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  We asked you to tell us where you were and what you felt when the earthquake hit. Here are your responses. 

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I was in bed and had my alarm set for 4:45. I woke up to my bed shaking back and forth. My immediate response was to look outside to see if there was a tornado and there was nothing and I quickly jumped out of bed and realized things were still shaking. I even felt my bed again and it was moving. Then it was over but I was frazzled. Afterwards I was thinking that it could have been an earthquake since my dad told me about one in 1968 and I know that there is a major fault line nearby. I also thought I was going crazy and that I was still half asleep but I wasn't. I will never forget that feeling of waking up and things are moving that shouldn't.
--Corey Hecht


I was in bed, asleep, when I woke up and felt that the bed was shaking. I was groggy and thought that it might have been an earthquake, but it didn't seem to have the excitement of what you think about when you think 'earthquake'. After a few minutes, the bed stopped rocking back and forth and I went back to sleep. --Christine


I was sleeping in my bedroom and it was around 4:30 AM. I had to wake up because of the sound of my bed and my lamp. My bed was shaking and the lampshade was moving. I initially thought it was my husband fooling around but he woke up right after i did. We were curious and even a little scared that Chicago can be a part of earthquake zone. --Susan Lee


I awoke and arose, as always, at 4:30 A.M. I was sitting around in the "privy" when I thought I was having a vertigo spell. Then I heard the pictures on the wall in the hallway rattling and a sound almost like a distant freight train. I thought to myself,"that train must really be loaded down" and travelling pretty fast. Coming out of the room, I noticed that my ceiling fans and lights were swaying back and forth. Then everything stopped and all was normal again. By this time it was 4:42 A.M. I said to myself "that had to have been an earthquake or at the very least an earth tremor". Watching your news program, I was made aware of the reality of an earthquake in downstate IL. An exciting, yet apprehensive, way to start the day. Please do not use my last name if you air my comment(s).
--Al Gonzales


I was laying in bed and the shower doors in our master bath began rattling against eachother. It was loud enough to wake me up. --Brad Mullens


I had just woken up and was lying in bed when I felt my bed slightly shake and tap against the wall a couple times. Very odd thing to wake up to!!!!
--Stephanie


You asked about animals ability to detect earthquakes? Well my two cockatiel birds whet ballistic in the gage at the time of the quake and one bird was bleeding from his wing. So the answer is yes animals did feel the quake and was very scared. --Deb


I was in a chair on the second floor of our small frame house. It felt like someone was tugging the legs of the chair. The sensation lasted about 10 seconds paused and began again for about 4 seconds. --Mary Samartgedes


Good morning - I just turned on the TV and learned that the bedroom shaking was indeed due to a tremor! It shook the bed while I was still in it. What a way to wake up - I would have preferred the alarm... --Marybelle Mittenthal Santos


I live in Grand Beach Michigan, My bed shaking woke me up and the bedroom door was rattling, sounded like the cat clawing with both feet. I was dozy at first waking and thought it was the cat, but the cat was out all night. Once fully awake, I thought about the Exorcist movie but turned the TV on, and I was so glad to hear your report of an earthquake.
--Louise Schall


