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5.5 Earthquake Hits Canada; Felt in US Midwest, New England

joelmax writes "A magnitude 5.5 earthquake hit central Canada this afternoon, rattling buildings from Windsor to Montreal to several US states. The epicentre of the quake was in Quebec, 61 kilometres north of Ottawa, according to the US Geological Survey, and struck at 1:41 pm EDT." If you felt this quake, it would be great to put your location in the title of your comments, below — with lat/long coordinates even better.

560 comments

  1. Felt it in Cleveland by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    On the 5th floor of the Key Bank building. EVERYBODY PANIC!!!

    1. Re:Felt it in Cleveland by Tony · · Score: 1

      Another one in Cleveland, at 3050 Prospect Ave.

      Lat: 41.501395
      Lon: -81.666189

      --
      Microsoft is to software what Budweiser is to beer.
  2. Shaking in Ottawa by geo-geo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I was in a boardroom on the 6th (top) floor of our building for a 1:30 pm meeting and just as we're getting underway the table and chairs were shaking. Was pretty heavy for about 20 seconds and then faded off over the next minute. We're a lot of government buildings so the policy is to evacuate. We actually tried to continue our meeting but then they finally got to our floor to check it out they found us and told us to leave. As you can guess, no more work is really being done today. It's pretty exciting for us as we don't get this here.
    One interesting note, when I did go outside most everyone was on their cell phone and several were stating that they couldn't get service. I would guess because of the increase in volume at that time.

    1. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I didn't get touched, I'm in Alberta, but our Branches out in the Toronto Area felt it quite a bit.

      Latitude = 43.6325, Longitude = -79.6601
      Lat = 43 degrees, 38.0 minutes North
      Long = 79 degrees, 39.6 minutes West

      Our only Tech out there emailed and asked if our systems were capable of withstanding 5.5 Earthquakes.

        We emailed back "We don't know!!! Is everything running? Power okay? Any one sent in any IT Requests?"

      To which he responded, "Everything looks good. We're all fine by the way, thanks for checking."

    2. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 5, Funny

      We actually tried to continue our meeting but then they finally got to our floor to check it out they found us and told us to leave. As you can guess, no more work is really being done today.

      You know, as a resident of Southern California, I don't get many opportunities to call anybody else a weenie*...

      * :)

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    3. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the fuck were government workers doing working at 1:30 pm? Don't they normally work 10:00 am - 1:00 pm, with a lunch break from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm?

    4. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is this serious? I live in Vancouver, we have 5.5's all the time, barely notice them...

    5. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by StikyPad · · Score: 0, Troll

      It was just a baby quake for Chrissake. The only way anybody *wouldn't* be fine is if they happened to have their head under a guillotine with a quick-release tied to a seismometer arm. (Sorry, Dave.. it was supposed to be safe!)

      By the way, I thought I felt the quake out here in Florida, but it was just your mom walking by. (Yes, reader, your mom specifically.)

    6. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Latitude = 43.042691, Longitude = -77.458651

      Rochester New York

    7. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Seriously. 5.5? I don't get out of bed for anything less than a 6.5.

      I guess we're just jaded here in SoCal.

    8. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by Joey+Vegetables · · Score: 1

      Geological conditions are different east of the Rockies. A 5.5 in this region is not unprecedented but it is not expected more than once every decade or so. And a 5.5 here can be felt for hundreds of kilometers away, as opposed to SCal where it would likely not be noticed even directly above. :)

    9. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      TFS says it was felt in the US midwest, but I didn't feel it here in Springfield. Chicago maybe, but not here. TFS makes it sound like dishes rattled in Kentucky.

      Historic accounts say that when the New Madrid fault let loose in the 17th century (or was it the 18th?), it made church bells ring in Washington, DC, over 2000 km away. I'll bet anybody from California would have yawned at this one, let alone someone from Japan.

    10. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by jbenwell · · Score: 1

      I was at the office in downtown Ottawa, corner of Elgin and Waverley. The earthquake knocked our power out. The traffic lights were out up and down Elgin, as far as I could see. Everything seemed fine once I got a couple blocks away to the east and south.

    11. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Boring conversation anyway.

      Luc, we're gonna have company!

    12. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by noidentity · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If you're in an area that isn't hit often, it's smart to take it seriously, even though people in other areas treat the same magnitude earthquake something less-serious. People in the latter place are used to handling the after-effects, and the infrastructure is made to handle it better. In other words, the context matters as well as the event.

    13. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by StikyPad · · Score: 2, Funny

      The surface waves may spread farther in area, but magnitude N is still magnitude N. It's like getting two feet of snow in D.C. -- it's unusual, but other people are still going to laugh at you when you freak out.

    14. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by boojumbadger · · Score: 1

      I felt this on the 16th floor in my apartment, At first I thought it was a couple of rhinos going at it but it lasted too long. Strongest quake I have felt here ever (~50 years.) All the same it occurred to me after a bit that it probably wasn't too wise to be standing on the balcony.

    15. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by Rene+S.+Hollan · · Score: 1

      We just had a mandatory OSHA safety review here in Seattle, WA, and the policy for earthquake is NOT to evacuate but to "stop, drop, and cover" under our work desks. Evacuation occurs after the safety officer issues the all clear.

      Granted, earthquakes are a bit more of a concern here, but I would think, if anything, building codes for dynamic stress (as opposed to things like roof snow load) might be less stringent in Canada, and therefore it would be more advisable to "stop, drop, and cover".

      --
      In Liberty, Rene
    16. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL!

    17. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by X0563511 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Seismic waves don't travel along the surface. Ok, so the short-range ones do.

      Just like echos in water, they bounce around and form "pockets" or whatever they are called where the effect is intensified by constructive interference.

      It's entirely possible to have a stretch between you and the epicenter who feels nothing, yet you get your teeth rattled.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    18. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by radtea · · Score: 1

      And a 5.5 here can be felt for hundreds of kilometers away

      Yeah, it was weird. I've lived in LA and been in 3.5 (barely noticeable) to 6.0 quakes (cracked walls, a few light fixtures down, one death from falling bricks). I'm a couple of hundred kilometers south of Ottawa and felt this one distinctly, so the dispersion was definitely less than what I'm used to. If I was in LA I'd think it was maybe 4.0 and local, not 5.5 and 150 km away.

      --
      Blasphemy is a human right. Blasphemophobia kills.
    19. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      His was a government office they take any excuse to get the day off.....8^)

    20. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by H0p313ss · · Score: 1

      We actually tried to continue our meeting but then they finally got to our floor to check it out they found us and told us to leave. As you can guess, no more work is really being done today. It's pretty exciting for us as we don't get this here.

      Nice... I'm in the IBM building in Kanata and only half the people even bothered to stand up. Welcome to the civil service...

      --
      XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
    21. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by ShakaUVM · · Score: 2, Insightful

      >>You know, as a resident of Southern California, I don't get many opportunities to call anybody else a weenie*...

      Seriously.

      Since when is a mere 5.5 earthquake front page news on Slashdot? I guess people in other parts of the country don't really understand that a 5.5 is quite weak.

    22. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by legojenn · · Score: 1

      I was in the office at the Constitution Square Building in downtown Ottawa. (45.41718, -75.70358) The swaying didn't bother me as much as the up and down bouncing of the building. It bounced about 5 times. I did wake up in a friend's cottage (deliberately) this morning in Val-des-Monts, (45.71360, -75.71710), 30 km from the epicentre. I would not have wanted to be there alone when it hit.

      --
      I make a reasonable middle-class wage by going to work and not spamming blogs with scams.
    23. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      Dang, clever tip to the French Canadians.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    24. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by LurkerXXX · · Score: 1

      I felt it in Cleveland Ohio, so it was definitely felt in the midwest. It didn't rattle anything, but I felt the building swaying a bit.

    25. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by ailnlv · · Score: 1

      As a resident of Chile, I don't get many opportunities to practice my oneupsmanship skills either.

    26. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      our Branches out in the Toronto Area felt it quite a bit

      Funny, that's about 25% further away than I am in New Hampshire, but there was nothing to feel here. I suppose that's indicative of the geology.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    27. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by Krau+Ming · · Score: 0

      I work on the 4th floor of the McMaster hospital in Hamilton. Construction has been ongoing for months on the roof right above us and causes the floor to give a bit of movement now and then, so I thought nothing of it. Just wondering if anyone knows the magnitude of what was felt in other cities, given that it was a 5.5 near Ottawa?

    28. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by pipingguy · · Score: 1

      I recall an earthquake in Montreal (maybe 25 years ago or so, Longueuil, actually) when I was co-signing a loan in a bank. All three of us thought the other was exhibiting a nervous leg-thing (i.e., holding your toes down on the floor and moving the thigh up and down rapidly).

    29. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by rikkards · · Score: 1

      I had the same experience (lived in LA as well at one point) but I gauged it at 4-5 compared to what I recalled in LA and I was a lot closer to the epicenter than yourself. I would suspect it is due to the difference of living on the Canadian Shield compared to reclaimed swampland.

    30. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by rikkards · · Score: 1

      I was in the 5th floor of the ING building at St Laurent which IBM has and people were starting to panic. Most went to the windows (which was a huge no-no), while I walked over to my server room door way

    31. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by FiloEleven · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's news because it's an unusual geological event, and there are lots of geeks who find this sort of thing interesting. Since it was so widespread, I'm sure they got a lot of submissions from people who were affected by it.

    32. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by H0p313ss · · Score: 1

      ... and people were starting to panic...

      That would be the half that stood up and/or cowered in the server room.

      --
      XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
    33. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Same in New Zealand, on average there is one earthquake over 2 a day (http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/quakes/recent_quakes.html) and something over 6.5 about once every 10 years.

    34. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Different geology in LA. When a quake happens in the middle of a giant slab or rock extending 1000s of miles, you feel it a lot more. In LA, the fault-lines and other junk absorb a lot of the energy before it can radiate out (and up).

    35. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by realityimpaired · · Score: 1

      Building code in Ottawa includes earthquake resistance, because we *do* get earthquakes. Just very rare to get anything over a 3.0 magnitude. Most people in the city probably sleep through 99% of the earthquakes we get up here, and never even notice. There've been maybe 10 quakes 5.0 or above in the area in the last 400 years.

      I was on the 6th floor of a 21-floor building between Elgin and Metcalfe... there's a fault line that runs right up Metcalfe, passing less than 20 feet from my building. I felt it for a few seconds, didn't even phase me. I carried on my work like nothing was wrong, while people around me were panicking. It was kinda funny, really... when the big boss man said people could go home if they needed to, like 90% of my coworkers bolted for the door. I just shrugged and went back to work. :P In seriousness, a high-rise office tower that's built to withstand earthquakes is probably the safest place you can be for a minor quake, because the dampers they put in to counteract wind shear in tall buildings will counteract most of the shift you'd feel from a minor to moderate quake.

    36. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by realityimpaired · · Score: 1

      Ottawa's an earthquake zone. Usually about 100 minor quakes a year, just very rare to get more than a 3.0, and most people never even notice something that small, or they sleep through it. We had a 4.2 last year, but it's been 15 years since the last time we had a 5.0.

      Building code in this city does include earthquake resistance for exactly that reason.

      Even in areas which *never* get quakes, you still need to include resistance to dynamic stress, at least in tall buildings, because of the wind shear.

    37. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

      Roads freezing in Atlanta make the news too. Icy weather is pretty weak too.

      Nobody in central to eastern Canada expects earthquakes of any magnitude with any memorable frequency, but we get snow storms that would shut down most of California every year.

      Things really are relative sometimes.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
    38. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by Rene+S.+Hollan · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I know. Montreal, too (I lived there for 36 years.)

      But, it's not like they get "big ones" there... lots of little ones. I read one argument was that the St. Lawrence river flow helps lubricate the slip between the plates so significant stress never builds up, but have no idea if there is enough ingress into the deep inter-plate area from that water source for that to be true.

      Still, the argument to "evacuate" rather than "stop, drop, cover" continues to escape me.

      --
      In Liberty, Rene
    39. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by treeves · · Score: 1

      You're further south than 99+% of people. And *possibly* further south than 99.9999+%. Could you use that?

      --
      ...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
    40. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by rnj · · Score: 1

      Also in Ottawa. I noticed that some fairly senior people (some with some involvement in disaster response) were surprised by the difficulty in getting cell phone service. Wouldn't be at all surprised to find that there are some official plans being revised. There seemed to be an unstated assumption that cell phone communication would be available.

    41. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by ShakaUVM · · Score: 1

      On /.? We had a waterspout in San Diego, which never happens, but nobody cared. A minor earthquake in areas not prone to them is about as newsworthy.

    42. Re:Shaking in Ottawa by blai · · Score: 1

      you aren't jaded. your buildings are.

      --
      In soviet Russia, God creates you!
  3. central canada? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Get a map... its the east side of Canada.

    Yes, Toronto is ego central though...

    1. Re:Central Canada? by JazMuadDib · · Score: 5, Informative

      Central Canada is a term used in Canada to represent Ontario and Quebec, as opposed to Western or Atlantic Canada. It has little to do with geography.

    2. Re:Central Canada? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good point. Ottawa, which is UTC-05:00, is considered Eastern Time, not Central Time.

    3. Re:Central Canada? by adonoman · · Score: 1

      It's certainly Central Canada based on east/west population distribution - although it may have shifted west in the last while, I believe that the population center of Canada (based on a center-of-gravity type calculation with population density) was calculated to be just north of Toronto. You can pretty much just discount everyone in Northern Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and the maritime provinces. Then you have BC/Alberta balancing off Quebec, and Southern Ontario gets split in half.

    4. Re:Central Canada? by ljgshkg · · Score: 1, Informative

      Ontario and Quebec is actually called Eastern Canada. Those 3 provinces west of Ontario are central. While British Columbia is West.

    5. Re:Central Canada? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      You must be from Calgary.

      Eastern Canada is New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI and NFLD/Labrador.
      Western Canada is west of Ontario.

    6. Re:central canada? by Flea+of+Pain · · Score: 1

      Not flamebait, it's true! I'm currently in Winnipeg...also known as the center of Canada, and when I read central Canada I was more than a little confused.

      --
      Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
    7. Re:Central Canada? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 5, Informative

      Ontario and Quebec is actually called Eastern Canada. Those 3 provinces west of Ontario are central. While British Columbia is West.

      Central Canada.

    8. Re:Central Canada? by c9brown · · Score: 1

      That's not exactly Central Canada.

      Actually, by bounding box (a curved bounding box of course, since its on the surface of the earth), Thunder Bay lies nearly in the dead center, East-West wise, of Canada. Windsor is only about ~450km or less than 10% east of Thunder Bay, so calling this Central Canada isn't really a stretch.

    9. Re:Central Canada? by fyoder · · Score: 1

      Central Canada is a term used in Canada to represent Ontario and Quebec

      Actually, it's a term used in Ontario and Quebec for Ontario and Quebec. To Westerners you're Easterners.

      --
      Loose lips lose spit.
    10. Re:Central Canada? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're just reinforcing Toronto's egotistical belief that it's the centre of the universe.

      Lay a ruler on a map of the country. Measure from the west side of Yukon to the eastern tip of Labrador. Split the difference and you'll find yourself looking at eastern Manitoba. Central Canada has been located.

    11. Re:Central Canada? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They call themselves Central Canada as they believe the rest of the country revolves around them...

    12. Re:Central Canada? by MachDelta · · Score: 1

      Er, if Ont/Que are eastern, what are the maritime provinces called? East-east Canada?

      I always thought BC/AB/SK as west, MAN/ONT/QUE as central, and PEI/NS/NFLD/NB as east (obviously YK/NWT/NU as north) was a good split.
      The only problem is Manitoba doesn't seem to like being lumped in with Ontario and Quebec... and I can't say I blame them. Ah well.

    13. Re:Central Canada? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Toronto's so central, the rest of Canada is jealous and says we're part of America!

    14. Re:Central Canada? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No; only in-bred, redneck, Western Canadian hicks call the prairies "central" and ON+PQ "eastern" Canada.

    15. Re:Central Canada? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My understanding of the term is that it is based on the political centre, so areas west of the "Ottawa region" are western Canada and east of that is Eastern Canada.

      Even if I'm wrong, it's slightly easier than trying to keep track of populations!

    16. Re:Central Canada? by Your.Master · · Score: 1

      That's an awkward angle to take because the Earth isn't a plane, it's a globe; and Canada isn't a rectangle, it's a funny Canada-shaped landmass. Given that, there are many different geographical centres you could propose. And geographic centres are not the only type of centres

      It is the political centre of Canada. After all, the epicentre was within a short drive of the political capital itself.

      It's the centre of population of Canada.

      And there's the fact that this is the centre of the historical region of Canada (pre-Confederation).

      I'm not from Toronto, though i lived there for a few years.

    17. Re:central canada? by kyrio · · Score: 0

      When I read "Quebec" I immediately thought "that's not the center..."

    18. Re:Central Canada? by mdielmann · · Score: 1

      And there's the fact that this is the centre of the historical region of Canada (pre-Confederation).

      Given that premise, I propose an even more useless geo-political reference. "Magnitude 5.5 quake hits the heart of Cree territory."

      --
      Sure I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
    19. Re:Central Canada? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It has little to do with geography.

      Actually, it has a lot to do with geography, considering that Thunder Bay, ON approximately halves the distance between Vancouver, BC an St Johns, NL.

    20. Re:Central Canada? by kent_eh · · Score: 1

      We think of them as central, as in the phrase "who do they think they are, the center of the fucking universe?!?"

      --

      ---
      "I can't complain, but sometimes still do..." Joe Walsh
    21. Re:Central Canada? by value_added · · Score: 1

      Central Canada

      I guess this would be a bad time to mention that Central Canada consists mostly of the area above Upper Canada?

      In fairness to everyone who survived high school (and whose eyes crossed reading the above), the only thing more dull than American History is Canadian History.

    22. Re:Central Canada? by mdielmann · · Score: 1

      Well, I stand corrected. I've always considered Quebec to be more Eastern, and Ontario to be more divided between Eastern and Central. That could be swayed by the terms used in my own geo-political locale.

      --
      Sure I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
    23. Re:Central Canada? by kungfugleek · · Score: 1

      Ontario and Quebec is actually called Eastern Canada. Those 3 provinces west of Ontario are central. While British Columbia is West.

      Central Canada.

      I believe your information is a little outdated, as illustrated by this map of the known world.

