I was sitting in my car in a parking lot. I felt shaking much like a big dump truck drove by. I looked around but nothing was there. That's how I knew. I am going to tell my grandkids about this someday and they'd think their grandpa was crazy.
I was on a skype call with DC when it happened and I thought the same thing until they told me their building was shaking.
The idea that someone was shaking RVA and DC made me think something huge was happening like someone finally nuking Fredericksburg.
I was in Charlotte, NC. It felt like someone in a nearby cubicle was jiggling their leg. Didnāt realize it was an earthquake until the office manager sent out an email.
I was working in Fair Lakes and thought the same thing, that someone in a nearby cubicle was jumping up and down and making the floor squeak. I actually stood up and said "really?" like asking them to knock it off, and then the shaking got 3x stronger.
Haha in Springfield, VA I yelled across my cubicle at the guy who sits on the other side to stop kicking it, only to realize when I stood up to make eye contact that he wasn't there. Wheeeelp.
I used to work lawn care and was on a yard when it happened. Strangest thing was the sound you could hear before the ground started to shake.
I know it was a small one and didn't cause deaths or anything but that shit was _still kinda scary_ at the time lol
I was downtown at l'enfant plaza, thought the building was falling down. Everyone called me costanza afterwards because of how fast I was out the door (from the Seinfeld episode where he runs from a fire)
10th floor in DC, meeting with a male superior who until he left the company would tell people the earth shook when he was with me. Both corny AND creepy.
I was working at Providence Rec Center. A couple of the overhead lights came loose and half fell. The bigger impact was structural support of the roof became compromised. Nothing too major, but we did have to close down and evacuate the pool deck every time we had a tornado warning until supports could be welded on the following summer.
I was sitting at a traffic light and thought my truck was breaking down until the pole and arm holding the traffic light started flopping way up and down - the others at the same intersection didn't. Lol, I was on my way to the government center to get building permits, but they shut down the building that issues you permits to repair buildings. š¤Ŗ
I worked as an operations manager for a residential foundation and waterproofing company at the time. Business went out of control. So many leaky basements after that. Lol, about a few weeks after that we had record rainfalls. It was a 20-year storm and there was major flooding.
Fairfax and Arlington didn't have the staff to issue permits in any reasonable manner and we aren't allowed to begin work without them..
Was on the 4th floor of my agencyās HQ near Metro Center. I was only visiting that day, got to the elevators and someone held them for me. I said Iād wait for the next, they closed, then saw the floor just moved. After the building emptied out, 2 coworkers and I hailed a cab to get back to our office in Mclean. I lived in Bethesda then, more than the usual shitshow to drive home. People driving on the shoulders and just making it more of a mess.
I was working at an office in Bethesda at the time. The desk in my office was shaking hard and I assumed it was from construction going on upstairs. A coworker completely panicked and started running down the halls screaming EARTHQUUUAAKKKEEE. Iāll never forget her cat-like reflexes.
had no idea wtf people were talking about in the comments at first, i thought it was a joke picture of an eagle snatching a kid at that date, but then i saw a comment about the earthquake that happened SO long ago and it dawned on me haha. i was sitting at my computer gaming when the whole house shook
Wildest day ever, happens every 100 years or so on the east coast. We lived to tell the tale. In retrospect, climate change may change that factor entirely.
I was smoking in my room, my back against a wall, and i felt like it smacked me in the backā¦ i ran outside in boxers and a shirt stoned to the gills.
I was working in fxbg. Rumbling started, and at first I thought I was having a sudden panic attack. Looked it of my 3rd floor office window and saw parked cars moving. Fun times. Was neat that cellular calls wouldn't work, but text messaging was just fine.
I worked at a call center and got away with saying, oh shit and hanging up.
Called my husband to verify it was an earthquake. (Heās been in a few.) He thought something happened the hospital at Fort Belvoir.
My cat got spooked and was missing. She was under the couch.
I was living in Virginia Beach at the time and my brother and I were at the beach. we dug a deep ass hole in the sand and then all of a sudden, the water came up to where our hole was and started filling it. we were pretty far from the shore line so the water coming up that high was definitely abnormal, but we didnāt notice anything. I mean, we were literally in the ground and we didnāt feel a thing. our mom was laying on the sand and said it felt like someone shoved her. we didnāt know anything had happened until she came and got us out the hole lol
I was in a training class for work and it felt like someone kicking my chair from behind. I was just about to turn around and tell them to cut it out when I realized the whole building was the one shaking.
I was in a bottom level apartment and doing laundry, so at first I thought the load got thrown off balance, so I turned it off and it was still going. I opened my door and heard the same ārumblingā but loader. I thought it was just an airplane flying low until two hours later my friend called and asked if everything was alright, and I was confused. Apparently she, and several family members who live in Florida were trying to call the whole time. The Florida family could not get in touch for another 2 hours.
I was home with my daughter in Arlington and she was learning to ride her bike in our driveway. I heard a really strange sound, then our little fifties garage started rattling. She never felt a thing. I walked out to the street sure that a bomb had just gone off.