I am in Joliet and I felt that earthquake around 4:40 this morning. It was very scary, I thought it was ghosts coming to get me, everything in my house was shaking, I heard tapping, almost like it was suddenly starting to hail lightly outside and then about 40 seconds later it was gone!!
--Elizabeth Crane     I was asleep on the couch when the earthquake hit. My cat Sassy was running around the house yowling like a madwoman at about 4:40 a.m., pawing at my hands and face.
I woke up and yelled for her to quit so she wouldn't wake up the neighbors...but then hazily realized what was going on.
Molly my other cat was firmly 'affixed' to the top of my head on the pillow, and my lovebird was just 'very awake' and sitting on her perch in her cage looking nervous.
Sassy (who is a Seal Point...so you can imagine the yowl) was the only one trying to get everyone up to take notice of what was going on.
I realized it was an earthquake, but it reminded me very much of when I was in high school in CT, there was a rock quarry across the street from my school campus. When they would blast out the side of the mountain, the ground would rumble just the same...
...though being from Ohio (remember when they used to train kids to go into the hallway during and emergency and sit down against the wall and draw up your knees and assume the position with your head down, hands behind the neck?) the first time they did a blast at that rock quarry, I jumped under my desk and assumed the position!! Much to the amusement of my classmates...until they told me what it was.
....so I didn't perceive it to be too serious (at least where I'm at). I grabbed the cats at went back to sleep until the 6 a.m. news where I realized it was a 5.4 where it hit.
Hope everyone down close to the center is alright. It just felt like a low little rumble up here in Naperville. Didn't seem to last (after I woke up) no more than about 10 or 15 seconds.
Note to self from here forward though...if Sassy is yowling, it may be a real warning rather than her just being a noisy cat :)
Cheers all!!
And good morning Chicago!!!
--Amy Grohowski


I couldn't sleep and was sitting on the couch watching tv. I live in Des Plaines about 1/2 mile from train tracks and very close to O'Hare. I felt the couch moving and thought it was a train or plane but didn't hear any. It seemed to last about 10-15 seconds. I just assumed it was a truck or something until I turned on the news at 5 am. --Julie Chandler


I was sleeping on my sofa, felt it shaking, heard a sound , thought it was a strong wind, or someone trying to break in, looked out both front and back doors, heard the birds extremly loud. --Maggie Montejano


Was at 208 S. Jefferson, Chicago, 3rd floor working graveyard shift at my mac when I felt my chair bounce felt as if someone grabbed the chair shook it a bit to startle me I asked other employees who were on thier feet 20 ft away in press room but they felt nothing we can get same feeling in Garbage truck hits dock hard did not know of earthquake till day crew started arriving at 6:30. --Larry Dunn


I live the Chicagoland area. I was awake working on my website when all of a sudden I felt the sensation of something pulling back on my desk chair. First, I thought my cat had jump onto it, but he was no where to be seen. --Aaron


In bed--mostly heard the door rattling --John Larson


I was just waking up (about 4:30) and heard my whole house creaking (as if in a big wind, but it wasn't windy!) and my bed shook with a rocking motion for several seconds. It was not like anything that typically happens here in the Chicago area. I didn't know for sure, but thought at the time that it really could only be an earthquake... and now that is confirmed! --Helen


My wife and I were sleeping when I awoke to the bed shaking and the windows creaking louder than normal. We live in a 35 story high rise downtown. "The temperature is changing fast," my wife said. "Wow, that was an earthquake," I said. It was just like the first time I visited Tokyo and was awaken by an earthquake. The feeling unmistakable. --Chris Conley


I was sleeping when I felt my bed vibrate. --Judy


At about 5:30 EDT, I was sitting in bed reading the morning paper. For 8 or 10 seconds a felt a slight rocking sensation. Then it was gone. I immediately thought earth tremors. We experienced stronger tremors here about three years ago. --Linda


I wake up to got to work at 5:AM but I was up a little early this morning. I live close to the Metra in Northbrook, IL. At around 4:30 I remember feeling this weird slow rolling motion as I lay in bed and I thought to myself "that's weird I usually don't feel the trains and if I do it usually doesn't feel like this!" Then I wondered what the heck was going on because I couldn't hear a train but it sure left like one was going by! Now I know I am not crazy!! --Rob Greynolds


Kalamazoo, Michigan: I was in bed sleeping when I woke in a rocking motion. My windows was rattling like a silent big truck was continually driving by the front of my house. --Ken


I live in Lebanon, IN and at 5:37am I felt slight shaking, and heard the windows rattling. --Denise Zerber