    24. Re:Central Canada? by H0p313ss · · Score: 1

      I believe your information is a little outdated, as illustrated by this map of the known world.

      That must be the map the CBC used to determine that the quake occurred in Ontario despite the fact that they provided a map showing it in Quebec.

      --
      XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
    25. Re:Central Canada? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ya, it may be crouded over there with people and politicians. As far as I'm concered thats eastern canada and quebec might as well be the ass crack.

      -clinton

    26. Re:Central Canada? by JustOK · · Score: 1

      Except for the bit about torching la blanc maison, and teh stuff about your mom.

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
    27. Re:Central Canada? by legojenn · · Score: 1

      Given that premise, I propose an even more useless geo-political reference. "Magnitude 5.5 quake hits the heart of Cree territory."

      The Cree are a little more to the north. There is however, an Algonquin settlement named Kitigan Zibi about 60km west of the epicentre.

      --
      I make a reasonable middle-class wage by going to work and not spamming blogs with scams.
    28. Re:Central Canada? by adonoman · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I pass a sign saying saying "Longitudinal Centre of Canada" twice a day on my commute, but nobody here is going to pretend we're the middle of anything but nowhere.

    29. Re:Central Canada? by GrBear · · Score: 1

      It has little to do with geography.

      Your right, but for the wrong reason. Ontario and Quebec consider themselves the center of the known universe.

      The earthquake couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of people.

    30. Re:Central Canada? by Braedley · · Score: 1

      Hell, to Atlantic Canadians, Ontario and Quebec is Eastern Canada, and we're east of that! Manitoba and Saskatchewan (and Alberta depending on who you ask) is Central Canada. Sometimes, on rare occasions, Northern Ontario (the place of snow and rock. There are 13 people who live there. All of whom are named Frank. Even the girl. (Cookie for whoever gets the reference)) will be lumped in with Central Canada. Never, ever, will Quebec be considered Central Canada by any Maritimer or Newfie.

    31. Re:central canada? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Get a map... its the east side of Canada.

      Yes, Toronto is ego central though...

      ..and only people outside of Toronto think like this. Honestly - I've lived here all my life, and have not met more diverse and accepting people. Visit the city before making moronic comments like this.. Toronto is NOT the center of Canada. wipe.

    32. Re:Central Canada? by alexo · · Score: 1

      I believe your information is a little outdated, as illustrated by this map of the known world.

      Can't seem to find it on my map.

    33. Re:Central Canada? by Frostalicious · · Score: 1

      Ontario and Quebec is actually called Eastern Canada. Those 3 provinces west of Ontario are central. While British Columbia is West.

      Central Canada.

      Depends who you ask. Easterners use the definition which suits their political inclinations. Everyone else says "look at a map jackasses".

    34. Re:Central Canada? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just because it is on wikipedia doesn't make it true. It would be more correct to say that "Central Canada" is a term used by people who live in Ontario and Quebec to refer to Ontario and Quebec. People who live in other parts of the country (especially westward) do not use this term. They often refer to that part of the country as "eastern canada" and some even consider the term offensive as indicative of a self centered attitude held by some people in that region.

    35. Re:Central Canada? by Phrogman · · Score: 1

      I'm from BC, "Eastern Canada" begins at the BC-Alberta border :P

      --
      "The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
    36. Re:Central Canada? by realityimpaired · · Score: 1

      Not true. But sadly, they decided that the interesting parts of Canadian history were too scandalous for high school, so they don't teach the cool parts. As a for instance... Confederation Day is July 1... It was supposed to be June 24, to fall exactly 1 month after Victoria Day. The reason it's a week later? Sir John A. couldn't be found, because he'd gone off on a bender.

      Coincidentally, that may explain the difference in what qualifies as a scandal in Canada versus the US... in the US, if the President is getting laid it's scandalous. In Canada, it's perhaps a bit surprising (the guy's got all the charisma of a dead trout), but not really that intriguing... probably has to do something with the fact that our country was founded by a lecherous lush.

    37. Re:Central Canada? by SilverEyes · · Score: 1

      No; only in-bred, redneck, Western Canadian hicks call the prairies "central" and ON+PQ "eastern" Canada.

      I usually call the provinces and territories by their name. I would call the territories 'the North', BC as 'West Coast', BC, AB and Sask 'Western Canada', MB, ON and QC 'Central Canada', ON and QC by themselves as 'Eastern Canada', and NB, NL, NS and PEI 'Eastern Canada', 'Maritime/Atlantic' or 'East Coast' (although I better switch to Atlantic, as someone above mentioned).

      I live in Alberta (Calgary). While I may be an ignorant hick, that's just what I've become accustomed the other parts of this fine country. I guess it looks confusing written down, but it's a fairly arbitrary distinction that has been likely been impressed upon me by media and my parents/friends.

      AC, are you from Quebec as you referred to it as PQ rather than QC?

      --
      Interesting.
    38. Re:Central Canada? by SilverEyes · · Score: 1

      They call themselves Central Canada as they believe the rest of the country revolves around them...

      It does - given the Earth's rotation -, but there are a crazy number of epicycles involved. Even Ptolemy couldn't figure this shit out.

      --
      Interesting.
  4. sigh... by epiphani · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    You're an hour too late. We've already beat this topic to death on mailing lists, twitter, fark and facebook.

    Nothing to see here, GBTW.

    --
    .
  5. Central Canada? by mdielmann · · Score: 3, Informative

    That's not exactly Central Canada. You can't go much farther east without being in the Atlantic. Granted, it probably impacted more Canadians than an earthquake anywhere else in the country would have.

    --
    Sure I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
  6. Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    5.5 is diesel truck passing too close to the building. 5.5 is a sneeze, happens like once a week in SoCal. WTF why was this summary posted?

    1. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by easterberry · · Score: 1

      For the same reason a snow storm in Mexico would be news. It's unusual for the location. As a resident of Ontario this is the first earthquake I remember us ever having.

    2. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Indianapolis, here, and we got nothing from this.

      We do, however, sit close enough to the New Madrid fault to feel them one every month or two.

    3. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by inerlogic · · Score: 1

      because most of the world doesn't live in California.... we live on the East coast so we don't have to deal with earthquakes, wildfires or mexicans.... unfortunately all three have made their way here....

    4. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by Kymermosst · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's unusual for the location.

      No, it isn't.

      --
      "Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives" should be a convenience store, not a government agency.
    5. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by easterberry · · Score: 1, Informative

      Nice graph. But this made front page news because YES IT IS. I have lived here my entire life and never felt an earthquake before. Ever. Same with everyone else I know who was all "wtf hooser?". People didn't freak out and frontpage this because earthquakes are common fare round these parts. Whether the fault line causes anything or not is irrelevant to the fact that here in the GTA this is the first earthquake we've actually felt in decades.

    6. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      We've had a few, the one in Ohio a few years ago. Another in Ontario back in the 80's. They're just really rare to feel with any strength in Ontario.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    7. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by Kymermosst · · Score: 1

      You are confusing "unusual" with "uncommon." It would be unusual if it was particularly strong or if it was in a place where earthquakes are rare. It is neither.

      Here on the west coast of North America, large subduction zone earthquakes happen every 300-500 years. That does not make them unusual. It makes them uncommon.

      --
      "Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives" should be a convenience store, not a government agency.
    8. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by easterberry · · Score: 1

      Well now you're just being pedantic.

    9. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by The+Yuckinator · · Score: 1

      The last one I felt on the shores of Lake Ontario was over 5.0 and was around 1998 (confirmed by today's article in the Toronto Star).

      The last big earthquake in the region was in October 1998 when an earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale struck southern Ontario.

      Earthquakes in Lake Ontario aren't rare, we get a couple dozen a year, just not big enough to feel them. This one was at least 3 or 4 times as long as the last one I felt, and I've heard of 2 or 3 since then that others felt but I didn't.

      Just because you haven't felt them doesn't mean they haven't happened!

    10. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by Kymermosst · · Score: 1

      That may be true, but only because geology was one of my areas of academic interest in college. I wouldn't be pedantic if I wasn't very interested in the subject. Hopefully you understand.

      --
      "Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives" should be a convenience store, not a government agency.
    11. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by easterberry · · Score: 1

      Oh completelty. Hell, you could have responded "of course I am, this is /." and I've have understood. It's like when people confuse Schizophrenia and Disassociative Identity Disorder (not Multiple Personality Disorder, that's not a thing anymore)

    12. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think you're confusing the word the unusual for some other word. Unusual is a synonym for uncommon - please look it up.

      I think what you're trying to say is that geologists would expect an earthquake of this magnitude in the zone in which it occurred. That is, the event had a non-zero probability of occurring and the only unknown is the exact date, time and location of its occurrence.

      Personally, I think an earthquake occurring where and how it did about once a decade is not unusual/uncommon.

    13. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by Kymermosst · · Score: 1

      Okay, I pulled two different dictionaries and naturally one says unusual and uncommon are synonyms and another restricts 'unusual' to "uncommon in amount or degree." I happen to agree more with the latter, I guess.

      I'll concede, though. Unusual and uncommon can be synonyms according to certain sources and people.

      I wonder if the difference is regional in nature.

      Geology rocks (to keep it on-topic) and so does language!

      --
      "Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives" should be a convenience store, not a government agency.
    14. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

      You're confusing unusual with inexplicable or unexplainable.

      Unusual does in fact mean infrequent. And quakes in the region certainly are infrequent.

      However, of all the regions of central to eastern Canada, this is the area most likely to experience quakes, and as such, this is not an entirely unexpected event.

      It is still very unusual.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
    15. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by SilverEyes · · Score: 1

      I understand the definitions, but I've always taken unusual to have more of a connotation of "not normal and not often". While uncommon has a more "normal, but not often".

      I guess this difference in connotation is a result of being repeatedly told throughout school that someone is "normal, just not average".

      By the way, speaking about confusing terms. Every time I read your sig I'm just about to congratulate and thank you for the gold.

      --
      Interesting.
    16. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

      I really should cheer for Detroit, but I don't.

      Notably, I always argued in class that the more mathematical definition of normal than the politically correct one.

      That is to say, its not normal to be 7' tall or to have size 3 feet when fully grown, its also not polite to point it out to people.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
    17. Re:Can 5.5 even be felt at ground zero? by SilverEyes · · Score: 1

      I was told yesterday that I was a standard deviant.

      --
      Interesting.
  7. Nothing in Chicago by Thelasko · · Score: 5, Informative

    But I figured a USGS link was in order.

    --
    One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
    1. Re:Nothing in Chicago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010xwa7.php

      says 5.0

    2. Re:Nothing in Chicago by wandazulu · · Score: 1

      I just came back from taking a break outside and my co-worker said he felt it. We're in downtown Chicago. When it happened I was probably on a bridge and would have figured it was just a bus. :)

    3. Re:Nothing in Chicago by asukasoryu · · Score: 1

      Don't forget to tell them if you felt it. I felt it in Ohio. Not very exciting here.

      --
      There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
    4. Re:Nothing in Chicago by hyperizer · · Score: 1
    5. Re:Nothing in Chicago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      even better, the USGS did you feel it link. Good graphs of where the earthquake could be felt, and lets you add to the report.

    6. Re:Nothing in Chicago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nice, felt it here too in Toledo.

    7. Re:Nothing in Chicago by Higaran · · Score: 1

      Yea, if I did feel it I would totally take it for a truck or something, the office I work in is on the first floor, or you could call it the basement, because the floor is like 3 feet below street leve. Any time heavy truck goes speeding by, I feel it a little, it's kind of a pain in the ass sometimes actually.

    8. Re:Nothing in Chicago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i was on the CTA and any shake would have felt like a rocky part of the rail.

    9. Re:Nothing in Chicago by BrettJB · · Score: 1

      This link might be a bit more timely -- yours is US-only:

      http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/region/N_America.php

      --
      Smell that? You smell that? Burning karma, son. Nothing in the world smells like that...
    10. Re:Nothing in Chicago by rrohbeck · · Score: 1

      Latest Earthquakes M3.0+ in the USA - Past 7 days

      ...

      MAP 5.0 2010/06/23 17:41:41 45.904 -75.497 16.4 43 km ( 27 mi) N of Cumberland, Canada

      :)

  8. Obligatory xkcd by Jamori · · Score: 5, Funny
    1. Re:Obligatory xkcd by Tsaot · · Score: 1

      Wow, I forgot about this one. Sadly, it mirrors exactly what I did. It wasn't very strong though.

    2. Re:Obligatory xkcd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Many years ago when I used to do a lot of IRCing, back when they were still called channels not fucking 'chatrooms', I once had a dream the French were invading so I rushed onto IRC to warn everyone...

    3. Re:Obligatory xkcd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How did you know it was a dream?

    4. Re:Obligatory xkcd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      best xkcd ever!

    5. Re:Obligatory xkcd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because invasions aren't a retrograde operations.

    6. Re:Obligatory xkcd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because of the phrase "Cheese eating surrender monkeys".

  9. I felt it....ohhh wait. by PieterBr · · Score: 5, Funny

    At first I thought it was because the US won their group on the world championship. But then I realised the are no football fans in America.

    1. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Soccer. There are no soccer teams in America. There are lots of football teams.

      By the way, if we win the World Cup, that means the sport gets renamed worldwide. Seriously, we'll do it. How does "FISA World Cup" sound?

    2. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought FISA was what allowed the courts to rubber-stamp domestic wiretapping? =P

    3. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Funny

      There are no soccer teams in America. There are lots of football teams

      Football is not handegg.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    4. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by Changa_MC · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Football. There are no football teams in America. There are lots of American Rugby teams

      FTFY

      --
      Changa hates change.
    5. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Flamebait anyone?

    6. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Football is America's favorite sport (not the pasttime, as I think that still goes to baseball....). It's soccer that lacks fans in America.

    7. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by operagost · · Score: 1

      You have funny looking eggs, wherever you are.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    8. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      When a 6'2" tackle who benches 620 and weighs 310lbs of solid muscle tells you he plays football, you don't question it.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    9. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by phantomfive · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Wow, from that picture I suddenly understood American attitudes towards soccer. The guy with his taped up fingers (and exaggeratedly padded muscles) running like he could pound through a refrigerator looks way more manly than the guy with what looks like a hacky sack and herbalife written on his chest. It also explains soccer's heightened popularity in certain parts of California. Soccer needs to get new sponsors, that's all I can say.

      --
      Qxe4
    10. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by codegen · · Score: 1

      By the way, soccer is short for "association football"

      --
      Atlas stands on the earth and carries the celestial sphere on his shoulders.
    11. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      There are lots of soccer teams in America. I'm not sure if there are any professional ones, but there are lots of them.

    12. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by ak3ldama · · Score: 5, Funny

      When a 6'2" tackle who benches 620 and weighs 310lbs of solid muscle tells you he plays football, you don't question it.

      Sure you can, you then let him chase you around for, say, 25 seconds and then he tires. Either that or he continues chasing you all the while wondering why no one blew a whistle yet...

      --
      "but money is the God of Algiers & Mahomet their prophet." - Rich. O'Bryen June 8th 1786
    13. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by geekoid · · Score: 0, Troll

      Add he probably runs as fast as most soccer players.

      So I'd like to see a soccer player take that hit.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    14. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by fudoniten · · Score: 1

      You know where 'soccer' comes from?

      Asocciation Football. Oxford slang made it into 'socc-er.

      But 'football' is right there in the original name. Maybe we oughta come up with a new name for our game?

    15. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      if by football you mean the sport where only one person actually touches the ball with his...um foot...then sure, but for the rest of the world, there is a much more sensible use of words...

    16. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by sh00z · · Score: 1
      'Football' is right there in the original name to distinguish it from the other form played at the same time and place--Rugby Football. So, to be pedantic, anyone who provides a correction of "football" to a statement of "soccer" should indeed be countered with "association football."

      And yes, our game has another name--American football, to distinguish it from Canadian and Australian rules for the very similar games (more similar than they are to rugby football or association football).

      They're all football. Can't we all just get along?

    17. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by compro01 · · Score: 1

      No soccer teams? What's with all the soccer moms then?

      --
      upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
    18. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by Buelldozer · · Score: 1

      I'll just leave this here: http://majorleaguesoccer.com/

    19. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by ShakaUVM · · Score: 1

      >>So I'd like to see a soccer player take that hit.

      Soccer players are GREAT at getting hit.

      They just roll around on the ground, clutching their leg afterward.

      Was why I quit playing soccer, actually... a guy ran into me from behind and was so good at faking an injury that I got red carded for it.

    20. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by rgmoore · · Score: 1

      Somebody needs to tell that to all the people who play variants of football other than Association, e.g. Rugby Football, Australian Rules Football, Canadian Football, etc. They all use an oblong ball and allow it to be held in the hand.

      --

      There's no point in questioning authority if you aren't going to listen to the answers.

    21. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by pipingguy · · Score: 1

      Why is it called 'footy' in Brit circles? Is there a need to give it a foo-foo-ish name? I'll bet there's an easy-peasy answer to this.

    22. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by John+Hasler · · Score: 1

      > Can't we all just get along?

      Could be tricky with people who start wars over their game.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    23. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by khallow · · Score: 1

      Sure you can, you then let him chase you around for, say, 25 seconds and then he tires.

      Where's the part where I get a million dollars and my very own magic girl wand? So far it's not sounding promising to me.

    24. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That was funny, but the reality is some of those 300 pound guys can still run 4.8 seconds in the 40 yard dash (that's a common measurement of speed in US).

      http://bleacherreport.com/articles/360764-2010-nfl-combine-breaking-down-the-offensive-linemen

    25. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by steelfood · · Score: 1

      Either that or he continues chasing you all the while wondering why no one blew a whistle yet...

      I'd wager those 600 lbs football players can easily outpace and outlast a geek from some basement.

      --
      "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
    26. Re:I felt it....ohhh wait. by SilverEyes · · Score: 1

      Either that or he continues chasing you all the while wondering why no one blew a whistle yet...

      I'd wager those 600 lbs football players can easily outpace and outlast a geek from some basement.

      300 lbs (you switched the 'benches' and 'weighs' figures).

      I'm pretty sure a 600 lbs football player is just *fucked* if he tries to run :P

      --
      Interesting.
  10. Minor shaking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Felt it shake. Woodstock Ontario

    43.1336,-80.746107

  11. Quake felt in London, On. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Midway between Toronto and Detroit.
    About 15 seconds of WTF - pictures rattling on the wall, water sloshing in my glass.
    Pretty funky stuff
    Lat = 42 degrees, 58.8 minutes North
    Long = 81 degrees, 14.8 minutes West

    1. Re:Quake felt in London, On. by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      No, that's not London, UK.

      (am I the only one who hates it when towns "steal" names from major cities? Example: Moscow, Maine. WTF?)

