I happened to be awake this morning at 5AM when there was a shake, rattle, and roll! It was over as soon as it start, and I thought to myself: "I think that might have been an earthquake!"
If it wasn't an earthquake, I thought it might have been an explosion or a plane crash. In those cases, it seemed like the noise was over too soon and over not long enough, and that there was more shaking than noise.
I confirmed my suspicions at 6:30AM by surfing the internet and reading several news reports that DC was shaken by a minor earthquake with a magnitude of 3.6 - centering in Rockville - right near where I live!
I had no idea that DC was in a fault zone! I've previously lived the majority of my life in Massachusetts, which never had an earthquake that I noticed while I lived there. A good friend of mine lives in Los Angeles, and he's been through several minor earthquakes, and I've always been curious what they are like. Now I know! I don't think I'd like to experience a more powerful one though.