I woke up around 4:40am to the sound of a picture frame hitting the wall. After a few seconds my bed started shaking as though someone was jumping on it. It seemed to last forever since I have never felt an earthquake before, but it really only lasted mere seconds. I immediately got up and turned on the light, then went to see if my brother had felt it too. I was so freaked out that I sent a text message to my best friend and my sister asking them if they felt anything too. I thought I may have been going crazy! I'm just glad nobody has been hurt so far. This is definitely something I'll remember. --Shaina Berk



I am at work doing my paper work when I felt my chair moving, I told my co worker that there was an earthquake and they looked at me as if I was crazy. --Gloria Fernandez


I was sitting at my PC on my wheelchair. The first notice I took was I senced my desk move. Then I felt my wheelchair sway from side-to-side. Momentarily, I thought my wheelchairwas broken and about to collapse, but then I realized it was a quake. I felt two very distinct tremors. --Dave Bell


Deerfield, IL - I was at work at the front desk when my chair shook ever so slightly. I didn't think anything of it, with construction on the hwy, until I saw the power cable to my laptop swaying slowly back and forth. It's been at least 20 yrs since I lest felt that in the Midwest. --Jerry


I was working on a paper very early this morning and I felt my bed shake. I live close to Logan Square and I was under the impression that maybe I just made a sudden movement. It was very short. I didn't expect this at all being that I am from the SF Bay Area and I definitley know when a quake hits. I more or less thought I was hallucinating this morning, it was very early. But nothing fell in my room, everything is in place. This shake was nothing. Probably didn't wake many people that were sleeping out here in the northwest. --CaliforniaShakes


My husband and I were in bed asleep and I heard a knocking noises that sounded like something rattling. It woke him up, too and I asked him if he was doing that. He said "no" and I said what is it then? Then it stopped.
--Carole Dakan


EVANSTON, IL - Shortly after my massage chair finished working it started rocking, I checked the controller which show it was off. Never would have guessed an earthquake. --Howard Heim


My wife and I were of course asleep in our bad. Our 140lb.golden retriever, Radar, always sleeps next to the bed. When the quake struck, my wife asked "what was that?", and I answered her, "that's Radar scratching".
--David Smith


I know I'm only 13 but yeah...I live on the South side of Chicago. Well it was around 4:39 a.m. when I had just woken up from a dream. I was wondering if I was still dreaming when I felt my bed shake. But I have this locket dangling off of the shelf of my desk and I kept hearing it hit against the cup it was dangling over. After it stopped, I just figured it was part of my dream where someone was shaking me; and I went back to sleep. I woke up at 6:00 listening to my US 99.5 alarm and I heard Lisa Dent say that there was an earthquake with a mag. of around 5. I was shocked and found out instantly, when I just woke up, that there was indeed a small earthquake/tremor. The shaking was enough to shake the house, but only a little. However, the shaking DID keep me on my toes. --Serina


I was on my sofa because because I had trouble sleeping and I thought what I felt was the "rumbles" from a train. I can tell you it seem like it lasted for sometime although I did not get up to see what time it was. Really something. I had no idea what it was!!! It was strange because I was moving and I heard no train. Something else!! Thanks!! --Mary Carol Farber


Hi, woke up (around 4:30am) to the sensation of my bed mildly rocking-lasted several seconds. I am on the 22nd floor of a 36 story downtown hotel on Wacker Drive. --Deb


I was in my home office when it hit. I first thought it was someone walking from the living rooom to the kitchen on the hardwood flooring. When I got up to see who it was, eveyone was still asleep. I was not worried until I started reading reports via email. An earthquake was the last thing I would think caused it. --Matthew Weaver


Our dog knew it was coming 20 min before it happened. she was very restless. I let her outside and she started whinning. Then it happened. Alot of clattering and clanking, It was kind of starrtling. Glad I was awake to experience it. I hope everyone in the south is safe!! --Annie


I was sitting on my couch surfing the tv for who had the weather report on when I felt the first tremor. The tremor increased in magnitude and raddled my front door on it's hinges. At first I thought it was a train passing thru at a high speed but I couldn't hear any train. I could feel the walls and the floors moving and I thought I was imagining it. --Jennifer


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