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
  12. Ann Arbor by CoffeePlease · · Score: 5, Informative

    42.31124, -83.67578 Thought it was a particularly large person stomping around near my cube. The floor shimmied slightly. It was cool.

    1. Re:Ann Arbor by ogre7299 · · Score: 1

      I'm on the 10th floor of my building and we had some pretty decent swaying going on.

  13. Nepean - Lat: 45 25' 0 N, Longitude: 75 42' 0 W by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I didn't realize boobquake was today.

    Was a fun ride here in Ottawa, a few reports of small building damage but not major injuries from what I have heard.

  14. Cause of quake by Grieviant · · Score: 1

    Inter-tube resonance effect of several million US soccer fans simultaneously typing "USA USA USA ..." into fifa fan chat. Thank you, Landon Donovan, for the afternoon off.

  15. Dr. Evil? by bazorg · · Score: 1

    I opened my RSS feed reader and... woah! earthquake in Canada!
    and below the title "1 person likes this" and a big smiley. there's some really crazy people out there..

    1. Re:Dr. Evil? by Nerdfest · · Score: 1

      It was pretty cool. We're not used to anything that big here ... it's enough to stir up a little excitement without causing much real damage. I have friends that live in the mountains in northern Mexico, and I'm guessing that they'll be laughing at all the concern.

    2. Re:Dr. Evil? by aesiamun · · Score: 1

      That's fine, Austin shuts down with a dusting of snow...we NYers are allowed a little bit of excitement when the earth moves ;)

    3. Re:Dr. Evil? by SYSS+Mouse · · Score: 1

      Bring in the Army (like Mel Lastman did!) Wait, the Army is already there for G20.

    4. Re:Dr. Evil? by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 4, Funny

      It was pretty cool.

  16. Ann Arbor, MI :: 42.311331, -83.67533 by metallikop · · Score: 1

    Very mild here, three story building, almost undetectable movement. Quite a few people felt it at the office.

  17. Saskatchewan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I didn't feel the quake in saskatchwan and get your facts straight. Central canada is not montreal/windsor, thats eastern canada.

    -Clinton

    1. Re:Saskatchewan by tecmec · · Score: 0

      I'm from Saskatchewan too. I thought we called it "western Canada". East is the maritimes...I think that leaves Ontario to be the center.

    2. Re:Saskatchewan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're from Saskatchewan...your opinion doesn't count. It's science.

  18. Downgraded... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They downgraded it to a 5...

  19. Oblig XKCD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://xkcd.com/723/

  20. felt in toronto by theheadlessrabbit · · Score: 5, Funny

    I felt it in my basement apartment in Toronto.

    But was it really an earthquake, or did the thought of all those politicians gathering for the G20 make the ground vomit?

    --
    -I only code in BASIC.-
    1. Re:felt in toronto by limerope · · Score: 1

      Mother nature is against the G20. Also Toronto, downtown. Felt it on the 27th floor at Queen & Yonge.

    2. Re:felt in toronto by SpeedyDX · · Score: 1

      I felt it in Toronto as well. I was 21 floors up, so it was pretty intense. Lights, doors, etc were swinging. According to my security guard, someone on the upper floors of one of the buildings here saw their furniture move across the floor.

      Once I made my way down 21 flights of stairs, I spoke to some of my neighbours. About 3/4 of all the residents brought up the G20 jokingly. Pretty much sums up what we think about the event, huh?

    3. Re:felt in toronto by Dorkmaster+Flek · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I felt it at my work in the downtown core as well. It was a small rumble here, though. I doubt it caused any real damage, although given the fact that the G20 is in town, an earthquake was not my first instinct when I felt it...

      --
      I like to think of online DRM as something akin to a college -- you pay for lessons until you learn something.
    4. Re:felt in toronto by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I felt nothing in Waterloo. (Coordinates: 4328N 8031W)

      Kind of strange given how Waterloo isn't much further from Quebec than Toronto is.

    5. Re:felt in toronto by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I felt it in my basement apartment in Toronto.

      But was it really an earthquake, or did the thought of all those politicians gathering for the G20 make the ground vomit?

      I felt it in my mom's basement in Toronto.

      There. Fixed that for you.

  21. Kanata by tecmec · · Score: 0

    All you at work in Kanata, get back to work!

  22. Twitter not good enough for you? by Tsaot · · Score: 3, Informative

    Or, to save time, you could just try querying the Twitter API for any tweets with the #earthquake tag, check the location of said tweets, and plug those into Google maps. Or, for an even faster (but more constrained) result, you could just check the USGS Did You Feel It? map. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/events/us/2010xwa7/us/index.html

    1. Re:Twitter not good enough for you? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      In answer to your subject:

      No. With all confidence and utmost sincerity, I believe I speak for the majority of Slashdot users when I say, in fact, no, Twitter is not good enough for us. Thank you for your time.

  23. USGS'd! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Magnitude 5.0 - ONTARIO-QUEBEC BORDER REGION, CANADA. Filter: Don't use so many caps it's like yelling.

  24. 44 49' 49" N / 74 30' 49" W by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Slight rumbling for 15-20 seconds here, about two hours ago.

  25. Nothing too serious. by BLToday · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm from California, a 5.5 is about a large truck going by. One time, we had a 5.4 in the Bay Area and it was one of those quick jolt ones. I thought the fat guy in the apartment above me fell down. I think we had a 5-something last week, I didn't notice since I was at Disneyland.

    1. Re:Nothing too serious. by canajin56 · · Score: 1

      5.5 is "Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions. At most slight damage to well-designed buildings" It's only "a large truck going by" if you're not really that close to the epicenter...if your criteria is for an earthquake that you're not near, then whatever, a 9.9 you can't even feel at all (if you're on the other side of the world).

      --
      ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
    2. Re:Nothing too serious. by Hatta · · Score: 1

      In Canada a 5.5 earthquake is news. In California a 55F day is news.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    3. Re:Nothing too serious. by RafaelAngel · · Score: 2, Funny

      As said fatguy, all I gotta say is that I tripped over the dog.

    4. Re:Nothing too serious. by DinDaddy · · Score: 1

      I remember a 5.6 aftershock from the '94 Northridge quake, and I was in my apt. about 8 miles from the epicenter. It was a little more than a large truck going by, but it was still no big deal.

    5. Re:Nothing too serious. by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      It's only "a large truck going by" if you're not really that close to the epicenter..

      Uh, no, not really. They give you readings for the magnitude of where you are. That 6.5 earthquake in Seattle was a 2.5 in Portland.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    6. Re:Nothing too serious. by Darth_brooks · · Score: 1

      Yes, well, some of us prefer to live in places with four seasons and where the earth doesn't just quaketh because it feels like it. I like my house, and I think it likes me. If it's going to move a couple of feet on the X, Y, or Z axis, I think we've got the kind of relationship where that sort of thing should be a mutual decision.

      I mean, I live near Detroit. I'm used to residents up and leaving and various forms of political instability, but when the ground itself decides that it's time to move, then that's a big FSCKing deal. Give me Snow, Tornadoes, and corrupt politicians over Wildfires, earthquakes, and politicians that can't do simple arithmetic any day.

      --
      There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
    7. Re:Nothing too serious. by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 1

      only "a large truck going by" if you're not really that close to the epicenter...

      Or it could just be that we've been through larger ones. Once you've been through 6 and above earthquakes, you really just don't notice the 5's anymore.

      --
      If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
    8. Re:Nothing too serious. by Joey+Vegetables · · Score: 1

      You live near Detroit, and you're still alive????

      (Not that I have much room to make fun of your town; I'm in Cleveland, fast becoming both the emptiest town in the allegedly developed world, as well as the stoooopidest. And yes, many people felt it here, although for some reason I didn't. Some of the morons here are insisting that since the Canada quake happened around 1:45 and they felt something around 2:05, it must have been a separate, unrelated incident, and some of the news media are even reporting it as such. Apparently no one here has ever heard of the speed of sound.)

    9. Re:Nothing too serious. by BLToday · · Score: 1

      A few years ago, I was about 10 miles away from the epicenter of 5.6 out in Corona waiting for a delivery truck at a friend's house. Initially, we both thought it was the delivery truck driving up to the house. After you've been through a few 6+ earthquakes, the 5.5 and under are not that bad. It has to do with the logarithmic nature of the Richter scale. Like the 7.2 out in Calexico, I definitely felt that one and I was over 100 miles away. That one was scary since it was over 30 seconds.

    10. Re:Nothing too serious. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Living the dream!

    11. Re:Nothing too serious. by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

      Having never felt a 5.5 before, and living in between Toronto and the epicentre, I found the rattling of the windows a little odd.

      That said, nothing terribly scary or anything.

      To be honest, I understand the people in downtown Toronto freaking out, the G20's on this weekend and some of them were legitimately concerned it was an explosion rather than a quake at first.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
  26. Felt it in Arizona. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Though that might've been McCain flip-flopping. ZING!

  27. Felt it in Boston, MA by sagneta · · Score: 1

    Actually we felt it in Boston. I could feel the swaying. I sent an IM to somebody asking if they felt it. Later they said they had. Once I read this message the the time 1:41pm EDT I noted that my IM message was sent at 1:44. My clock is probably off somewhat but that's close enough. I have felt other quakes in New England. This would be the fourth so it is not unheard of. Also much of Boston is filled-in land thus it tends to amplify the shock waves.

    1. Re:Felt it in Boston, MA by tophermeyer · · Score: 1

      That's funny. How high up are you?

      I'm in a basement just over the river in Cambridge and we didn't notice a thing.

    2. Re:Felt it in Boston, MA by braingram · · Score: 1

      I too am just over the river in Cambridge. However, I'm up on the third floor and felt something. I thought it was nothing until a coworker mentioned something and then I saw this.

  28. More here by loconet · · Score: 1

    More details here. Growing up in Peru, and experiencing many earthquakes in my life time, you would think I would recognize an earthquake but I didn't feel a thing. 5.5 isn't a small shake either.

    --
    [alk]
  29. Shaking by rxan · · Score: 3, Informative

    Mississauga near Pearson Airport. 4th floor of office building. Wavy and shaking. Nothing was broken but you could really feel it. 43.638968,-79.609534

    1. Re:Shaking by JazMuadDib · · Score: 1

      43.711595,-79.684095, a few kilometers away. I didn't feel anything, but my coworkers sure seem to have.

    2. Re:Shaking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mississauga near Pearson Airport.
      4th floor of office building.
      Wavy and shaking. Nothing was broken but you could really feel it.
      43.638968,-79.609534

      Old Toronto, on the west end on the 2nd floor of my apartment building.

      Roughly,

      N 43 40' 00.00"
      W 79 25' 47.00"
      Elev 120m

      I didn't realize it was a quake at first. The dog was behind my chair and I thought it was bumping into it. I was on the phone with someone so I held back from correcting the dog. When the other person on the phone asked if I felt that, I realized it wasn't the dog.

      Slow news day it seems ;)

  30. Ann Arbor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In Domino's farms, My floor rocked a bit and my cube toys all started rattling. I thought. Hmmm, feels like an Earthquake, but we don't get those here.

  31. Best way to see who felt it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/events/us/2010xwa7/us/index.html

  32. Felt it in Toronto by Galestar · · Score: 1

    Felt it in Toronto

    --
    AccountKiller
  33. Was in downtown Montreal when it hit. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Felt it here quite clearly, but not strongly enough to even be sure it was an earthquake. On the 14th floor of a building in downtown Montreal, it felt like a large truck rolling by...

  34. Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec by tomhudson · · Score: 1

    45.47.0N, 73.50.60W.

    Felt it at 1:40pm (guess my clock is off), it lasted for a good minute.

  35. I see what happened by countertrolling · · Score: 1

    They made a pact to the devil.. They said, 'We will serve you if you will get us free of Quebec' True story. And so, the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.' "

    --
    For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
  36. My favorite tweet seeb on CBC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ottawa government buildings evacuated. Productivity unaffected. Although Tsunami on Fake Lake was pretty good too.

  37. Montreal, QC :: 45.53021, -73.59851 by l3ert · · Score: 1

    On the 10th floor of an office building, about three or four sequences of small thumps, lasted about 30 seconds total, each thumps felt slightly like when an elevator stops.

    --
    per dolorem ad astra
  38. Close, but no indication here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Across the river from Windsor and I didn't feel a thing.

    Detroit, MI

    (42.328712, -83.045279)

    1. Re:Close, but no indication here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Correction, one person on my floor indicated that he felt the building moving an hour or so ago, no one else did though, and the people he told just thought he was crazy.

    2. Re:Close, but no indication here by BitterOak · · Score: 1

      I'm in Windsor and I didn't feel a thing. I was in a car at the time though, so it's no surprise.

      --
      If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
  39. Ottawa by sunami88 · · Score: 1

    45.37623 N, 75.67543 W or so. I didn't think it was so bad, but my neighbours/Facebook friends seem to disagree.

    As a side note, my cellphone is completely borked. Seems whenever the carriers become overloaded the damn thing won't even boot/function at all... time to grab the back up phone...

    --
    Sex. Drugs, and Unix.
    1. Re:Ottawa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean a land-line? I was shocked how many people called their family/friends to make sure they were okay. It was an earthquake yes, but it wasn't soo bad (also in Ottawa here)

    2. Re:Ottawa by sunami88 · · Score: 1

      You mean a land-line? I was shocked how many people called their family/friends to make sure they were okay. It was an earthquake yes, but it wasn't soo bad (also in Ottawa here)

      Actually, it's my Nokia 5130 cellphone. I don't even care to make a call, but my phone just completely locks up when it's turned on.

      --
      Sex. Drugs, and Unix.
  40. Albany, NY by milesbogus · · Score: 1

    Albany, NY 42.690969,-73.833092 This really got the California natives squawking about and comparing stories about their earthquakes. It really kind of ruined the excitement for me.

  41. Brossard, on the south shore of Montreal by HellRestaurant · · Score: 1

    Felt the quake earlier. Wasn't sure at the time if it was an earthquake or my house was falling apart. Glad it's not the later.

    1. Re:Brossard, on the south shore of Montreal by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      Glad it's not the later.

      Yeah, me too. We're at now, now. We'll be at then, soon, but whatever you're seeing now is happening now.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  42. NJ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I work in Hackensack. My building five degree one and five degrees another way.

  43. Lansing Michigan by Mnemen · · Score: 1

    I didn't feel it myself, but had several coworkers here and off site note that they had felt it.

  44. 5.5? Feh! by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 5, Insightful

    On the 5th floor of the Key Bank building. EVERYBODY PANIC!!!

    What a bunch of wimps.

    Here in southern California, a mere 5.5 would hardly even arouse anyone's interest. Probably make page 1 of the local section unless the Padres made a big trade; then it would be relegated to page 2.

    --
    This ain't rocket surgery.
    1. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Plates_tect2_en.svg

      Do you see any tectonic plates meeting in the middle of North America?

    2. Re:5.5? Feh! by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 2, Informative

      No, but it did happen on a major fault line that's been there some hundreds of millions of years.

    3. Re:5.5? Feh! by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      Here in southern California, a mere 5.5 would hardly even arouse anyone's interest. Probably make page 1 of the local section unless the Padres made a big trade; then it would be relegated to page 2.

      We had a 6 something earthquake a couple of months ago here in LA. It was one of those slowy-rolly ones that really only cranks up the scale that high because they last a while. I could hear people in other apartments going 'WooO!!!" like they were riding their wild apartment.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    4. Re:5.5? Feh! by mikazo · · Score: 1
      http://www.ottawacitizen.com/earthquake+shakes+central+Ontario/3191688/story.html

      “I lived in California for four years and this one made me go for the doorway

      Thus, an earthquake of the same magnitude in southern British Columbia or California would cause more devastation because of the population density, but would be felt over a far smaller distance.

      --
      I was only 28,931 registrations away from having a 6-digit UID
    5. Re:5.5? Feh! by JO_DIE_THE_STAR_F*** · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Yeah, and if the temperature in southern California dropped to -40C and dumped 2 feet of snow, California would be shut down for a week and the national guard would be called in.

      Where as in Edmonton, Alberta that's a regular Tuesday (in January).

      It's all a matter of perspective.

      If your on a ocean going vessel and your hit by a 30m rouge wave that's a minor incident.

      If on the other hand your riding your bike through the park and get hit by a 30m rouge wave You may drown and the event is going to make headlines the world over.

    6. Re:5.5? Feh! by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 2, Informative

      Do you see any tectonic plates meeting in the middle of North America?

      Nope, but that has nothing to do with you easterners being a bunch of wimps when it comes to earthquakes. You were even too wimpy to post with your nick--QED. For that matter, it doesn't even have all that much to do with earthquakes. The most powerful earthquake in US history happened on the New Madrid fault, which is a thousand miles or more from the nearest tectonic plate boundary.

      --
      This ain't rocket surgery.
    7. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Rouge waves? Well if you're in the gulf maybe, though more of a brown/black wave...

    8. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hmm, what would the news say if you got hit with a metre and a half of snow?

    9. Re:5.5? Feh! by nizo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'd be worried about quakes too if I lived someplace that wasn't accustomed to having them and had many old non-earthquake safe buildings.

      So how's your tornado shelter?

    10. Re:5.5? Feh! by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      What a bunch of wimps.

      Newsflash: people don't behave calm when faced with something they're not accustomed with.

      What would happen in California if several feet of snow ended up on the streets overnight?

    11. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Heh, let's see how you southern Californians would freak out over a half-inch of snow. Everyone would be crashing or driving off the road. In Ottawa snow isn't report-worthy until it's over a half-foot.

      Well, except in summer.

    12. Re:5.5? Feh! by Jhon · · Score: 1

      What would happen in California if several feet of snow ended up on the streets overnight?

      I'd still be expected to show up for work, on time.

      God I hate my job.

    13. Re:5.5? Feh! by Mordaximus · · Score: 2, Interesting

      What a bunch of wimps. Here in southern California, a mere 5.5 would hardly even arouse anyone's interest. Probably make page 1 of the local section unless the Padres made a big trade; then it would be relegated to page 2.

      Wimps?

      2" of snow would make you cry for weeks. In Ottawa, we finally caved in and cheered for an extra 6" so we could break the 170" record only a few years ago. It's all about what you're accustomed to.

