U.S. & World News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Residents across the Midwest and beyond were alarmed early Friday by the earthquake that radiated from Southern Illinois and shook the entire Chicago area.

Shockwaves were felt from Michigan to Georgia.

In downstate Mt. Carmel, the epicenter of the quake, a woman was trapped in her home by a collapsed porch but was quickly freed and wasn't hurt, said Mickie Smith, a dispatcher at the police department.

Also in Mt. Carmel, a two-story apartment building was evacuated because of loose and falling bricks. Police cordoned off the building, a 1904 school converted to residences. An antenna on the roof was also bent.

The American Red Cross is helping residents of the building find shelter.

The earthquake caused alarm in several other parts of downstate Illinois.

"It shook our house where it woke me up," said David Behm of Philo, 10 miles south of Champaign. "Windows were rattling, and you could hear it. The house was shaking inches. For people in central Illinois, this is a big deal. It's not like California."

Phones started ringing at the Crawford County Sheriff's Department in Robinson, about 15 miles north of the epicenter, but there were no immediate reports of damage, dispatcher Marsha Craven said.

"They didn't know if it was the refinery blowing up or an earthquake," she said, referring to the a local petroleum refinery.

Craven said she's lived in the area her whole life, and felt a handful of earthquakes, but couldn't recall one this big.

Residents of Kentucky also felt the quake. Part of a building on Louisville's Kentucky Avenue sustained damage, and bricks were knocked to the street.

There were no injuries, but it was a surprise to many.
Officials in Louisville also had about 10 calls of smelling gas, but they checked out negative, reported CBS station WLKY-TV. Sewer lines and bridges also checked out to be safe, WLKY reported.

Most people were asleep when the quake hit, and one Louisville woman said her whole bed shook.

"I knew we weren't expecting any story. and when the bed started shaking Ii had no idea what was going on and, it seemed to last about 30 seconds or so," said Connie Collins. "It was pretty good."

In St. Louis, authorities had to close one lane in each direction of the Kingshighway Overpass in the southern part of the city. Chunks of concrete fell from the overpass during the earthquake, reported CBS station KMOV-TV.

Later in the morning, crews inspected the bridge and found it was safe, but they closed lanes on the overpass to minimize the amount of weight on it, KMOV reported.

The earthquake was also felt throughout Indiana, where state Homeland Security Director Joe Wainscott Jr. said there were reports of minor damage. Many agencies inspected bridges and overpasses in southwestern Indiana, but no damage was detected as of late morning, CBS station WISH-TV reported.

All five dormitories at Vincennes University were evacuated as a precaution, sending nearly 1,500 students to an intramural field for an hour, WISH reported. The university is located about 30 miles east of the epicenter. There were no reports of damage or injuries.

As in Chicago, the earthquake shook tall buildings in downtown Indianapolis.

"I was in the shower and my first thought was that it felt like a dinosaur running down the hallway. My husband didn't notice anything. Everything seems to be fine so far," said Susan from St. Paul, Ind., told WISH-TV.

In Gibson County, Ind., 911 service was reportedly knocked out for an hour after the quake, WISH said. Residents of Princeton, Ind., reported damage in their homes.

In Cincinnati, one woman said she felt something that lasted for up to 20 seconds.

"All of a sudden, I was awakened by this rumbling shaking," said Irvetta McMurtry, 43. "My bed is an older wood frame bed, so the bed started to creak and shake, and it was almost like somebody was taking my mattress and moving it back and forth."

Cincinnati CBS affiliate WKRC-TV reported that residents from nearly every local community called their newsroom to report feeling the tremors. No one reported damage to the station, but they said their homes shook.
The earthquake was also felt throughout much of Iowa.

Bonnie Lucas, a morning co-host at WHO-AM in Des Moines, said she was sitting in her office when she felt her chair move. She grabbed her desk, and then heard the ceiling panels start to creak. The shaking lasted about 5 seconds, she said.

The quake was also felt as far away as Murfreesboro, Tenn., where Allyson Coen provided this report:

"I just got home from work and was winding down when everything in my living room began to shake," she wrote to CBS 2. "Nothing fell but it was all moved around a bit. My poor cat was scared to death!"

Friday also happens to be the 102nd anniversary of the great San Francisco Earthquake, which left an estimated 3,000 people dead and 30,000 homes either partially or wholly destroyed. The earthquake also set off a series of fires which swept through the city.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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