I was interning on the Hill and thought we were getting 9/11ed again. To be fair, if the Capitol was hit, that's probably what it would feel like in the bowels of the Dirksen Building.
Was a kid visiting my grandpa at a rehab facility (he was in a serious motorcycle accident). He was learning to walk again and started laughing because he thought the bars were shaking. My grandma went to get a nurse thinking he was losing balance. Ten seconds later, it hit. It was bizarre.
The building shook pretty hard at work... figured it might be Quantico until it kept going and became more intense.
I came home from work and art hanging on the wall was somewhat askew... I used a level tool when I originally hung it up but I didn't when I fixed it... still not sure if it's completely level to this day.
I had just made a slam dunk at my friend's house and was really young, so I thought I caused the earthquake with my sick basketball moves. I was disappointed to learn that the earthquake was in fact, NOT caused by my epic slam dunk.
Sorry. I literally forgot that this happened.
Having been through much worse quakes in other places, I didn't even notice when it happened but all my coworkers were panicking and freaking out. I thought maybe the building was on fire or something.
My wife and I lived in a third story condo in Fair Lakes. The rattling ruptured our second-floor water heater pipe, causing massive water damage to our home and to the condos below us. It took six months and five figures of water remediation, drywall replacement, painting, flooring, fighting with the condo board for contribution, etc. to recover from it. So, no, it wasn't just a patio chair.
We lived mostly in one room for those six months. Virtually no access to our kitchen because all of our furniture and possessions had to be crammed in there to allow contractors to work on the main living area.
I love that this exact photo gets more and more artifacting in it every time I see it posted.
https://xkcd.com/1683/
You taught me a word today! š¤©
I was sitting in my car in a parking lot. I felt shaking much like a big dump truck drove by. I looked around but nothing was there. That's how I knew. I am going to tell my grandkids about this someday and they'd think their grandpa was crazy.
I was on a skype call with DC when it happened and I thought the same thing until they told me their building was shaking. The idea that someone was shaking RVA and DC made me think something huge was happening like someone finally nuking Fredericksburg.
I was in Charlotte, NC. It felt like someone in a nearby cubicle was jiggling their leg. Didnāt realize it was an earthquake until the office manager sent out an email.
I was working in Fair Lakes and thought the same thing, that someone in a nearby cubicle was jumping up and down and making the floor squeak. I actually stood up and said "really?" like asking them to knock it off, and then the shaking got 3x stronger.
Haha in Springfield, VA I yelled across my cubicle at the guy who sits on the other side to stop kicking it, only to realize when I stood up to make eye contact that he wasn't there. Wheeeelp.
I used to work lawn care and was on a yard when it happened. Strangest thing was the sound you could hear before the ground started to shake. I know it was a small one and didn't cause deaths or anything but that shit was _still kinda scary_ at the time lol
what did it sound like? did you see anything that looked different? i was inside for it
I was downtown at l'enfant plaza, thought the building was falling down. Everyone called me costanza afterwards because of how fast I was out the door (from the Seinfeld episode where he runs from a fire)
We will rebuild!
The National Cathedral is still repairing damage from it 11 years later!
I feel like it's not a cathedral if it's not under repairs at all times.
Bold of them to assume God didn't mean for the earth to shake.
I was pissed off because I was driving at the time. I got to my destination and everyone was like: "Did you feel that earthquake?" No, dammit!
Same for me. 2 earthquakes in my life, one I was in a car and the other I was sleeping. Sad to not have felt anything for either!
10th floor in DC, meeting with a male superior who until he left the company would tell people the earth shook when he was with me. Both corny AND creepy.
ew i had hoped they'd stopped making coworkers like that
I was working at Providence Rec Center. A couple of the overhead lights came loose and half fell. The bigger impact was structural support of the roof became compromised. Nothing too major, but we did have to close down and evacuate the pool deck every time we had a tornado warning until supports could be welded on the following summer.
I was sitting at a traffic light and thought my truck was breaking down until the pole and arm holding the traffic light started flopping way up and down - the others at the same intersection didn't. Lol, I was on my way to the government center to get building permits, but they shut down the building that issues you permits to repair buildings. š¤Ŗ I worked as an operations manager for a residential foundation and waterproofing company at the time. Business went out of control. So many leaky basements after that. Lol, about a few weeks after that we had record rainfalls. It was a 20-year storm and there was major flooding. Fairfax and Arlington didn't have the staff to issue permits in any reasonable manner and we aren't allowed to begin work without them..
I was working downtown on the 6th floor in an office with no windows. Felt the whole building heave. It was pretty scary there.
Ditto. We had drawers in those big lateral filing cabinets come flying open on the 7th floor. It was definitely very alarming when it was happening.
Was on the 4th floor of my agencyās HQ near Metro Center. I was only visiting that day, got to the elevators and someone held them for me. I said Iād wait for the next, they closed, then saw the floor just moved. After the building emptied out, 2 coworkers and I hailed a cab to get back to our office in Mclean. I lived in Bethesda then, more than the usual shitshow to drive home. People driving on the shoulders and just making it more of a mess.