    14. Re:5.5? Feh! by Nosbig · · Score: 1

      Even though there is a small fault line that runs through the western half of Ohio, it is very rare for us in OH to feel earthquakes... Here in Mansfield (halfway between Cleveland and Columbus), both my fiance and I felt it. I am at home, and she is working about 2 miles away... It was almost like mild dizziness for about 10-15 seconds. Nothing very strong, but distinctly disconcerting... She noticed curtains and pictures on the wall swaying just a little. I really feel for the folks in California; it would be very strange to have the earth moving under your feet at something much closer to a 5 or a 6 or even higher.

      So, I can't speak for all... I wasn't afraid for my life in the imminent sense, but I certainly began to understand the danger response when something like that happens.

    15. Re:5.5? Feh! by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

      Do you West Coast people have a plan to deal with 10 feet of snow overnight? No? Snow day perhaps?

      You're still expected to bring your kids to school here, still expected to get to work, -AND- you're expected to have your walk shoveled for the mailman, lest you get fined.

      So, I mean, you can call us a bunch of wimps when we get Earthquakes maybe once every 20 years, when we have to deal with crap you don't every damn year.

    16. Re:5.5? Feh! by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 1

      What would happen in California if several feet of snow ended up on the streets overnight?

      Traffic would be a mess, people wouldn't go to work and everybody would have a good time. It would also melt in a matter of hours since the average January temp here is in the 50s.

      --
      This ain't rocket surgery.
    17. Re:5.5? Feh! by Minwee · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's all of that illegal make-up dumping. It leads to rouge waves, mascara storms and glitter tornadoes.

    18. Re:5.5? Feh! by lewiscr · · Score: 1

      I don't need one. We get the occasional tornado in southern California. They're puny. They knock a couple railroad cars over, and that's about it.

    19. Re:5.5? Feh! by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 1

      We had a 6 something earthquake a couple of months ago here in LA.

      Yeah, the one centered south of Mexicali on Easter Sunday. That was a 7-something, really shook us good down here in San Diego. Now that one made the front page.

      --
      This ain't rocket surgery.
    20. Re:5.5? Feh! by Faw · · Score: 1

      After seeing how the people in california freak out when they get a few days of rain I have to believe they are the wimps.

    21. Re:5.5? Feh! by bigredradio · · Score: 4, Informative

      Snow day? Ha, here in SoCal just a rainy day is a major upset in our routines. Odd how you get used to some things.

      Earthquakes = No problem.
      Drizzle = OMG WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!!!

    22. Re:5.5? Feh! by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      Yeah, the one centered south of Mexicali on Easter Sunday. That was a 7-something, really shook us good down here in San Diego. Now that one made the front page.

      A friend of mine in San Diego called a bunch of bowling alleys and asked if any of the pins had been knocked down. They all said no. When asked 'why' she said she just wanted to know how that counted in the game. Heh.

      p.s. Nice Duck Tales reference.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    23. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You Californians are NUTS for continuing to live in such a geologically unstable area. Then you have the gall to be unsympathetic to others' fears of an event that can potentially cause loss of life and damage to property. Not that I wish bad on anyone, but if you Californians are going to continue poking fun at how others react to their misfortunes, may you all fall into the Pacific Ocean! Maybe Lex Luthor's dream will come true. Then from my beach front property in Arizona, I'll laugh at you all and say, "What's the problem? Just a little quake! Now you got your own island!"

    24. Re:5.5? Feh! by Mackeul · · Score: 1

      Ya, but a 5.5 Earthquake here in Ottawa is like getting 2ft of snow in Southern California... it's not expected.

      --
      Never bathe in hot oil and Bisquick.
    25. Re:5.5? Feh! by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Snow day? Ha, here in SoCal just a rainy day is a major upset in our routines. Odd how you get used to some things.

      Earthquakes = No problem. Drizzle = OMG WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!!!

      LOL, yeah, that's true! Major mayhem on the highway whenever it rains down here but that's not due to panic, it's due to it being way too easy to get a drivers license in this state.

      --
      This ain't rocket surgery.
    26. Re:5.5? Feh! by lupinstel · · Score: 5, Funny

      The key to driving in the rain in SoCal is to drive as fast possible through it; therefore you spend less time on the road and minimize your exposure to the dangers of rain.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Cthulhu.
    27. Re:5.5? Feh! by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 1

      So, I mean, you can call us a bunch of wimps when we get Earthquakes maybe once every 20 years, when we have to deal with crap you don't every damn year.

      Hey, I just said you were wimpy about earthquakes. I'd be the first to admit that west coast types are wimpy about weather. Having lived all over the U.S., I laugh when Californians complain about "bad weather," which usually means "below 60 F" or "not sunny."

      --
      This ain't rocket surgery.
    28. Re:5.5? Feh! by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 1

      The key to driving in the rain in SoCal is to drive as fast possible through it; therefore you spend less time on the road and minimize your exposure to the dangers of rain.

      Okay, thanks, important safety tip. ;-)

      --
      This ain't rocket surgery.
    29. Re:5.5? Feh! by codegen · · Score: 1

      That only shows the major and minor plates. Each major plate is made up of several plates that are (currently) fused together. For example, the Appalachian mountains didn't appear out of nowhere. The Ottawa River Valley is actually an active fault, and smaller earthquakes happen somewhat regularly in Northern New York State. All of eastern Ontario has earthquake requirements in the building code.

      --
      Atlas stands on the earth and carries the celestial sphere on his shoulders.
    30. Re:5.5? Feh! by JonStewartMill · · Score: 1

      Mods take note: last time I looked, flamebait wasn't spelled i-n-s-i-g-h-t-f-u-l.

    31. Re:5.5? Feh! by geekoid · · Score: 1

      We don't get tornados, but everyone can get earthquakes.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    32. Re:5.5? Feh! by Shakrai · · Score: 1

      That's one of the redeeming qualities about the Northeast. Not too many natural disasters to worry about. We had tornadoes come through here a few years ago but they were rather wussy compared to the ones out West -- just knocked down a few trees and damaged some roofs. The worst thing that happens here is the occasional flood or ice storm.

      --
      I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
      We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
    33. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      If you're *anywhere* and you get hit by a rouge wave, I'd suggest converting to Christianity as apparently the seas have turned blood and the Rapture is nigh.

    34. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually... it's been officially adjusted to a limp 5.0, so we're even bigger pussies than thought.
      At least we won't be getting The Big One ever. I hear California is guaranteed to get The Big One in the next 30 years.

    35. Re:5.5? Feh! by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      Well for those of us in Ontario and Southern Quebec, a few days of rain is pretty normal. Even pounding rain, actually rain 8 days in a row happens occasionally around here. The old joke that was pretty common around here was: "And God said, piss on Canada. And so he did." Sums up how much rain we get.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    36. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not worried about getting the finger from God, since that's totally out of my control and doesn't seem to happen regardless of whether or not I'm prepared to save my skin by going underground early while everything on the topside gets tossed and shredded. I'm only concerned with learning to live with my faults, because, you know, their mine. Plus they're hard to avoid or get out of the way, and I'm not that attached to topside stuff anyway.

    37. Re:5.5? Feh! by damien_kane · · Score: 1

      ...spend less time on the road and minimize your exposure to the dangers of rain.

      Granted, you are in fact not on the road when you're flying ; however I'm pretty sure that does carry with it a load of other dangers not normally present in driving.

    38. Re:5.5? Feh! by hesaigo999ca · · Score: 1

      Sometimes people have a hard time understanding what understanding means

    39. Re:5.5? Feh! by hypnotik · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yeah. In Chile we laugh at you California people making big deal of 7.0 magnitude earthquakes. Here those are called aftershocks.

      For the record -- I was 60 miles from the epicenter of the 8.8 on February 27th. The quake wasn't that bad, but the aftershocks every 15 minutes for the next 3 days got tiring.

      --
      (I was only an egg, but then I cracked)
    40. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In all fairness though, I lived in Orange County and saw what happens when it first rains after months of no precipitation. The asphalt paved roads and highways would get this weird slick of what I can best describe as "soapy" looking. I'm not sure what it is, perhaps oils in the asphalt that rise to the surface. Anyways, point is it makes for slippery driving!

    41. Re:5.5? Feh! by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 1

      Obligatory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1LTUTW5m98

      5.5 maybe gets an eyebrow raise here in California. 2 inches of rain, however, is the apocalypse.

    42. Re:5.5? Feh! by SoTerrified · · Score: 1

      If your on a ocean going vessel and your hit by a 30m rouge wave that's a minor incident.

      I disagree. If you are hit by a 30 meter high wave made of cosmetics, I think that would make world headlines.

    43. Re:5.5? Feh! by H0p313ss · · Score: 1

      What a bunch of wimps.

      Here in southern California, a mere 5.5 would hardly even arouse anyone's interest. Probably make page 1 of the local section unless the Padres made a big trade; then it would be relegated to page 2.

      Agreed. I'm in Ottawa which is about 60km from the epicenter. Really it was nothing, but still the largest I've experienced. It felt slightly worse than the one I experienced in Montreal ... I guess in 1988, but even then I've has worse jostling from turbulence.

      In my office the reaction was evenly divided, one half headed for the stairs and the rest sat and watched it happen.

      --
      XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
    44. Re:5.5? Feh! by H0p313ss · · Score: 1

      Snow day? Ha, here in SoCal just a rainy day is a major upset in our routines. Odd how you get used to some things.

      Earthquakes = No problem. Drizzle = OMG WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!!!

      Indeed... Here in Ottawa 60km from the epicenter a 5.5 is enough to scare the living crap out of half the population. But we'll handle three feet of snow overnight without flinching then drive to work at 60mph before all the roads are clear.

      --
      XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
    45. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A 100-foot ocean wave is a minor incident? What fucking planet are you from?

    46. Re:5.5? Feh! by fast+turtle · · Score: 1

      I'm waiting for the big one to finally give me beach front property. L.A. and the rest of So.Cal can drop into the damn ocean for all I care as I live on the East side of the San Andreas

      --
      Mod me up/Mod me down: I wont frown as I've no crown
    47. Re:5.5? Feh! by CompMD · · Score: 1

      You have to be very careful with glitter tornadoes. They leave particulate matter in the air which, when inhaled, can lead to a debilitating disease: pneumosparklyosis.

    48. Re:5.5? Feh! by baegucb · · Score: 1

      When I lived in Seattle, the natives thought windshield wipers were optional equipment.

    49. Re:5.5? Feh! by budgenator · · Score: 1

      Yeah but we're on a nice solid plate, energy travels well through it like ringing a bell, you guys are sitting on a pile of gravel plate. In Port Huron MI (43.020940 , -82.448266 , I felt it real well it rocked my chair for sever seconds at about .75Hz in a north-south direction, my wife's coffee was sloshing in her cup, so it was a pretty good rocking for this neck of the woods.

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    50. Re:5.5? Feh! by demonlapin · · Score: 1

      Mostly oils dripped onto the surface by leaky cars combined with tread rubber that has accumulated from wear. Drive very carefully for the first 5-10 minutes of a rain in the east; in SoCal I'd probably let it wash for an hour or so.

    51. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      many old non-earthquake safe buildings

      Bingo. Houses are built for snow-load back home. (I'm out West now.) There's a lot of brick, stone, and brick/stone-veneer construction that's going to have to be examined pretty carefully now.

      A big problem will be chimney fires come fall. It doesn't take much of a kink in a chimney to cause a hot spot. The word has to be put out now to get those inspected. And start early, because there aren't nearly enough trained people to look at it all once the weather turns.

      [Can I ask for a Mod Up? -- unless the media clues-in and emphasizes inspections, people aren't going to know. Getting this post visible will at least have the /.ers out there advised to get their chimney checked. Chimney fires suck because they tend to go un-noticed till the attic is on fire, usually after you've gone to bed.)

    52. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If it's -40C with 2 feet of snow in California, is the rest of the Pacific Northwest (or even the world) still experiencing normal weather or is just California effected by this freak storm?

    53. Re:5.5? Feh! by budgenator · · Score: 1

      2 feet of snow at 50F is a horrendous slippery wet icy mess that lasts for a couple days.

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    54. Re:5.5? Feh! by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 1

      "Licenses? We ain't got no licenses. We don't need no licenses! I don't have to show you any stinkin' licenses!"

      --
      This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
    55. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      both my fiance and I felt it. I am at home, and she is working about 2 miles away...

      Dude, unless she's a dude too, she's your fiancée and you are her fiancé.

      HTH. HAND.

    56. Re:5.5? Feh! by theshowmecanuck · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In Kitchener ON. Stuff was rattling on the shelves here... about 150 miles southwest of the epicenter.

      The largest earthquake ever recorded in the U.S. was in 1964 in Alaska. It was 9.2 on the Richter scale. The second largest measured earthquake. In contrast the New Madrid Earthquake (about 150 miles south of Saint Louis on the Mississippi River) was estimated from 7.5 to 8.1. However, the geology of the Midwest (one big piece of underlying bedrock covering most of the U.S. Midwest and Southern Ontario) allows the effects of an earthquake to be felt with little diminishment quite far from the epicenter, unlike earthquakes in zones like California (where the effects are not transmitted anywhere near as far). The underlying reason for the New Madrid Earthquake Zone looks to be a failed rift valley causing a weak spot in the sheet of bedrock covering the Midwest.

      Also, ca. 300 years ago there was an estimated 8.7 to 9.2 Megathrust Earthquake off the Cascadian coast in 1700 (off the west coast of North America from mid Vancouver Island in B.C. Canada, and down along Washington and Oregon States. This was large enough to cause a large tsunamis to strike the coast of central Japan. It is expected that this area will experience this type and magnitude periodically (every ca. 500 years). I know in Vancouver, and most of coastal B.C. for that matter, that extensive earthquake retrofitting has taken place, and new buildings have to meet tough earthquake codes.

      --
      -- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
    57. Re:5.5? Feh! by JumpDrive · · Score: 1

      If California was shutdown for a week. Who would notice?

    58. Re:5.5? Feh! by Geraden · · Score: 1

      Probably nothing. The news over here has no freaking clue what a metre is!

    59. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You should be here today, then.

      Earthquake this afternoon, followed by flash flooding and tornadoes tonight.

      I'm closer to the New Madrid fault than the Quebec quake, but it registered around 3.2 here.

    60. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My uncle, Einar, he lives on a remote island...somewhere. There he gets earthquakes which are easily past 9.0 magnitude and he doesn't even bother updating his facebook status about it.

    61. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, well here in southcentral Alaska we could easily have temps of -40C with 2 feet of snow AND a 5.5 quake without much concern.

    62. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Furthermore, while -40C is extreme (for CA), it does commonly experience temperatures between -15F and 20F (in Truckee) and regularly deals with far more than 2ft of snowfall... storm records range between 10ft and 15ft. Seasonal depth is usually 30-50ft at resorts (75-80ft? maximum). Kirkwood (10,000ft altitude) often has over 20ft of snow at the base.

      And coolest of all at Kirkwood, during the 90-100F summer, you can even climb the snow-less mountain, and ride the bike trails down it. You can even strap your mountain bike to the summer chair lifts.

    63. Re:5.5? Feh! by halcyon1234 · · Score: 1

      Here in southern California, a mere 5.5 would hardly even arouse anyone's interest.

      Yes, but these were 5.5 METRIC Richters (or Richtres, as we call them).

    64. Re:5.5? Feh! by halcyon1234 · · Score: 1

      geotagged geo:lat=43.844397 geo:lon=-79.385297

    65. Re:5.5? Feh! by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      I suspect the next time the subduction zone off of Oregon and Washington gives way it will surpass the New Madrid quake in size. The Cascadia Subduction Zone is very similar to the subduction zone that caused the 2004 Indian Ocean Quake.

    66. Re:5.5? Feh! by aevan · · Score: 1

      yawnyawn.

      And some of us during the quake went: "wow, big truck going by. wait, you feel it too? must be an earthquake, neat. ...Think that was a 3? I wanna do it again. Maybe we'll get aftershocks??"

      It was actually fun, since no damage. Then we had a thunderstorm and a tornado-warnings, but it was Midland that managed to get the twister. Boo.

      Wimps? Hardly, just a few worried people, and a bunch who were rather blase about it, and some who had fun with it. Kinda obvious this wasn't something like a 8.0, just a break from the humdrum.

    67. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Clearly posting AC because he owns a chimney inspection service in Ottawa....

    68. Re:5.5? Feh! by dkf · · Score: 1

      Either that or maybe it's time to get a bit further away from that makeup factory.

      --
      "Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
    69. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, and if the temperature in southern California dropped to -40C and dumped 2 feet of snow, California would be shut down for a week and the national guard would be called in.

      Where as in Edmonton, Alberta that's a regular Tuesday (in January).

      It's all a matter of perspective.

      A better example would be Manitoba. We do actually hit -40C fairly regularly and the biggest snowstorm I can remember dumped approximately 4ft of snow and we were only shut down long enough for them to clear the highways and all the people who thought they could drive in it.

    70. Re:5.5? Feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This earthquake was the largest I have experienced and it was pretty exciting. Some people panicked as we never see these in in part of the world (Ottawa, Ontario). Ottawa is a very government-centric city and my employer sent us home in order to "investigate structural integrity" of the buildings. lol. I heard that there was a crack in the wall of Center Block on Parliament Hill...not sure if it was caused by the quake or the charging politicians as they pushed their way out of the building.

      In comparison to a few SoCal posters here, it is funny what people can get used to, as we could 2 feet of snow and everyone is still expected to show up to work. I can't imagine what would happen if that happened in SoCal. ;) State of Emergency?

       

    71. Re:5.5? Feh! by ekc · · Score: 1

      What a bunch of wimps.

      Here in southern California, a mere 5.5 would hardly even arouse anyone's interest. Probably make page 1 of the local section unless the Padres made a big trade; then it would be relegated to page 2.

      I was in Kingston, Ont. (about 2 hours drive from the epicentre) eating my lunch on a picnic bench outside when people came rushing out of the office wide-eyed yelling, "Earthquake!" I didn't feel a thing. Honestly. If that was an earthquake, I've had bigger rumblings coming out of my stomach. Then again, I lived in Japan for a time. They know how to do earthquakes over there.

    72. Re:5.5? Feh! by Yert · · Score: 1

      "Snowball Fight Goes Too Far - man killed when sno-cone stand owner drop largest sno-cone ever made on passerby"

      --
      Truck driver, plumber, Linux systems engineer.
    73. Re:5.5? Feh! by somejeff · · Score: 1

      So how's your tornado shelter?

