[victor]

It is reported that the earthquake started at 1:41 EDST, but was felt in Toronto at 1:43 EDST. That means 2 minutes for the waves to reach Toronto. If someone was on the phone with someone in Ottawa, they were have gotten an early warning.

 

[savevp]

Nice one.

Unfortunately, that is very true.

 

[indense]

Would someone in California or Japan tell a crowd to run for stairs instead of hide under a massive wooden conference table that was in the room? Fleeing did feel better than staying inside.

My office has an early warning system. We just had a drill a few weeks ago. "A major earthquake is expected in 15 seconds." "A major earthquake is expected in 10 seconds." "A major earthquake is expected in 5 seconds." "A major earthquake is expected imminently." Then they evacuated by floor and I had to walk down 40 flights of stairs in an overcrowded 30+ degree stairwell.

Also, under each desk we have an "Earthquake Kit" in an orange nylon bag that contains a hard hat, a couple of bottles of water, a can of some sort of cookie things, a flashlight, a crank radio, a whistle, and some other crap that I can't remember. But the way that new buildings are engineered here, I don't think that you would feel a quake unless it was really big.

There are big signs in all neighbourhoods in Tokyo (and I assume the rest of Japan) that tell you what to do in case of an earthquake and have a big map showing where the designated gathering spot is - usually a schoolyard or park. These signs all say that you should not run outside and that when you do go outside, be very careful for falling debris.

The sign in my old neighbourhood advised us to "Form teams for rescue." which I always thought sounded like a lot of fun but probably wouldn't be in real life.

I always find earthquakes fun when they happen but have to remind myself that the big ones do kill people here. My girlfriend was a little girl in Kobe during the big quake in 95 which damaged their house so she doesn't enjoy them as much as I do. After I say "That was cool!" I have to add "I hope that no one was hurt!"

 

[steveve]

Earthquakes catch you off guard at the time (they shake you up... literally). but its weird how a few hours later you want to experience it again (just for the fun of it.. at least for me ).

Here's a random video i found of someone in (i believe) the South tower of MLS who took a video about the recent earthquake:

[video=youtube;AuMVE7FIOW4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuMVE7FIOW4[/video]

 

[egotrippin]

I didn't feel it, unfortunately. A girl I work with was in the room beside me, and said she thought we'd just had an earthquake. I laughed and called her crazy, but then saw water in a large bottle swaying around. Sure enough, I went upstairs everyone had felt it, and we confirmed it online. I don't know how I was the only one, in the same building as the others, to not feel it. Apparently the walls were shaking too, so I must've really been focused on whatever I was doing.

I'm really fascinated by earthquakes too, and though I realize that they can be devastating, the power of nature is utterly fascinating and humbling.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

I would have gladly stayed under the conference table I was sitting at, but I was evacuated by someone who thought running for the stairs was what needed to be done...and this was a good 30 seconds after the shaking stopped. She was leading the group and felt responsible for us. There is absolutely zero instinct amongst Torontonians for proper earthquake behaviour, so zero people did anything but jog down the hall and run down 7 storeys worth of stairs. I obviously would not have stood outside under a concrete carport overhang had I felt the earthquake been higher on the Mercalli scale, but it clearly wasn't.

Fleeing is probably a more natural instinct for more people than hiding, which is why drills are needed in earthquake zones. Someone in Tokyo would not tell a crowd of people to pour into a tight space like a stairwell while the shaking is going on, but telling people to quickly evacuate a building after the shaking stops is not unreasonable.

 

[ultran00b]

Too bad I was in a Subway car heading downtown from North York

 

[afransen]

No one in my building evacuated. It seemed silly to me to evacuate after the shaking had stopped, and given how minor it was. I think we were all back to work within 5 or 10 minutes.

 

[Jonny5]

Rumble rumble rumble.

EDIT: CNN says it was 5.8, centered somewhere in the north east US.

 

[casaguy]

Did I just imagine that? Up high atop Casa we were just swaying quite noticeably... felt like the building was rubber for about 10-15 seconds.

 

[PinkLucy]

They're reporting an earthquake. I'm up high and didn't feel anything.

 

[casaguy]

Wow. Crazy. Ok now it's finally all over the news. Casa was definitely rockin' during that jolt.

 

[steveve]

LOL! I love how the whole city is affected/shut down by a small earthquake... it's all over the news, and has been for over an hour!
Not to say that it's not freaking fun to talk about!

I definitely felt this one... First a few shakes, then a pause, then a few more... This one definitely felt like it lasted longer than the 2010 one, but not as strong.

It was centred in the Virginia area, at 5.9 i believe. By the time it hit us, probably around 2-2.5ish.

 

[doug]

LOL! I love how the whole city is affected/shut down by a small earthquake

Really? When did they shut down? Why am I still at work?

 

[steveve]

Really? When did they shut down? Why am I still at work?

okay, maybe not "shut down", but all news has been diverted to the earthquake, at least for the past 2 hours... and everyone's talking about it,

EDIT:
was anyone in the CN tower when it happened? maybe even edge walk?... scary........