. Often she'll check me out, try to eat my hair, or sit just out of arms length, but sit on me? That's rare!

Unlike in 2011 when I felt a slight movement and noticed the light fixture swing over the kitchen table, this time I heard it more than felt it. It sounded like a low-flying helicopter, or a freight train. Almost like the rumble of the subway beneath my house (there is no subway in Central New Jersey). Friends described it as if the house was sitting on top of the washing machine. After the noise lasted longer than I thought it should, I went to the basement to see if the heater exploded (why that thought would even cross my head, I have no idea). I stepped outside, didn't see a truck hitting the house or any other explanation. 

I sat back on the couch and invited Mimi to join me. Oddly enough, she stayed with me for a half an hour until Don came home from the gym (he did not notice a thing). I then took to social media for answers.

So many posts about the earthquake ("Did you feel that, too?" "What was that?"). Followed by friends from California incredulous that a 4.8 earthquake is newsworthy ("We don't even get out of bed for that!"). This will be a topic of conversation for a while ... where were you during the earthquake of 2024? 

Earthquake "damage" was limited to a picture that fell down.

That afternoon we went to Lititz, PA to spend some time before meeting up with Dan and Heather for dinner. While strolling we saw a Fox News 43 reporter. He was looking for people who felt something. I told him I did, but also that I felt it in Lawrenceville, NJ not in his viewership range. I think he was a little desperate for someone to interview, so I talked to him on air for a few moments. Don took pictures, so I can add a picture of my 30 seconds of fame. I did not look up the report online.

We went on with our day. On the drive home, I learned at 6 pm there was an aftershock emanating from Bedminster, NJ (where Don used to work, and where a former president has a home). Someone else reported another aftershock at 6:48 am. I missed both of those.

Why is an earthquake more newsworthy in New Jersey than in California? One answer is it has to do with our fault lines, which cause earthquakes to be felt by people from Boston to DC and out past Philadelphia. That's a large concentration of people.

A couple of days ago we had severe flooding. In a couple of days we are expecting an eclipse. What's next? Locusts? Oh, the cicadas are expected to appear again next month. Be safe.