      You called it

    74. Re:5.5? Feh! by Risen888 · · Score: 1

      Uh huh. Next time you get slapped with 100+ mph straightline winds, drop me a line and let me know you're getting on. Tornadoes get all the press out here because they're photogenic, but let me tell you, you'd rather have a tornado because it might miss you.

      Happened here (central Minnesota) in the late 90s ('96? '98? damn I'm getting old). Completely leveled my hometown of Monticello MN. Tore it down. I was ten miles west of town milking a cow. I stayed with the cows even though the barn was losing pieces of itself. I figured if anything's gonna be good to hang onto, it's gonna be a cow. I was 17. And I was right about hanging on to the cow, too.

      If that happened in SoCal, San Diego would land in Arizona. Maybe because you build for different conditions out there. Or maybe because you are bitches.

      --
      Hey, I finally got my first freak! Took you long enough!
    75. Re:5.5? Feh! by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 1

      What makes you think we haven't had them here? Maybe not as often as the hell-hole of a place that you apparently live in but we do get thunderstorms and all the related weather phenomena up to and including tornadoes. And then there are the Santa Ana winds, which can reach 100 mph as well. I was in a building when it's roof was torn off by them, in fact, so I'd suggest you reconsider who you're calling "bitches."

      And, by the way, even if we didn't get strong winds here that doesn't change the fact that you folks are still wimps when it comes to earthquakes.

      --
      This ain't rocket surgery.
  45. 43036N 834124W by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    USGS page for the quake: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010xwa7.php

    Felt in Flint, MI 43036N 834124W

  46. Rochester, NY report by BigDaveyL · · Score: 1

    I was walking to the printer and couldn't feel it. However, all my co-workers who were sitting could feel it.

    1. Re:Rochester, NY report by Target+Practice · · Score: 1

      Same thing happens every time I walk to the printer...

      checks girth

      Oh...

      --
      There's a 68.71% chance you're right.
    2. Re:Rochester, NY report by SilverEyes · · Score: 1

      > walk to printer

      There is rumbling around your feet.

      > check girth

      Feet not in sight. There is girth.

      You have arrived at the printer to find the tray empty. Perhaps you didn't actually click 'Print' hard enough?

      > goddamnit

      --
      Interesting.
  47. Drummondville, QC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Drummondville, QC ... got my dual monitor screens shaking for about 30 seconds near 1h40 PM

  48. Upstate NY by Ephemeriis · · Score: 1

    Felt it here in upstate New York. Very pronounced.

    --
    "Work is the curse of the drinking classes." -Oscar Wilde
    1. Re:Upstate NY by aesiamun · · Score: 1

      Upstate is a very large area :) Most people would think albany...and the area north of albany...Canada :)

  49. The USGS has a nice earthquake web page by elistan · · Score: 1

    The USGS has a nice earthquake webpage http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/ with realtime earthquake reporting, with all earthquakes (hundreds of 4.5+ magnitudes per week around the world, thousands of 1.0+ magnitudes in/near the US per week) mapped out.

    Here's their info on this particular 5.0 event. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Quakes/us2010xwa7.php

    I tend to go to the USGS site every few days to see what's up, just out of curiosity's sake.

  50. Downtown Toronto by alphax45 · · Score: 1

    I work in downtown Toronto within the security zone for G20. At first we thought they were testing equipment or something but it didn't stop for about 30 seconds. First earthquake I have ever felt. Very odd feeling!

    --
    K Man
  51. Westland Mi and Forest Park Il by rongage · · Score: 1

    Nothing felt in either Forest Park Illinois or Westland (burb of Detroit) Michigan.

    --
    Ron Gage - Westland, MI
    1. Re:Westland Mi and Forest Park Il by DriedClexler · · Score: 4, Funny

      Are we talking about the same Michigan? I was on a flight that landed in Detroit at about 2pm CST, and on the way to my destination I saw NUMEROUS buildings just devastated by the earthquake, a lack of essential services, disruption of civil order, severe deterioration of roads and infrastructure, looting in broad daylight ... you name it.

      They must have been near the earthquake's epicenter.

      --
      Information theory is life. The rest is just the KL divergence.
    2. Re:Westland Mi and Forest Park Il by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's just regular Detroit for ya.

    3. Re:Westland Mi and Forest Park Il by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whoosh...

    4. Re:Westland Mi and Forest Park Il by aqk · · Score: 0

      Speak to the mayor of Detroit. Or governor of Michigan. I suspect they may know something.

  52. Magnitude 5.0 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    USGS indicates the shaker was magnitude 5.0

  53. Rochester NY area by aesiamun · · Score: 1

    Felt it in the basement, several people above ground in buildings said they didn't feel it.

    1. Re:Rochester NY area by aesiamun · · Score: 1

      43.086185,-77.669361

      GPS....

    2. Re:Rochester NY area by WeblionX · · Score: 1

      Felt it on the third floor; just outside of Rochester. Was certainly not something I thought I'd experience here.

      --
      (\(\
      (=_=) Bani!
      (")")
    3. Re:Rochester NY area by aesiamun · · Score: 1

      Yeah it was the first earthquake that I was awake for :)

  54. Detroit MI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Was just a dull roar here on the 27th floor of the Renaissance Center, I thought it was workers rolling a cart down the hallway.

  55. Mississauga (43.638968,-79.609534) by rxan · · Score: 1

    And there it is in the title for you.

  56. Vancouver Island by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Vancouver Island on the West coast of BC... didn't feel a thing :(

    Today marks the anniversary of the largest on-shore earthquake in Canada in 1946, however.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946_Vancouver_Island_earthquake

  57. 42.913850, -85.517809 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not much excitement here. For about 20 seconds it felt like the hydraulic lift on my office chair became very floaty like I was in boat on a gently rolling pond. Three of us in the office felt it, the other three didn't even notice.

  58. Yawn by StikyPad · · Score: 0

    The linked story says 5.0, not 5.5. Either way, it's nothing to get your culottes in a wad about... Someone walking or driving could easily fail to notice a 5.0.

    From the Wikipedias: 5.0-5.9 -- Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions. At most, slight damage to well-designed buildings. (Emphasis mine). And this was in the lower range of that scale.

  59. Shaking in Oshawa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm on the 7th floor of a gov't building in Oshawa. The building just swayed for a minute, though it did basically destroy any hope of productivity for the afternoon.

  60. Schenectady NY by davek · · Score: 1

    Most definitely felt in Schenectady NY (Clifton Park, actually), about 300 miles south-east of the epicenter. Felt like the entire building was a ship on the ocean for a good 10 seconds.

    --
    6th Street Radio @ddombrowsky
    1. Re:Schenectady NY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's weird. I was at my desk in downtown Albany (just a few miles from you, for the benefit of non-upstate New York slashdotters) and didn't feel a thing. I've felt many earthquakes in the past so I would have noticed.

  61. Football Fans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What are you talking about there are plenty of football fans in the US, I am one of them.

    I really can't stand Madden though.

  62. Yay! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Quebec's finally separating!

  63. Brampton telecommuter 43.74308,-79.747385 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    my whole desk was swaying - i could tell it was more than just heavy trucks passing

  64. Potsdam, NY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Rattled the office here in Potsdam, NY. 20 Minutes from Cornwall Ontario.

  65. Kanata, Ontario (just outside Ottawa) by mikazo · · Score: 1

    I was on the 5th floor and felt quite a bit of shaking for about 15 seconds. Good thing I have an old CRT monitor, or I wouldn't have been able to use the computer! I heard the quake caused a tsunami on Stephen Harper's fake lake. Either that or the G20 protesters jumping up and down.

    --
    I was only 28,931 registrations away from having a 6-digit UID
  66. Albany NY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Felt my chair rocking around, people in the US Census office felt it too

  67. Felt in Sudbury, Ontario by CSchiewek · · Score: 1

    11th floor of my building. Lat 4629'33" Long 8059'26"

    1. Re:Felt in Sudbury, Ontario by K_Bomb · · Score: 1

      Felt it on the 6th floor of the rainbow center, which is downtown.

  68. Auburn Hills MI (42.647968,-83.214856) by Assassin_for_Atari · · Score: 1

    On the 3rd floor at work, just took some alergy meds so I thought the swaying I was feeling was a bit of a side effect. That was until everyone else started saying "YOU FEEL THAT??!!!"

  69. In Ottawa and felt nothing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was in Ottawa on the highway and didn't feel a thing.

  70. Known hazard area by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's in part of Canada that is prone to earthquakes, extending roughly along the Ottawa and St. Lawrence River Valleys. The increased activity along here is related to two factors: 1) this is an old "suture" where pieces of continents were accreted onto the rest of North America a long time ago (the later half of the Paleozoic) culminating in the building of the Appalachian Mountain system (the Appalachian Orogeny); 2) the suture stopped being an active plate boundary after the continental pieces were fused onto the continent, but crustal stress still occurs because of the relatively "recent" melting of the continental ice sheets ~10k years ago. The weight of the couple kilometres of ice during the glaciation depressed the crust, and much of central Canada has been experiencing isostatic rebound (i.e. rising back up again) ever since the weight was removed. That process slowly deforms the crust, and when the stress gets too great the rock moves, generating earthquakes. The stress tends to get released along old zones of crustal weakness (i.e. #1).

    This seismic hazard map by the Geological Survey of Canada shows the increased risk along the St. Lawrence River rather nicely. More details here.

    Having said all that, the level of activity in this part of Canada pales in comparison to earthquakes in the area of an active plate boundary, such as California, where the deformation rates are higher, the earthquakes more frequent, and often higher magnitude. It means that building codes along the St. Lawrence-Ottawa River Valleys are fairly strict when it comes to earthquake resistance, just in case, but a significant earthquake is still outside most people's everyday experience. I'm sure people are freaking out (I'm ~1000km away, so I felt nothing).

    1. Re:Known hazard area by Quirkz · · Score: 1

      Thank you for that very informative post. I understand the plate boundary earthquakes pretty well, but never knew why mid-continent ones would occur. Also, pretty neat to think that we're still experiencing aftereffects of the last ice age even now.

    2. Re:Known hazard area by cuby · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Or simply...That area is in a rift valley (not a small thing): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa-Bonnechere_Graben

      --
      Math is beautiful... e^(pi*i)+1=0
    3. Re:Known hazard area by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not really a rift valley in the modern-day active rift valley sense like the East African Rift. It's a "failed rift" or aulacogen, where the continent started to rift apart, but eventually stopped before forming oceanic crust. It's not currently tearing apart *as* a rift. So it might be more accurate to say that the area *was* a rift valley, or is currently the remnants of one. It's been inactive for a long, long time, and formed even before the suture along the St. Lawrence I mentioned.

      Even so, because of the rifting in the past it remains a zone of crustal weakness where stress is released, mainly due to deglaciation-related isostatic rebound.

  71. Richmond Hill (North Toronto) by malloc · · Score: 1

    Latitude: 43.86
    Longitude: -79.37

    Everyone was on their cell, and I heard complaints of no 3G service.

    I was on the 3rd floor and everyone immediately stood up (i.e. noticeable), but it wasn't strong enough to shake objects on my desk. People on the 1st floor didn't notice anything.

    --
    ___________________ I want to be free()!
  72. Belleville Ont by Dancindan84 · · Score: 1

    44.1557N 77.4298W Didn't feel much different than when the jets are coming in to land at CFB Trenton.

    --
    "Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde
  73. The Quake is a lie by flibuste · · Score: 1

    I'm working in a skyscrapper next to the central station in Montreal. http://maps.google.ca/?ie=UTF8&ll=45.501956,-73.561277&spn=0.018709,0.032487&t=h&z=15&iwloc=lyrftr:h,0x4cc91a5b0ef0a83f:0x242867c96dfae622,45.501926,-73.563337 My boss asked his neighbor to stop shaking his leg, it was shaking its desk... Besides that, most of us thought it was a loud truck passing by. Nothing serious to report. And unfortunately, no oh-nice-premature-end-of-work-day-everybody-panic-now!

    1. Re:The Quake is a lie by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

      I'm working in a skyscrapper next to the central station in Montreal.

      Most people I know have books of pictures of other people. But if the sky is your thing, more power to you. I'd love to know how you identify one sky from another though.

      --
      Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
  74. Caro, MI by ZZZMaestro · · Score: 1

    Felt it in 1st floor Office for a short bit. LL = 43.491132,-83.396897 The guys on 2nd floor were a little more aware of it.

  75. Beavercreek, OH 39.743461,-84.084088 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    39.743461,-84.084088

  76. Felt it in VT by Timberwolf0122 · · Score: 1

    I was in Burlington on the 2nd floor and the floors and walls all wobbled, kind of cool 44.471806,-73.214529

    --
    In the not too distant future, next Sunday A.D.
  77. I'm impressed! by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you felt this quake, it would be great to put your location in the title of your comments, below -- with lat/long coordinates even better.

    ...but do NOT post your zip+4 code, as that would be a huge invasion of privacy. :D

    --

    "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    1. Re:I'm impressed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...and would be particularly difficult since zip+4 is US thing, not a Canadian thing

    2. Re:I'm impressed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Woooooooooooooooooooosh, eh?

  78. Dearborn, MI by Villageidiot9390 · · Score: 1

    Was in a meeting down by the Ford buildings when the tremors hit. Thought that they were doing construction on the level below us - didn't even know it was an earthquake until 30 minutes later.

  79. York University, Toronto by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    first it sounded like construction, then my building started shaking. very scary.

  80. Waterloo Ontario by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was on the sixth floor of the University of Waterloo math building; I thought someone was shaking the flimsy walls that divide the grad student offices.

  81. Question on location posts by Groo+Wanderer · · Score: 1

    The article says to post your location if you felt the quake. Should you post your location if you feel FOR the victims of this horrible light trembling? If so, can the mods change my title to "In my office, on the third floor of my house"? Thanks.

                    -Charlie

  82. Harper, beware by stanlyb · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Steven Harper, beware, the GOD is watching you, 1 billion CAD is a way too much for G8/G20... And we, the regular people are going to pay the bill.

  83. You big babies. It's 5.0, not 5.5. by pigeon768 · · Score: 1

    What a bunch of wimps.

    Here in southern California, a mere 5.5 would hardly even arouse anyone's interest. Probably make page 1 of the local section unless the Padres made a big trade; then it would be relegated to page 2.

    No kidding. There was a 5.7 quake down here a week ago - you know who cared? No one. But a 5.0 (not 5.5, reported by TFA) hits Canada, and it's a front page slashdot story.

    Note that since the richter scale is logarithmic, a 5.7 quake is significantly stronger than a 5.0. I don't know the math, but there's at least an order of magnitude more energy released.

    1. Re:You big babies. It's 5.0, not 5.5. by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

      Each step is 10 times stronger than the last, so a 6.0 is 10 times stronger than a 5.0. Pretty simple.

      The REASON why it makes front page news is that this isn't a techtonic plate shift like most in the California Region. So-Cal is PRONE to that kind of activity based on the geography underlying it.

      This here section of Canada, isn't along the edge of a tectonic plate. Last one to hit was about 20 years ago.

    2. Re:You big babies. It's 5.0, not 5.5. by Minwee · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No kidding. There was a 5.7 quake down here a week ago - you know who cared? No one. But a 5.0 (not 5.5, reported by TFA) hits Canada, and it's a front page slashdot story.

      Don't worry. When California gets its largest quake since 1935, people will stand up and notice that too.

    3. Re:You big babies. It's 5.0, not 5.5. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you knew the math you'd know that 0.7 is less than one :)

    4. Re:You big babies. It's 5.0, not 5.5. by ailnlv · · Score: 2

      no, the exact formula is 2/3 log(M)-10.7. Therefore, a full step is actually 10^(3/2) (approximately 31) times stronger, not 10.

  84. Probably not the quake by Groo+Wanderer · · Score: 1

    What you felt was probably not the quake, just ATI firing up their new silicon for Southern Islands. :)

                -Charlie

    1. Re:Probably not the quake by malloc · · Score: 1

      Heh, according the the people I know that work there, they actually are working this week to bring it up. Or, I should say, bring "something" up. No product names mentioned, but it is "sorry folks, my schedule is going to be insane the next month or two" season over there.

      --
      ___________________ I want to be free()!
    2. Re:Probably not the quake by Groo+Wanderer · · Score: 1

      And you thought it was an off-handed joke... :)

      FWIW, it taped out a few weeks before I wrote this unworthy self link.

      http://www.semiaccurate.com/2010/04/21/atis-southern-islands-tapes-out/

      That would put hot lots back about, oh, a couple of weeks ago, so yeah, right on track.

                    -Charlie

  85. Really, Canadians? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Californiafag here.

    You're really shitting yourselves over a puny little 5.5 earthquake?

  86. Rochester, NY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A friend reports feeling it in Rochester, NY.

  87. CHAOS in Upstate New York by damn_registrars · · Score: 5, Funny

    I looked outside and saw wrecked cars strewn about. Some cars are overturned and on fire. Some buildings appear to be deteriorating in front of my very eyes.

    They I remembered I'm in Upstate New York. People here can't drive. The state is broke. Yesterday looked pretty much the same.

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    1. Re:CHAOS in Upstate New York by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funny. I was driving through the southern tier when I got caught in some traffic caused by a wreck. When I felt the quake I actually thought someone rear-ended me at first :)

    2. Re:CHAOS in Upstate New York by El_Oscuro · · Score: 1

      Damn - where are my Mod points? Oh wait I do have them, but you are already modded +5 funny. Oh, well..

      --
      "Be grateful for what you have. You may never know when you may lose it."
    3. Re:CHAOS in Upstate New York by damn_registrars · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'd wager that anyone who moderated my comment "funny" hasn't been to Upstate New York (or not for very long). I was really expecting to be moderated "informative" or "insightful" instead.

      Oh well, you can't always get what you want. And on the roads here you're lucky to get anything better than rear-ended.

      --
      Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
  88. Oriskany, NY (Central NY) by Slash.Poop · · Score: 1

    43924N 75205W

  89. We felt it! :Oooo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We live in Kitchener about an hour away from Toronto and we felt the earthquake while taking an exam.

  90. Ottawa: Cool. by guidryp · · Score: 1

    Strongest one I have ever felt. I felt and extremely minor one before and slept through the last one.