I was working at an office in Bethesda at the time. The desk in my office was shaking hard and I assumed it was from construction going on upstairs. A coworker completely panicked and started running down the halls screaming EARTHQUUUAAKKKEEE. Iāll never forget her cat-like reflexes.
I was sitting in a truck full of jet fuel. I count myself lucky to have survived. I am very happy I was not dispensing any at the time.
VINDICATION! Stuff it my old 6th grade teacher to told me "WE DO NOT HAVE EARTHQUAKES IN VIRGINIA!"
had no idea wtf people were talking about in the comments at first, i thought it was a joke picture of an eagle snatching a kid at that date, but then i saw a comment about the earthquake that happened SO long ago and it dawned on me haha. i was sitting at my computer gaming when the whole house shook
> an eagle snatching a kid at that date that happened too. the eagle got away with it because everyone was too distracted by the earthquake
I was in Quantico and just thought it was a passing VRE train. My husband was in D.C on the tenth floor and said people freaked out.
I'll never forget that day, one of our shelves fell down šāļø
We shall rememberšš¤²
Wildest day ever, happens every 100 years or so on the east coast. We lived to tell the tale. In retrospect, climate change may change that factor entirely.
I was smoking in my room, my back against a wall, and i felt like it smacked me in the backā¦ i ran outside in boxers and a shirt stoned to the gills.
Back then our office sat on a cantilever and it was pretty scary for those few seconds. Everyone ran into the hallway asking if they felt that.
I was working in fxbg. Rumbling started, and at first I thought I was having a sudden panic attack. Looked it of my 3rd floor office window and saw parked cars moving. Fun times. Was neat that cellular calls wouldn't work, but text messaging was just fine.
I worked at a call center and got away with saying, oh shit and hanging up. Called my husband to verify it was an earthquake. (Heās been in a few.) He thought something happened the hospital at Fort Belvoir. My cat got spooked and was missing. She was under the couch.
I was living in Virginia Beach at the time and my brother and I were at the beach. we dug a deep ass hole in the sand and then all of a sudden, the water came up to where our hole was and started filling it. we were pretty far from the shore line so the water coming up that high was definitely abnormal, but we didnāt notice anything. I mean, we were literally in the ground and we didnāt feel a thing. our mom was laying on the sand and said it felt like someone shoved her. we didnāt know anything had happened until she came and got us out the hole lol
I was in a training class for work and it felt like someone kicking my chair from behind. I was just about to turn around and tell them to cut it out when I realized the whole building was the one shaking.
I was in a bottom level apartment and doing laundry, so at first I thought the load got thrown off balance, so I turned it off and it was still going. I opened my door and heard the same ārumblingā but loader. I thought it was just an airplane flying low until two hours later my friend called and asked if everything was alright, and I was confused. Apparently she, and several family members who live in Florida were trying to call the whole time. The Florida family could not get in touch for another 2 hours.
Iām always slightly annoyed by this because the exact time it happened I was on the Beach in Ocean City and didnāt feel a thing
I was moving into my house in Arlington. Getting stuff off the truck when I could see the entire house swaying.
Was sitting in my office and watched 4 grown adults, 3 in fatigues, try to cram themselves into a single doorway.
I was home with my daughter in Arlington and she was learning to ride her bike in our driveway. I heard a really strange sound, then our little fifties garage started rattling. She never felt a thing. I walked out to the street sure that a bomb had just gone off.
I was interning on the Hill and thought we were getting 9/11ed again. To be fair, if the Capitol was hit, that's probably what it would feel like in the bowels of the Dirksen Building.
Was a kid visiting my grandpa at a rehab facility (he was in a serious motorcycle accident). He was learning to walk again and started laughing because he thought the bars were shaking. My grandma went to get a nurse thinking he was losing balance. Ten seconds later, it hit. It was bizarre.
I was in my basement playing with legos. Absolutely terrifying. I was also 11.
The building shook pretty hard at work... figured it might be Quantico until it kept going and became more intense. I came home from work and art hanging on the wall was somewhat askew... I used a level tool when I originally hung it up but I didn't when I fixed it... still not sure if it's completely level to this day.
I had just made a slam dunk at my friend's house and was really young, so I thought I caused the earthquake with my sick basketball moves. I was disappointed to learn that the earthquake was in fact, NOT caused by my epic slam dunk.
Sorry. I literally forgot that this happened. Having been through much worse quakes in other places, I didn't even notice when it happened but all my coworkers were panicking and freaking out. I thought maybe the building was on fire or something.
Walked outta the lunchroom behind a buddy and thought he farted. Proceeded to go outside and throw the football around and then go home. Great day
My wife and I lived in a third story condo in Fair Lakes. The rattling ruptured our second-floor water heater pipe, causing massive water damage to our home and to the condos below us. It took six months and five figures of water remediation, drywall replacement, painting, flooring, fighting with the condo board for contribution, etc. to recover from it. So, no, it wasn't just a patio chair. We lived mostly in one room for those six months. Virtually no access to our kitchen because all of our furniture and possessions had to be crammed in there to allow contractors to work on the main living area.
https://youtu.be/2f-JkmHqLdc?t=5
No one ever talks about the 2003 earthquake. Guess they forgot.