OntheWilderSide

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDBI1ZFtki4]

Today, Tuesday, August 23, 2011 there was an earthquake in Virginia. Though, the shaking was felt up and down the East Coast, including here on Long Island, New York.  The video above has some reactions from people in Smithtown who felt the earth shake. There is also video of musical instruments shaking after the tremors. (Watch the second cello from the left.) Director: Kimberly Wilder. Key Grip: Ian Wilder. Many thanks to the people who agreed to participate with their thoughts on the earthquake.

Other reactions gleaned from family, friends, and people on the street:

-A woman waiting for a bus in Smithtown said that she knew something like this was going to happen, because she felt funny for three days, including having migraines.

-When the shaking happened, my mother thought her back was doing flips.

-My Dad was at work, and did not notice anything.

-My husband was at work in an office building in Central Islip. They evacuated everyone, and waited for a bit before letting people back in, because they realized they did not have an earthquake plan.

-My brother in New York City felt his apartment building shaking, and the wine glasses were clinking in the rack.

-I thought that the person leaning on the same display counter with me was tapping his foot or shaking the counter. I felt the earthquake as a rhythmic pulsing. After it happened, my old neck injury hurt a bit more, and I had some dizziness and nausea. I felt better after I took a walk outside — I felt like I got grounded again.

-Two people in the main office at my work thought they were having vertigo.

-At work, there seemed to be a “check in” reaction, with all the wives checking in with all the husbands. I phoned out to my husband. The wives of two managers called in back to back.

-Cellphones and texting weren’t working for a bit after it happened. Probably from the volume of people doing check-ins with family and friends. A man at work was able to interact faster using online social media.

-Some people had stories about one person saying it was an earthquake, and not being believed. A mom came into our store. She said her son had said there was an earthquake, but she did not believe him until I asked her if she felt it. Aha…

-For the video I took, one man said that when he felt the shaking, he thought he was hallucinating.

-The same man noted a pattern that I think followed true, somewhat: People who were outside tended not to notice. People who were inside seemed more likely to realize there was an earthquake.

-A woman on a sidewalk in Smithtown said that she was eating in her kitchen and saw the chandelier above her shake. She thought she must have hit her head on it. But, she went into the other room and saw the other chandelier shaking, so she knew something was up.

-A woman said that she had been trying to get her 22 year-old son out of bed all day, and he would not budge. Then, in the afternoon, the earthquake happened. He jumped up and found her and started talking to her excitedly about the earthquake. So, she said she had been right all along, when she thought it would take an earthquake to get him out of bed. I am not sure he is ever going to live that one down.

Please share your earthquake stories in the comments. (We will check early tomorrow for any that get caught up in the spam filter).

Filed under: local, long island, new york, News, personal, video Tagged: | earthquake, earthquake reaction, earthquake stories, earthquake video, Long Island earthquake, Long Island stories, Smithtown, video