    I am on the 4th floor. Significant shaking for about 30 seconds. Long enough to walk into several different rooms, then decide to retreat from vibrating windows in case they shattered(didn't know enough to know if it peaked). There seemed to be almost another minute of very gentle rocking that was still moving the monitor etc... Turned on a Radio to find out where the epicenter was. Figured it had to be pretty close.

  91. Re:Do you want my coords? by krunchyfrog · · Score: 0

    Here in Saint Hubert (south shore of Montreal) we felt it like if the subway was passing... But there's no subway in Saint Hubert!

    Then I turned around and said "sorry" while tapping my belly.

    --
    printf($randomline(sigs.txt) \n "-- "$randomline(authors.txt));
    -- myself
  92. Interesting... by destroyer661 · · Score: 1

    I'm in London, Ontario and not a single person I know here has said they felt anything. I was in a classroom with ~35 other people at the exact time it happened and no one said or felt anything. I've seen reports that people in Sarnia (west of here) felt stuff, but nothing from people in London.

    Anyone in/around London have anything?

    --
    #define true false // Have fun debugging!
    1. Re:Interesting... by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      People farther away felt it. The difference is mostly what floor you are on.

  93. Mt. Laurel, NJ: Lat=39 59.5min N Long=74 53.0 W by Fallen+Kell · · Score: 1

    Felt on the 3rd floor (not sure about lower floors, needed the extra swaying of the building to feel anything).

    --
    We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
  94. 43.702639,-79.622262 Mississauga, Ontario by Flowstone · · Score: 1

    Ground felt like jelly, and everything was shaking for about 10 seconds. spent the next half hour confirming it even happend. wouldn't expect this out of the Canadian Shield. Also the airport was on high alert, they had over 10 CH-46 Sea Knights up in the air while police were everywhere.

  95. Waterloo, Ontario by kbahey · · Score: 2, Informative

    They have revised it down to 5.0 per the USGS.

    I did feel it. Was on a recliner sofa working on my laptop, and felt the sofa rock back and forth. Did not think it was a quake at the time. See
    http://baheyeldin.com/places/canada/earthquake-2010-june-23-1341-quebecontario.html">here.

  96. In Quebec? by Spez · · Score: 0

    The summary is completely misleading! The earthquake in "Quebec"? Do you mean Quebec city, 500+ km north-east of Ottawa? Or you mean "Quebec Province"? But that is pretty big (many times the size of France).

    And why would you compare the position of a Province to a City??

    That is just wrong. The epicenter was in Buckingham, 60km north of Ottawa.

    --
    I wouldn't mind you in my head, if you weren't so clearly mad -Lews Therin Telamon
    1. Re:In Quebec? by Sovetskysoyuz · · Score: 0

      and Buckingham is in Quebec. Do you honestly expect anyone reading this article to know where Buckingham is? More likely it would get confused with some more famous place of the same name. Maybe that fountain in Chicago.

    2. Re:In Quebec? by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Only one you irritating twits would compare it to the size of France. You know what french stop signs say on them? STOP, but that ain't good enough for the Quebecers, no you gotta be different.

  97. Cincinnati by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lots of shaking in downtown Cincinnati. You could really feel it in the high rises and office buildings. They evacuated several office buildings and a few schools as well.

  98. 42.9837N 81.2497W - London, Ont by Mashiki · · Score: 1

    Just happened to be out and about at the time.

    --
    Om, nomnomnom...
  99. French in World Cup by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And yet 'the hand of GOD' continues its wrath against the French people for cheating the Irish

    LOL

  100. My eyes popped out of my skull in Ottawa by bregmata · · Score: 1

    A whole lot of stuff tumbled off my desk, including the artificial eyes stuffed into the deer skull I keep on a shelf. The floor was bouncing up and down and there was one particularly loud crack about 10 seconds in. The whole even lasted about 25-30 seconds. Some people evacuated, but most people just prairie dogged and asked what was happening, then went back to work.

    We get a quake like that every 10 years or so in the area, and a lot of smaller ones more frequently.

  101. Felt it in Ottawa by Graham+J+-+XVI · · Score: 1

    Was downgraded to 5.0 though apparently. We get them occasionally but this is the strongest I recall.

    I wonder if it caused a tsunami in Harper's fake lake...

    1. Re:Felt it in Ottawa by masmullin · · Score: 1

      In Ottawa too (well Kanata) about 70km away from the epi. It was very strong, I was worried the building would collapse.

      Many people I work with travel to southerncal and sanfran on business... they have been in earthquakes before and they said that this one was far stronger than anything they've ever experienced.

      CBC said the strength was because we are on the bedrock of the Canadian Shield, and the tremors have a much easier time moving through the hard rock vs other types of earth.

  102. Shaking in Peterborough by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was in my office and my desk and chair started wobbling, as if a large piece of construction equipment was driving past. When the floor dipped a little, I realized it was a small quake.

  103. Felt at Lat: 42 47' 46.200" N Lon: 77 50' 47.47 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Felt it at http://1941hag.org
    http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Geneseo,+NY+14454&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=39.047881,93.076172&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Geneseo,+Livingston,+New+York&ll=42.796176,-77.846407&spn=0.002212,0.005681&t=h&z=18

    Lat: 42 47' 46.200" N Lon: 77 50' 47.471" W

    Felt as a mild tremor. pictures moving, most people noticed it.

  104. Ottawa, 45.368728,-75.688146 by Merritt.kr · · Score: 1

    Was out back of my store having a smoke. I heard it first - I thought one hell of a semi must be coming around the corner. Then I felt it, my feet shaking a bit - nothing scary, lasted about 30 seconds. Still kind of cool, only the second time I've felt an earthquake.

    --
    It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. - Krishnamurti
  105. Carleton University by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    21st floor Dunton Tower, Carleton University, Ottawa. It was a wild ride, my monitor nearly fell off my desk. Good thing I wasn't fapping at that time!

  106. Keene, NH - 360 miles away by mshmgi · · Score: 1

    The whole building shook for 20-30 seconds. No damage here, but a nearby business reported lots of items toppling off shelves.

  107. 43.5073,-80.5296 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Felt my desk shaking here, although some half of my coworkers didn't feel it.

  108. Kanata, ON by khendron · · Score: 1

    At first I thought it was some sort of explosion. But as it lasted I decided that it must be an earthquake. When dust began falling from the ceiling tiles I began to get a little worried, but it didn't get any stronger. If that was a 5.0, I can't even imagine what a major quake like a 7+ would be like.

    About half the people evacuated the building, but mostly because it is really nice (29C) outside. I stayed inside to call my wife at home, who reported that the quake woke up the cat but that was about it.

    --
    Life is like a web application. Sometime you need cookies just to get by.
    1. Re:Kanata, ON by mikazo · · Score: 1

      Which company in Kanata? I was at Mitel and felt it quite a bit.

      --
      I was only 28,931 registrations away from having a 6-digit UID
  109. Waterloo, Ontario (correct link) by kbahey · · Score: 1

    Ack!

    Correct link here.

    The coordinates are: 4328N 8031W

  110. Pittsburgh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We are the top floor of a six story building. I felt dizzy and everything seemed to be swaying. I thought I was having a stroke. That's when I stood up and saw some dumbfounded looks on a few of co-workers faces. That's when I knew I wasn't loosing it. Promptly left and got a Starbucks. I was relieved to find our building was still standing when I got back.

    1. Re:Pittsburgh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was very subtle but I felt a shake, and ignored it, figured it was the HVAC. Got an email a few minutes later asking if I felt the earthquake... I couldn't believe it actually came from Canada.

  111. Buffalo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Buffalo felt it hit, but it was minor.

  112. Quebec city, Quebec by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I felt it in the office, but i was realllly paying attention...

    I was reading something and felt a wabble, but i thought i was crazy. when i asked around, everyone thought it was in my mind. Then the announcement came!

    Lat:48.813090 N, Long:-71.204801W

  113. Cincinnati OH 39.221062,-84.286953 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Heard my window blinds clanging, looked and saw them shimmying.

  114. Beavercreek, OH - 39.73 N, 84.06 W by JamesA · · Score: 1

    Only a few bumps felt.

  115. Ottawa, 4519'53"N, 7554'5"W by pdboddy · · Score: 1

    Thought it was just some furniture or something being moved around upstairs, the usual joke being, "Oh, they've started up the bowling alley again.". However, after it went on longer than 5 seconds and bits starting falling off the ceiling, I started thinking earthquake, and the whole office got the heck out.

    Ottawa gets minor earthquakes a few times a year, but this was the first one we've actually FELT in a long time.

    --
    Julie Moult is an idiot.
    1. Re:Ottawa, 4519'53"N, 7554'5"W by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Ran right outside to be killed by falling glass.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    2. Re:Ottawa, 4519'53"N, 7554'5"W by pdboddy · · Score: 1

      Not every building is a tower of glass and steel. You have coordinates, which are slightly off, and Google Maps. Look for the large, flat building nearby, north-eastish.

      --
      Julie Moult is an idiot.
  116. Whew, I was worried there for a minute by elrous0 · · Score: 4, Funny

    61 kilometres north of Ottawa

    Thank God. That's thousands of miles from America.

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:Whew, I was worried there for a minute by thestudio_bob · · Score: 1

      61 kilometres north of Ottawa

      Thank God. That's thousands of miles from America.

      It was only 5.5 in Canada, that's like a 2.1 here in the U.S.

      --
      The real Sig captains the Northwestern. This one captains /.
  117. Felt it in Dover, NH by TejWC · · Score: 1

    Yeah, I felt it and first tought I was going crazy. But it is good to have this kind of confirmation.

    Degrees Minutes Seconds:
    Latitude: 43-11'52'' N
    Longitude: 070-52'25'' W

    Decimal Degrees:
    Latitude: 43.1978624
    Longitude: -70.8736698

    1. Re:Felt it in Dover, NH by geekoid · · Score: 1

      OR this article is part of your psychosis~

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  118. Heads will roll by StikyPad · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Any word on who they're planning to charge for failing to predict this monster?

  119. Albany, NY by SoundGuyNoise · · Score: 1

    Latitude: 42.775479 Longitude: -73.837910

    --
    You never expect irony, do you?
    Want to be a professional wrestler? Visit www.iyfwrestling.com
    @iyfwrestling
  120. Obligatory xkcdsucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful
  121. Albany NY - Is this news? by hicks107 · · Score: 0

    Is this even really news? That aside, I felt it in Albany ny.

  122. Kingston Ontario, 44.227644,-76.491965 by codegen · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There is already a wikipedia entry for it (almost 1 hr ago) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Ontario_earthquake

    --
    Atlas stands on the earth and carries the celestial sphere on his shoulders.
    1. Re:Kingston Ontario, 44.227644,-76.491965 by codegen · · Score: 1

      Forgot to say: Was on 7th floor and felt the building sway.

      --
      Atlas stands on the earth and carries the celestial sphere on his shoulders.
    2. Re:Kingston Ontario, 44.227644,-76.491965 by SIR_Taco · · Score: 1

      Just a tad North of Kingston, but here too.... obviously.

      --
      I say don't drink and drive, you might spill your drink. Before you get behind the wheel just stop and think.
    3. Re:Kingston Ontario, 44.227644,-76.491965 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      even though the quake actually happened in Quebec?

    4. Re:Kingston Ontario, 44.227644,-76.491965 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is already a wikipedia entry for it (almost 1 hr ago) *citation needed*

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Ontario_earthquake

  123. Chicago, IL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Chicago, IL - many co-workers read about it on the Internet then ran around asking everyone if they felt it. I didn't read about it and instead just LOL'd having just moved here from California 2 years ago. Loma Prieta was barely enough to get me out of my Lay-Z-Boy, 5.5 is nothin'!

  124. Warren, PA (Northwestern Pennsylvania) by generalhavok · · Score: 1

    On the fourth floor of my office building, we felt it. I noticed my desk moving, and my bobble-heads bobbling. Walked out of my office and everyone was running around, not sure what to do. Lasted for about 20 seconds, was mostly a swaying motion in my building. People on the ground didn't feel it as much, but up higher it was felt more. It subsided and we all sat back down and continued working. Don't get many quakes here in Pennsylvania - this was the first one I ever felt.

  125. Felt at 42.36468 & -71.118954 (Boston, 5th flo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    just for a few seconds though

  126. Yup, that's what we call "Central". by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Keep in mind, central in Canada is actually the same longitudinal as east coast US, but that's because our maritimes stretch out further east than even Maine.

    East of Quebec, there are 4/10 provinces. So yeah, Quebec and Ontario are Central Canada.

    Not to mention there's barely anything/anybody in the prairies.

    1. Re:Yup, that's what we call "Central". by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Quebec central canada ?? hahaha wow

    2. Re:Yup, that's what we call "Central". by SilverEyes · · Score: 1

      Not to mention there's barely anything/anybody in the prairies.

      I realize you said prairies, but if you count B.C., there is a 1/3 of Canada's population east of Ontario...

      --
      Interesting.
  127. Ottawa ON, 45.36,-75.7145.36,-75.71 by Hqrsie · · Score: 1

    Turns out Quebec is trying to separate again

  128. The maritimes are the maritimes, or the east coast by Chirs · · Score: 1

    I'm from Saskatchewan, lived in Ottawa for a while, and my parents live in Vancouver.

    In my books, BC is the "west coast", AB/SK/MB are the "western provinces", ONT/QUE are the "eastern provinces", and PEI/NS/NFLD/NB are "the maritimes" or the "east coast".

    This has the benefit of lumping together regions that are culturally similar. MB is a bit odd, but geographically it's more west than east and it's definitely closer to SK/AB culturally.

    Calling ONT/QUE the central provinces is ludicrous for anyone that owns a map.

  129. Felt it in Montreal, QC by anstice8 · · Score: 2, Informative

    I felt it in Montreal, QC, It's the first one I've felt since i was born and I'm 21, so for anyone saying its common then do your research. Just because everyone's talking about it doesnt mean we're freaking out over it, I felt more shaking this morning with construction on my street, so it's not a big deal other than it being rare.

  130. Didn't notice anything in Maine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm an hour northwest of Bangor Maine and I didn't feel anything. It could have been masked but trucks since I live on a maine route. As New England goes we're pretty close here so it wasn't very noticeable in New England. I spent 25 years in LA and was near the epicenter of two different major quakes. With smaller quakes it's pretty hard to tell the difference between traffic or even thunder, it's raining here today. 5.5 is pretty sizable for this area. In LA admittedly we would have barely taken notice.

  131. Buffalo, NY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My entire 16-floor office building felt the quake as a mild tremor for about 30 seconds this afternoon. Nobody panicked but expressed interest and recalled the last time we felt a tremor here. Of course there were the jokes about leaving early due to PTSD (post-tectonic stress disorder). Here's a Google Maps link to our address:

    http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=95+Franklin+Street,+Buffalo,+New+York,+14202&sll=45.715769,-75.242615&sspn=1.455522,2.458191&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=95+Franklin+St,+Buffalo,+Erie,+New+York+14202&ll=42.883008,-78.876772&spn=0.047735,0.076818&z=14

  132. It was felt here by rhpenguin · · Score: 1

    I'm in London. I didn't feel it per-se, but.. it was felt by many in my office. I guess once you have train tracks in your back yard for a period of time, you tend to ignore little vibrations.

  133. Columbus, IN 47201 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lat/Lon: 39.2 N 85.9 W
    Columbus, IN 47201
    6th story of a hospital

  134. University of Guelph, 43.531275,-80.226771 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Didn't feel a thing. Move along...nothing to see here.

  135. Big deal ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I live near Concepción, Chile. Only this month we had at least 12 small quakes, ranging from 4.4 to 5.7, without counting dozens of smaller ones. People around here barely pays them any attention anymore. There has not been any damages or loss of life because of them. So just *one* 5.5 causes is news???? I understand that it is not normal over there and people is not used to them ... but when you reach a 8.8 like the one we had in February, then we can talk. Anyway, welcome to the club! You have all my sympathies :-) Over here, we are more concerned with the Soccer World Cup in South Africa. Cheers!

    1. Re:Big deal ... by hypnotik · · Score: 1

      I live in Talca, so I share your dismay. I only realized how desensitized I was when I incorporated a 5.7 into my dream, but didn't wake up.

      Y vamos La Roja!

      --
      (I was only an egg, but then I cracked)
  136. Shaking... by armoyer · · Score: 1

    Coworkers in an eleven story building in Dayton, Ohio said they felt the building sway and cubical walls rocked back and forth. I was in Northern Cincinnati at the time and no one here felt anything.

  137. Felt it in buffalo by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

    Lat/Lon: 42.55 N 78.50 W

    It was pretty minor, used to live on the west coast though so this was nothing.

  138. Independence, OH by Draque · · Score: 1

    I'm in Independence, OH, and I we felt it in the 6th floor of my building. At first I thought it was just my imagination due to it being so subtle, but the rhythmic swaying lasted for a little over a minute and was noticeable in pools of water and the office plants swaying.

  139. Not in the Midwest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I live in Indianapolis, IN, which most would consider the US Midwest, and we felt nothing. I'm on the 11th floor of a building, FYI. I guess by Midwest they mean uppper New York.

  140. Schaghticoke, NY (near Albany) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Felt a rumbling like a big truck went by - but there was no big truck and it continued much longer than a truck would have caused. Couple things were wobbling and I felt a slight wavy motion though it wasn't bad as some people didn't even notice it.

  141. One Location of Multiple Millions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ottawa, Ontario (45.32, -76.67)

  142. Buffalo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was in Buffalo, NY. It wasn't that bad, we thought it was the construction next door. Pile driving desensitized us. Then I checked twitter.

  143. Rochester, NY - 43.1536, -77.6040 by neomiasma · · Score: 1

    When I felt the shaking, I glared at my coworker in the next cube, thinking he was stomping the floor. But he looked perplexed and the shaking was still going. Everyone was saying "Earthquake" so I went to Twitter and searched for "earthquake". Sure enough, there were tons of tweets on the topic.

    --

    -------
    And we also have a cancel button...in case you don't want toast.
  144. Snow? Feh! by Looce · · Score: 1

    I bet you would freak out if there was snow in California. Hell, the UK was like a bunch of pussies last winter because of about 15 cm of snow (half a foot), using up all of their grit, and Canada gets more than that every winter.

    It just depends on what you're used to.

    (Disclaimer: I am Canadian.)

  145. Youngstown, Ohio by iMouse · · Score: 1

    Felt it here on the Youngstown State University campus. People in two buildings experienced a shift in weight of the building, similar to someone pushing on the side of a car once or twice.

