So yes, by West Coast standards, a 4.8-magnitude earthquake might not seem like something to get too ruffled about. A quick look at the memes dominating the internet the past few hours attest to that. But, for those in the tri-state area less accustomed to such rumblings, Friday’s unexpected turbulence still came as something of a jolt. A few people shared their experiences with NBC News.
“Our whole home shook in New Jersey,” Jon Seiler said. “My kids were in their bedrooms. My son saw bobbleheads shaking. We were in the kitchen and felt it shaking. Everybody kind of ran to the center of the house, and we all kind of stood there not knowing what was going on.”
Seiler added: “We felt it, it was a crazy noise, we thought first it was from outside. Thought that there was construction happening across the street … maybe something dropped over there. We all just kind of stood in the center and kind of held on to a wall, and braced ourselves and kind of stood there. My kids’ hearts were racing, and it was a wild little moment. Unforgettable for the kids for sure.”
Nadine Rizzo was sitting at her desk when the earth started to move underneath her feet.
“Everything started to shake. And I looked around and nobody moved, so I just went and kept working. And then, the phone blew up, and teams chat and Google and everybody, ‘Did you feel that, is everybody OK?’ And everybody seemed fine.”
“I looked out of the office and nobody moved, nobody flinched, nobody — everybody just kept working! Another day in New York City!”
Christine O’Brien was on a New Jersey Transit train to NYC when the quake occurred and she suddenly started getting alerts from her family and neighbors. “They said in Hopewell, New Jersey, near Princeton, that it felt like thunder coming up from the ground. A few things falling off shelves and then it just stopped. Some people ran out of their homes, just not recognizing what else to do. Because in New Jersey, we are really not prepped for earthquakes.”
“We don’t really practice like our brethren out in California to find a door frame or a bathtub or get under your desk,” O’Brien said. “So, I think it took everybody by surprise.”
Elaine Basinger was sitting in a rocking chair when the ground started to shake.
“And then, it seemed like the walls were kind of shaking also. I knew right away it was an earthquake,” she said. “I’ve lived through shocks like in visiting different places, like Chile.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