  146. N40deg 41' W73deg 57' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Felt it here in Brooklyn.

  147. Scranton, PA - 41.344856,-75.783005 by drcosquared · · Score: 1

    I was wondering why all the glassware in the lab was shaking this afternoon...

    --
    It is no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase 'As pretty as an Airport' appear.
  148. 42.1,-79.3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    At first, I wasn't even sure if it was a quake, or the crew outside repaving the parking lot. It wiggled my monitors a bit, but nothing real exciting.

  149. Woohoo! I'm not left out! by Fractal+Dice · · Score: 1

    The rest of the world was getting earthquakes and I was beginning to feel left out. I can now say that I survived the world's strongest earthquake (of the day ... so far ...).

    At first I thought a dump truck made a wrong turn onto my street. Then it sounded like the neighbor's washing machine was doing a cartoon-style sympathetic vibration. It lasted long enough that I got out of my chair and stood in a door frame and think about what I would do in a serious quake, but it was really a non-event - just a little jolt of adrenaline for my cat and myself on an otherwise lazy summer day. It's a little embarrassing to see it on slashdot's front page - I feel like I should at least have a bruise or a stubbed toe to report to justify the newsworthiness.

  150. How about 8.8??? by nomorecwrd · · Score: 1

    mmm...

    Everything is subjective, a 5.5 quake in Chile nowadays gets just a footnote on the newspaper.

    On February 27th a Quake of magnitude 8.8 shook Concepción... and more than 500 Kilometers away (Santiago) came down to 8.3...

    After that, a whole month several quakes ranging from 4 to 6 every day gave us total immunity against "minor" quakes.

  151. Felt it in ~Albany, NY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Felt it around Albany. Monitor visually shook.

    Latitude = 43.0474, Longitude = -73.8444

  152. I felt it in Burlington, ON by wilderg · · Score: 0

    According to Google Maps, I'm currently at 43.357513,-79.809176. I'd put it close to driving a car with a rear wheel out of balance.

  153. Toronto, decades ago by AliasMarlowe · · Score: 1

    It was just a baby quake for Chrissake. The only way anybody *wouldn't* be fine is if they happened to have their head under a guillotine with a quick-release tied to a seismometer arm.

    Exactly. Mountains and mole-hills. I experienced two "earthquakes" of similar magnitude when I lived in Toronto in the 1980s.

    I slept through the magnitude 5 event in January 1986 (no, I had not been drinking, just an ordinary night's sleep). Some neighbors said they were woken by plates rattling or stuff falling off shelves. Apparently my stuff was positioned more securely, as it was all still in place the next morning, and I only learned of the tremor (let's not exaggerate it into being an earthquake) from others after I got to work.

    I was at work in the top floor of a six floor office block for the magnitude 6 event in November 1988. I could not hit the keys reliably on my keyboard leading to many typing errors, but assumed the building shuddering repeatedly was because there was major work going on in one of the elevator shafts. Found out later from the TV news that it had been an earthquake.

    It would be different at the epicenter, but earthquakes in Eastern Canada tend to be centered in sparsely inhabited areas.

    --
    Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
  154. Felt it by phleb3 · · Score: 1

    About 8 seconds of rocking in Bridport Vermont, about 30 miles south of Burlington Vermont

  155. Re:The maritimes are the maritimes, or the east co by konadelux · · Score: 1

    Not to nitpick, but if you tell someone from Newfoundland they're from a maritime province you might be in for a smack. Better off using the term "Atlantic Provinces".

  156. Just Mike Holmes gutting another building. by PDX · · Score: 1

    Just Mike Holmes gutting another building. No need to panic. He'll get around to leveling New York's unstable brick buildings later.

  157. Toronto too by johneee · · Score: 1

    Yeah, I was in a meeting too and got told to leave afterwards, which considering how light the shaking was here (barely noticable) was truly lame. The difference with us is that after ten minutes standing around in our gathering spot, we trooped back to the office and back to work. I guess we're not going to be able to do anything for the next two days anyway because of G8/G20 and we're not allowed to come in to work then, so they had to at least get this afternoon out of us.

    --
    - ------- There are ten kinds of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who... Huh?
  158. Shivering Moose, Alberta by PPH · · Score: 1

    We felt it up here, eh. Thought the ice was breaking up on the Mackenzie River early. Nope, still froze solid. It was just a gosh darned earthquake.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  159. WOW 5.5 mag earthquake by Neanderthal+Ninny · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I was born & lived in California most of my life and 5.5 mag is a minor inconvenience here (other than stopping the BART trains so they can check the tracks) and the most of the people on the eastern half of the country seems like a headline event.

  160. 42 15' 10.73N, 73 47' 22.85W Hudson, NY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The floor was moving noticeably. One doctor from California immediately left the building.

  161. Florida by FatalTourist · · Score: 1

    I felt the emotional impact.

    --


    Escape Pod Films: Sketch Comedy and Web Series
  162. Felt it in Plattsburgh, NY by lapagecp · · Score: 1

    I was sitting very still with a mug of coffee at my side when it all happened. I first looked over my shoulder to see if a train was coming by. Then I panicked thinking there might be a T-Rex stalking me. Thankfully it was just Canada acting up again. 44.6,-73.4

  163. EARTHQUAKE + G20 blocks my cell! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In Toronto, felt the quake, couldn't use my cell phone to call family because the G20 meeting blocked my cell from calling other cells, mrrrrr.

  164. What earthquake? by icannotthinkofaname · · Score: 1

    I'm in Pittsburgh, PA. Didn't feel a thing. Might have been asleep, though.

    Also, obligatory xkcd.

    --
    Let q be a radix > 1. I am in ur base-q, killing 10 d00ds.
  165. Re:The maritimes are the maritimes, or the east co by SiaFhir · · Score: 1

    MB is a bit odd,...

    What do you mean we're odd? Just because our license plates say "Friendly Manitoba", doesn't mean we're odd. Many of us are just as unfriendly, and as pissed with "Central Canada", as you Saskies!

  166. Old fault lines by jonfr · · Score: 1

    Earthquakes happen there because of a fault lines that are million of years old. They tend to build up a strain over time, and move occasionally when the strain is high enough. This usually only happens every 10 to 500 years (or longer), depending on the size of the earthquake. What also matter is how fast the strain is building up in the crust. That can be a different in the same area, depending on rock type and other factors.

    But there are many fault lines in this area, so earthquakes do happen regularly at this area. Even so, they are not that common.

    EMSC has good map of the earthquake, and past earthquakes in this are since 1964.

    http://www.emsc-csem.org/index.php?page=current&sub=detail&id=174972#

    Please note that the EMSC link can stop working at any time.

  167. obligatory goatkcd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  168. IBM Headquarters 3600 Steeles Toronto by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Moonbase IBM was swaying big time.. Lots of people ran outdoors...Lots of "are the servers ok? from management....

  169. Northville, MI by busydoingnothing · · Score: 1

    We felt it on the top (third) floor of our building. The closest I've experienced to this is if someone is running through the cubicle farm, where the floor shakes a bit. This was definitely more of a side-to-side shake, though. Felt a little dizzy. Good preparation for my future dream move to San Francisco!

  170. Exaggerate much? by Noren · · Score: 2, Informative

    I lived in Calgary for a couple of years, which is warmer than Edmonton but not by all that much. It never got anywhere near that cold.

    Since recordings began, the only time it dropped to -40C or lower in downtown Edmonton was January 26, 1972. That was a Wednesday, not a Tuesday, by the way.

    1. Re:Exaggerate much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Bullshit. http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/edmonton/2009/12/13/12141366.html

    2. Re:Exaggerate much? by rford · · Score: 1

      Wikipedia is wrong, must be the 1st time ever.
      The table just below the paragraph contradicts it, as does the Environment Canada weppage

      record lows for Edmonton City center A.

      Jan 20 1943 -44.4C
      Feb 08 1939 -46.1C
      Dec 28 1938 -48.3C

      also exceeded it on Jan 3 2009 -41.9C (at the same weather station.) I'm sure I can find more.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton#cite_note-CCN-45

      Check out:
      http://climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?Province=ALL&StationName=edmonton&SearchType=BeginsWith&LocateBy=Province&Proximity=25&ProximityFrom=City&StationNumber=&IDType=MSC&CityName=&ParkName=&LatitudeDegrees=&LatitudeMinutes=&LongitudeDegrees=&LongitudeMinutes=&NormalsClass=A&SelNormals=&StnId=1867&

    3. Re:Exaggerate much? by JO_DIE_THE_STAR_F*** · · Score: 1
      From the Edmonton sun December 15, 2009

      Edmonton was the coldest place in North America yesterday morning and the second chilliest in the world. The Edmonton International Airport saw a record low of -46.1 C and -58.4 C with the windchill, outfreezing even the Arctic.

      http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/edmonton/2009/12/13/12141366.html

      Yes I was exaggerating slightly I should have said -30C.

    4. Re:Exaggerate much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Its called hyperbole and used to reinforce a point. English much?

    5. Re:Exaggerate much? by Noren · · Score: 1

      Interesting, but that same site indicates that the average number of nights in January with a minimum temperature below -30C is 2.1. They don't even bother to list how many average below -40C, but it would be far less than that (10C is a big difference!)

      It's quite clear that -40C is not typical for a Tuesday in January in Edmonton- in fact, when it gets that low it gets local press coverage as a notable event, analogous to what this earthquake is getting!

    6. Re:Exaggerate much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Last December it got nearly as cold, within a couple of degrees as on January 26, 1972 (exactly how cold depends on whether you're measuring downtown or at the airport).

    7. Re:Exaggerate much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good job moving that goal post after 10 different people call you an idiot.

  171. Felt Downtown Toronto by inhuman_4 · · Score: 3, Informative

    My lab is on the 4th floor of an old building downtown Toronto and I definitely felt it. I have lived in this area my whole life and have never felt an earthquake before. At first I didn't know what it was, once I figured it out I started moving to the stairs.

    I know lots of people get more and bigger earth quakes then this, but for a first timer like me it's pretty freaky. Ancient 400lb spectrum analyzers don't normally move.

    lat=43.660153
    lon=-79.376972

    1. Re:Felt Downtown Toronto by Artemis3 · · Score: 1

      Umm, usually you are supposed to take cover and wait until it stops. Before going down the stairs, cut power, close gas/water valves, etc; then leave.

      --
      Artix
      Your Linux, your init.
    2. Re:Felt Downtown Toronto by FormOfActionBanana · · Score: 1

      Yeah, right. I'll let you do home maintenance to possibly save your building when your earthquake hits. I'll just be outside, possibly saving my human body thanks.

      --
      Take off every 'sig' !!
  172. St. Clair Michigan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Rattled doors and I could feel my chair shaking!

  173. Re:Central Canada = Toronto? by NobodyExpects · · Score: 1

    There you go supporting the Torontonians belief that they're at the centre of the universe again! We didn't feel it out here on the Wet Coast, BTW...

  174. Re:The maritimes are the maritimes, or the east co by Opie812 · · Score: 1

    You think that's confusing....Google Upper Canada.

    --
    I'm not a nerd. Nerds are smart.
  175. Felt it in Wilton, CT by MaWeiTao · · Score: 1

    I noticed my seat and desk shaking, not significantly but definitely noticeable. I wondered if it might be an earthquake as the monitor began shaking as well. It persisted for a good 15 seconds, maybe longer. It was persisted enough that there was no question it was anything but an earthquake.

    It took a while for it to show up on the USGS site.

  176. Tell the USGS by jmichaelg · · Score: 1

    The USGS has website where they collect "did you feel it" information. By gathering information as to how severe and widespread the shaking is, they can figure out how future quakes will affect various parts of the country. That in turn affects making informed decisions as to how rigorous building codes need to be.

  177. Was in downtown Ottawa by rebel_cdn · · Score: 1

    I was in the Rideau Centre, a large shopping mall in downtown Ottawa. Everyone's first thought that the new convention centre, which under construction and attached to the mall, had suffered some kind of construction mishap and was falling down, maybe bringing the rest of the building with it. The shaking wasn't too intense, but it was strong enough to make everyone think that leaving the building would be a very good idea. The mall was quite busy but to everyone's credit, there was no panic; just sort of a general consensus that we'd all better head outside ASAP until we know what's going on. I know it was a relatively weak earthquake, but when you're in a big building and you see everything moving back and forth, getting out of there until you've had time to assess the situation seems like a pretty reasonable thing to do.

  178. Re:Exaggerate much? -- please factor in Windchill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cause that counts just a bit towards the "feels like -40"

  179. Uh.. Never heard of mountains? by bashibazouk · · Score: 1

    In Tahoe, it would be a fairly normal winter. Or have you forgotten that California is a large state and has a rather tall mountain range covering most of the eastern edge of it?

  180. Glacier rebound + earthquake facts by Tarantura · · Score: 3, Informative

    Just making sure everyone knows their facts: Remember magnitude doesn't measure INTENSITY of shaking but instead amount of energy released at the moment the earthquake begins. Yes, the scale is logarithmic. So, a 5.0 earthquake is 32 times stronger than a 4.0, with a 6.0 releasing more than 1000 times the energy of a 4.0. Feeling that 5.7 on the 15th of this month here in SoCal, the first thing that pops in my head is "How strong is this one going to feel - is it the Big One"? It's actually quite cool to be able to feel the P-waves arrive first followed by the S-waves if the earthquake is both strong enough and far away enough for speed differences to be noticed. It's also nice to notice someone mention the glacial rebound earthquakes of areas in far NE U.S. and S.E. Canada - that's the first thing I guessed the moment I heard about it.

  181. Re: by thunderlive · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'm from Hamilton, Ontario Canada my house shook a little, felt odd that's all. 4312'50.61"N 7947'19.50"W

  182. (Cincinnati, OH)Better than /., report at usgs.gov by JSBiff · · Score: 1

    I work near Cincinnati, OH, and we felt it in our office building.

    But, better than reporting at /., go report if you felt it at usgs.gov. They have a "Did you feel it?" feature which lets you submit info about it, and then it maps the info, and creates lists of responses collated by zipcode, etc, and allows the usgs to create a public record of it that anyone (not just /.ers) can check out.

  183. From Markham (Hwy 404 & 407) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My 3rd floor cube was shaking up and down. It came in 2 rounds. After it had all been over for about 10 minutes, they evacuated us from the building.

  184. Toronto Ontario by cdpage · · Score: 1

    looks like it was down graded to a 5.0 [stats link here]
    http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010xwa7.php

    felt it here for about 15-20 seconds

  185. err........ what? by lx93 · · Score: 1

    i felt the quake last night about 8:15PM when i was in the mall. Providence. maybe it was just illusion?

  186. Manchester, NH by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was on the ground floor and didn't feel it, but when I got up to the second floor it was all anyone in the cube farm was talking about. They said it lasted about 20 seconds.

  187. New York City: Nothing by russotto · · Score: 1

    I was in NYC and didn't notice anything. But then, I was on the PATH, on one of the older cars, so I'd not have noticed anything that didn't actually knock the car off the track.

  188. Leave a perfectly good building? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here (New Zealand) we're told to stay inside our perfectly good buildings during and after an earthquake, unless there is another reason to leave such as a fire alarm. There would be falling glass and debris power lines etc in the central city.

    captcha = bruises

  189. 45.348332,-75.755358 by SkySnakeDreamer · · Score: 1

    Being a GIS student, I was in the middle of writing a mid-term for Remote Sensing at Algonquin College when this puppy hit. Third floor of the tech building. Some good shaking but the noise was what stuck with me. Underground thunder! Nearest to this was back around the early nineties when I was working as a mechanic. I had a car on jack stands and it started rocking back and forth. No sound like this one though. Very cool!

  190. Syracuse, NY as well by FliesLikeABrick · · Score: 1

    I felt shaking in my apartment for 25-45 seconds in North Syracuse, accompanied by my LCD and desk wiggling

    1. Re:Syracuse, NY as well by Ephemeriis · · Score: 1

      It was weird... We've had earthquakes up here before, but they're usually shorter, more violent, more obvious. This was kind of an easy, rythmic shaking.

      At first I didn't understand what was going on. Though maybe I wasn't feeling good, maybe I was having a dizzy spell or something. I just felt kind of off-kilter, like I was swaying around or something.

      Then I noticed that everything was swaying around.

      --
      "Work is the curse of the drinking classes." -Oscar Wilde
  191. Endicott, NY: A Gentle Swaying by terrapinbear · · Score: 1

    Thought I was having another flashback. Then I thougt "could this be an earthquake?" And then I was like "nahhhh there's never been an earthquake 'round these parts!" Then I went back to editing my Flash animation...

  192. O Canada. . . by Fantastic+Lad · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I don't like seeing the big maple leaf on Slashdot. I like Canada to be unnoticed. That's where it's safe.

    Canada managed to ride out most of the last wave of economic melt down, (thanks to keeping regulations in place.) It's manage to stay out of the bulk of unnecessary wars. Though, with Harper in power and Canadians descending into "Dumb" too quickly to notice that their voting choices are INSANE, I suppose it was going to be inevitable that things would start to get ugly around here.

    Here's how it works. . .

    There is no "matter" in the universe; it's all energy right down to the smallest level. Every "particle" breaks down to reveal more vast expanses of empty. Matter truly is an illusion; everything is just energy vibrating in a medium of nothing. So what's the difference between a thought and a brick? They're both made of energetic nothing, but the thought pattern is more alive and dynamic than the brick. Here in the giant dream of reality, consciousness is king.

    As such, I see everything which happens in the physical realm as being a metaphor little different than the objects and events which show up in dreams. So. . , earthquakes in Canada, eh?

    Well, on the 26th, the G20 is landing in Toronto, and the government has spent approximately a BILLION dollars on security, including controversial sound cannons.

    Yay. The problem with big ticket government purchases which keep thousands of people employed is that such expenses need to be justified. None of those thousands of employed people are going to want to have to go looking for work. Even in Canada's only slightly singed economic environment people fear losing their jobs. So. . , what keeps a billion dollars worth of security goons employed?

    My guts are tied up in some knots over this because it seems very reasonable to expect violence at this clown show.

    At least the earthquake didn't knock any buildings down or kill anybody.

    -FL

    1. Re:O Canada. . . by Fantastic+Lad · · Score: 1

      Whoever modded this off-topic probably also has trouble grasping the relationship between milk and cereal.

      Stretch your brain. You're not a house pet.

      -FL

  193. Chalk River, Ontario by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I felt it while at work this afternoon (I work at a certain nuclear plant which shall remain nameless, ;-)).

    The windows started to rattle, my desk started to shake. Then it stopped for a second, then started up again. The second time it lasted a little longer. Then it stopped. They evacuated our building for about five minutes, then let us return to our desks.

  194. Ottawa here too... by floorpirate · · Score: 1

    I was at 45.292396,-75.930398 at the time, according to Google Maps. Since I've been playing Fallout 3 lately, my first thought was "Oh shit, the Americans have dropped the bomb on us!"

    --
    For every action there is a completely absurd lawsuit.
  195. 42 16 11 N, 71 37 2 W by hubang · · Score: 1

    I felt it. I didn't realize this was an earthquake at first. I thought I was shaking uncontrollably from the AC being too cold.

  196. 40 degrees by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You picked 40 degrees and didn't know you didn't need the C or F?

    No one is going to think you meant Kelvin.

    1. Re:40 degrees by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

      Believe it or not, so many people can't do F C conversions that they don't realize -40 is equivalent in both systems.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
  197. the moral of the story... by cfriedt · · Score: 1

    I felt the quake in Montreal today, while working at home with my girlfriend. Although no dishes in our 3rd story apartment fell from the shelves and no structural damage to the building was immediately visible, it did serve as a good exercise about what to do in the event of a larger quake.

    My girlfriend suggested that we stand in the middle of the building close to no visible exits. In spite of my immediate instinct to run down the stairs that we were directly beside, i went with her, which probably would have been a bad call, if the quake had been any larger in magnitude. In other words, if the building had collapsed we probably would have been trapped under debris.

    The moral of the story is, that its sometimes a much wiser decision to exactly the opposite of what your girlfriend wants, even if it means that you won't be getting any for a few days.

  198. Felt in Milwaukee, WI by jvschwarz · · Score: 1

    A few of us on the 6th floor of our building felt a little sway. Didn't know what to make of it until I read about it a couple hours later...

    --
    ... if that's your best, your best won't do... - Twisted Sister
  199. 5.5 - So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm not trying to be a troll here but...
    SO WHAT?

    California has earthquakes all the time. I doubt they reach the front page.

    Is this the first earthquake Canada has ever felt? Am I missing something here?

  200. Coordinates, by Tordre · · Score: 1

    Remember kids post your most recent big purchases and our work schedule with your latitudes and longitudes, this is soo important to research and will not be used to furnish my house.

  201. 18th floor, Tower 400, Renaissance Center, Detroit by Kalten · · Score: 1

    42.3261 N, 83.039 W, or thereabouts. Enough to get my attention, but not enough to seriously alarm anyone. Some of my cow-orkers didn't even notice. We didn't even get anything over the RenCen intercom.

  202. Felt It In Toronto by mlauzon · · Score: 1

    Sorry, can't give l&l, because I don't know them, but I felt the quake here in Toronto.

  203. Location by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Didn't feel anything in my Lively, Ontario home. It's 4 hours from Toronto.

  204. Oswego NY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Around 1:45 people in Oswego NY felt it. I didn't notice it because I can usually feel the large fellow in the cube next to me move about.

  205. Hamilton, 43 15' 0" N / 79 50' 0" W by etherlad · · Score: 1

    Felt it here. Stuff rattled like a truck was going by, only without the rumble associated with an actual truck. Also, it persisted for far too long.

    My first earthquake!

    --
    Soylens viridis homines es
  206. Not Really an EarthQuake per se... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It was just Quebec trying to separate again.

  207. Gatineau, Quebec by ToriaUru · · Score: 1

    Felt it quite strongly as I was near the epicenter ~20 km away roughly. Felt like a really big bus was coming at first and then the noise and the shaking got way worse. Very cool to feel the earth literally moving under your feet. My daughters school was evacuated when we got there to pick her up.

    --
    Toria
  208. Felt 5.0 in Buffalo, NY by shacky003 · · Score: 1

    We felt the quake for about 30 seconds - Fairly good shake for this area..

  209. Ottawa ON - Very much noticed. by LikwidCirkel · · Score: 1

    I was at work on the east side of Ottawa, but not as far as Orleans, in a technology shop of sorts. I've never experienced an earthquake, so it didn't really register in my psyche, and I thought it was a truck at first... but after a few seconds, that didn't make sense, and a co-worker pointed out that it was an earthquake. We all got outside just as it was ending, and we went back to work after trying to call loved ones on cell phones with no success because a few million other people were doing the same thing.

  210. A bit of John Cleese? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sD_8prYOxo

  211. Felt here... by Zutfen · · Score: 1

    lat=43.128418
    lon=-71.444092

    Per Google maps, anyhow...

    --
    I'm too lazy to enter a sig. Hey wait a second! You tricked me!
  212. Title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    " 5.5 Earthquake Hits Canada; Felt in US Midwest, New England "

    Also felt in Canada!

  213. In Ottawa by rikkards · · Score: 1

    In Ottawa, I gauged it to be about 4-5. News said it was 5 (although 5.5 and 5.7 were bandied about). Didn't seem that bad (I spent my teens in LA so I had some exposure to decent earthquakes.

  214. Can I explain it with a Venn Diagram by scatterfingers · · Score: 1

    This is what the rest of the world thinks about American Football... http://www.vennding.com/2010/06/americans-sometimes-its-hard-to-take.html

  215. felt it in the washroom while peeing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I felt it in the washroom while peeing on a 6th floor building in midtown Toronto. Needless to say, the stream went really weak very fast. Hand washing, no sir!! I hauled my ass outta the washroom and saw one of the manager outside. At this point, I realized that my zipper was half undone and the belt was hanging loose. With little dignity that I could muster, I ventured back into the the washroom, washed my hands and calmly evacuated the building.

  216. +44 14' 37.88", -76 35' 23.39" by mcneely.mike · · Score: 1

    Sitting at the computer, felt the chair moving up and down and heard a rumble... thought 'earthquake' but they are so rare here: then thought HUGE truck or explosion.
    My first earthquake (blushing virgin)!

    --
    soylentnews.org Go there to enjoy the people!
  217. 42.46143, -83.10398 by Viperpete · · Score: 1

    Hazel Park, Michigan

    Forgive me if I point you to downtown instead of my house.

    --
    loose: not fitting closely or tightly != lose: to suffer the deprivation of
  218. Buffalo, NY by Dunbal · · Score: 1

    I'm from Costa Rica where we get earthquakes of this magnitude and greater on a regular basis. Needless to say it caught me by surprise while I sat in my hotel room here in Buffalo. My fist thought was "oh, an earthquake". Then "hey wait a minute, this is normal back home but not here!".

    As for GPS co-ordinates, google Buffalo City Hall. I can see it from my window.

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  219. Felt it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I felt it, my desk lamp wiggled.
    ll=44.288162,-78.314753

  220. London, ON by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    42.982486,-81.249669 - 12 floors up, felt several waves over a dozen or so seconds, enough to knock a picture off my wall at home. Approximately 500km from the center.

  221. Felt in Indianapolis by Matty_ · · Score: 1

    I felt it here in Indianapolis.

    Latitude = 39.773895
    Longitude = -86.160965

  222. It was an earthquake? by somejeff · · Score: 1

    I thought the U.S. Prez landed in Toronto with all his might. (and security entourage).

  223. whoot. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    felt it!!! :)

    that's boston, ma

    42.339696,-71.109567

  224. Baby earthquake in Montreal by MochaMan · · Score: 1

    Having grown up on the West Coast of Canada, and lived in California and 5 years in Japan... this earthquake was barely even noticeable in Montreal, despite co-workers panicking. Potted plant balanced on my cubicle wall still sitting there. A lot of overreaction in a region not used to earthquakes.

  225. Here it is twice a month.... by dindi · · Score: 1

    Do not get me wrong, I hope no one got hurt and that there is no serious damage. I also understand that it can be frightening for the ones not used to this.

    But .... since I moved to Costa Rica, I am completely used to 5-6 quakes... Yes, there are places where I do not want to be in one, some mountain roads and villages were leveled 2 years ago, but in our house I barely even move when it starts shaking. At least every 3 weeks there is a smaller one you feel, and just get used to it.

    Honestly here a 5.something is considered a no event. Even though after each 5+ the news channel brings on the local vulcanologists, they usually tell the strength, location, depth, and report, that in a store some glasses fell off the shelf. Then commercial and then you go back to whatever you did before. Actually it is not a bad thing, the country has 5+ active volcanoes, some of which are pretty alarming nowadays.... The closest volcano is a 20-25 minute mountain ride (on a fast dirtbike and an ok rider). The next one is like 60 kilometers. 2 are recently smoking, bubbling, and throwing some ashes. And then there is this SPA place, where you sit in a thermal river (with different streams having different temps), and if the gods of weather permits, you can enjoy a pina colada in the hot pool , feeling the rumble and seeing the mountain puke red lava :) .... OKOK ... too much detail.

    Anyways, some alarmists suggest, that volcanic activity is increasing nowadays, with stronger quakes and misbehaving volcanoes. Maybe people just watch too much 2012 movies.... never bothered really searching for data on this one ....

  226. Loud... by excaliburca · · Score: 1

    Was in my 2nd floor bedroom when the quake struck. It was a unique experience to say the least... and loud... really loud. Latitude = 45.3624, Longitude = -75.9309 / Lat = 45 degrees, 21.7 minutes North Long = 75 degrees, 55.9 minutes West

  227. West Ottawa (Nepean) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm a shift worker and was sleeping at 1:41pm. The dogs woke me up, barking just before rumble & shaking began. Very cool sound which was slow to fade away.

  228. 45N, 74.05W... HOLY SHIT! by aqk · · Score: 0

    WOW! YES! It really rattled my bones!
    Gimme a break..
    WTF is /. doin' now? Hard up for stories again?

    Hmmn was that thunder in the distance? Or a large truck on the road about 600 ft away?
    (Yawn).. Believe it or not, the local NPR broke into the national feed, and actually did an EXCLUSIVE on it!
    OMG Ponies! Good god - /. -and NPR - is getting desperate for stories!
    OK, I'm still waiting for the Tsunami from Lake Champlain, or Lake Ontario.
    And yes, that 45N above is true- I actually live on the 45th parallel.

  229. Oshawa ON by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was in my basement, I noticed my couch was shaking but didn't think anything of it at the time (I was too busy watching The Wire).

  230. Re:Obligatory Soviet- by aqk · · Score: 0

    In Soviet SoCal,....

    6.5 gets YOU out of bed.

  231. My own experience by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm from Ottawa. I just wanted to say that the person here who said that "5.5 is about a large truck going by" was absolutely correct, as this is how it felt for me on the 2nd floor of a two story commercial building (built a year or so ago). It felt for the first 5 seconds like someone rolling a heavy cart by, but then like a fleet of dump trucks. We kind of hesistated and talked about what just happened, before we went outside. By which time everyone from all surrounding offices were outside (as though they had been there for a long time). No, they were smarter than us, and left as soon as they felt something :-) I tried calling my wife on her cell, but could not even get a tone on my own cell phone for some time. Eventually I got a hold of her at home. She had been walking the baby in her carriage outside, but had not felt a thing! I'm assuming she was walking over a bridge or something where traffic/quake shaking may have been confused and ignored. Someone from Montreal told me he never felt a thing either - but I'm not sure where he was. But lots of folks calling from around the city into a local radio station (CFRA) reported lots of interesting reports.

  232. Felt it in 4th floor office building Montreal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Was at work.
    Thought it was the bad general tao I had for lunch, but not, it was a quake.

    I was at 1250 Rene-Levesque West, right in front of the Bell Centre in Montreal.
    4th floor.
    Felt the whole desk, which is close to the center of the building, shake.

    45.497252,-73.57124

  233. Could have been worse... by w00ten · · Score: 0

    I'm in Ottawa and most DEFINITELY felt this one. A few years back we had a smaller one that woke me up, I thought it was a dream, but this time I was in my server room. First I thought my new medication was making me trip out, then once the racks started creaking and shaking and the big cable "baskets" from the ceiling that the cat5 runs in started moving back and forth about 4 feet in distance, I realized what was going on. Felt like being on a dock in a lake after a great big 30+ foot boat goes by and the wake makes the dock move up and down. No structural damage and after it was over there was an extremely large bang, sounded like a server falling out of a rack, but nothing was fallen down when I went back in and checked. A lot of people don't realize that the "Ottawa Valley" isn't a valley from mountains... it's a rift valley between 2 fault lines. one of which runs about 2KM from where I work, and the proceeds underneath Carleton University. Scientists aren't quite sure why the area is as inactive as it is... as these quakes seem to be getting more and more powerful as the years are going by(Lived here all 22 years of my life), I begin to worry that perhaps these faults are building up more and more energy, just waiting to release the big one. Food for thought - the Richter scale is a logarithmic scale where each .1 is 10x stronger... if this is what a 5.0 feels like, I can't imagine even 6.0 at 10,000,000,000x as powerful, you California folk are crazy ;)

  234. Allentown, PA building evacuated by wurble · · Score: 1

    Around 1:45PM give or take 10 minutes our office building did a nice little shimmy. It was enough for them to evacuate the building for a couple hours.

    Cooridnates: 40.611916, -75.537497

  235. St. Johns Home in Rochester NY by jonnyredbeard · · Score: 0

    For about 10 sec on the third floor of the south building. Lat 43.1301782 Long -77.6113316 It was pretty a pretty weird feeling since it lasted so long.

    1. Re:St. Johns Home in Rochester NY by iontyre · · Score: 1

      My mom (Mary Ann Kelch) and sister (Amy Kelch) have/used to work there. I need to call them and see if they felt anything, they live in Chili.

      --
      VASIMR to Mars!
  236. Rumble in London by Dakiraun · · Score: 1

    London, ON is quite a ways from the epicentre of the quake, so here it was more of a rumble probably in the realm of 4.2 to 4.5 on the scale. I work in the Support Services Building of the University of Western Ontario, and here a lot of us thought it was just one of our Physical Plant or MAC groups moving something heavy across the building bridge again - we get rumbles that shake the building all the time as a result of that sort of thing, so a lot of us didn't think too much of it until we learned later it was an earthquake.

  237. Animals ran outside before. Cottage at epicentre by Anti+Cheat · · Score: 1

    I live around Ottawa and the animals at home wanted out shortly before the quake hit. The dog strangely went away from the house and sat looking back at me as if to say 'aren't you coming?'. She had no other intention than to sit there. Then the cat broke from one of her 50 naps a day and also showed up at the door running out away from the house.

    I convinced the dog to come back but she stuck close to my legs and sat under them as i returned to the computer in the basement.

    Then it began. At first I thought it was a big tuck outside rumbling down the street. In those brief seconds. The the noise increased with more shaking. I live on the airport flight path and suddenly thought perhaps a plane was in trouble low over the house, just as I realized it was an earth quake. Now the keyboard was vibrating and books fell from the bookshelf. So I quickly moved over, with the dog tripping around my feet, to the stairwell for best possible structural support. Now the concrete floor was moving up and down and the noise from the upper floors rattling was quite loud. after about 30 seconds more things quieted down and all was quite. I returned upstairs with the dog still close by. The cat had returned wanting in the backdoor. She quickly returned to new nap 25.

    To top all this off. My cottage is located very near the epicentre. It is on the side of one of the thousands of Gatineau hills. There are many very large rocks above and around it. One large multi-ton one in particular is perched over the steep driveway. The same for many 100ft trees and lesser sized ones on my double lot size. I will need to go up there as the news reports damage to buildings in a town just a few km/miles down the road from the cottage. However there are also blocked roads and a bridge collapse to negotiate.

    Although a mag 5 is rather small by some standards. It is very unusual for this area to feel more than a mag 4 with most being in the 2-3 range. The fault line is on the Ottawa river and is part of a very old as in maybe a 250 million year old system, that is mostly very quite in it's rumbling.

  238. Aftereffects... by ibm1130 · · Score: 1

    The most spectacular aftereffect was the crowds of wide-awake civil servants searching for coffee and a donut.
    Normally they'd be sound asleep.

  239. Rochester, NY (43.126 N, 77.630 W) by sideshow45 · · Score: 1

    Felt it. I actually thought it was a really heavy cart that someone was pushing down the hallway outside my office. Then the cart stopped but things kept shaking.

    1. Re:Rochester, NY (43.126 N, 77.630 W) by slothman32 · · Score: 1

      A fellow Rochestarian.

      I was in East R. but essentially the same.
      I thought is was a couple trucks.
      It's funny; trucks can make the Earth quake more than quakes themselves.

      --
      Why don't you guys have friends or journals?
  240. Toronto - Richmond and Spadina 43.649258,-79.39615 by zcold · · Score: 1

    Our monitors started to sway back and forth and the floor rumbled a bit..

    --
    you know you can fry stuff putting things into things that dont like the things you put into it...
  241. Akron Ohio - (3rd floor) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Akron Ohio Latitude 41.06886,Longitude -81.5240 3rd floor of a 3 floor office building, noticeable movement (in all 3 axes @ once). Cube walls vibrating, over in about 5 - 10 secs. I've talked to people who were outside and they didn't feel a thing.

  242. 007 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Send in 007, some guy has an earthquake causing satellite trying to wipe out world leaders!

  243. in Japan... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Magnitude 5?
    Only five?

    In Japan,such an earthquake occurs 100 times a year!

    Worrying only thing is ..... my plastic models fall and broken or not?

  244. Peterborough, Ontario by DarthVain · · Score: 1

    Was on the 5th floor building looking out a corner window when it hit. Felt like nausea. Could see the whole building move. Very unsettling. Didn't last long, maybe 10-15 seconds, and probably took me 2 or 3 seconds to figure out what the heck was going on. Never felt a quake before!

  245. It's like your mother's footsteps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The earthquake of magnitude 5 occur about 10^3-10^4 times/yr in the world.
    Very small.

  246. Earthquake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    +45 26' 32.12", -75 40' 14.04" Ottawa/Vanier, a mile or so East of Parliament. Wow, was my poor dog ever freaked out! I was in the back yard playing with him when the shock hit. That's precisely what it felt like at first, a sudden, very sharp shock or jolt, immediately followed by about ten seconds of fairly moderate shaking.

    My dog is a wee bit skittish at the best of times, but the earthquake really had him bollocksed up for a while. He's all better now, thank goodness; I know of some dogs who actually ran off during the quake.

    Now some idiots in the US are actually blaming "Canada" for "sharing its earthquake with them?" Could they possibly get any dumber? The earth shakes from time to time...it's nobody's fault, for crying out loud! Get a clue, already.