It wasn’t that big. Magnitude 4.4 on the Richter Scale. But there was a point during the earthquake when it felt like it was going to get a lot stronger. Thankfully it didn’t, and it stopped. No damage to the house, and I haven’t heard of any reported damage anywhere around here.
I still remember the big San Francisco earthquake of 1989. I was reading the newspaper just before the start of the third game of the World Series. It was a game that had a huge following in the Bay Area, as it was between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. It started slowly (much like the 4.4 earthquake we just had), but just kept going, getting stronger and stronger. Some reports had the strongest shaking 10 seconds after the quake started.
I remember a loud roaring noise during the quake. It sounded like a freight train engine going by. Lots of things fell from the shelves, but nothing was damaged (at least nothing fragile fell from the shelves!). The lights were flickering, and finally all power was lost. After the quake ended, it was as silent as sitting in the middle of the forest. No wait, even quieter than that. There wasn’t a single bird chirping. It was a shocking experience (to say the least), and no other earthquake I’ve been through felt nearly as intense. Maybe that’s why I barely moved during the quake we just went through. After the 4.4 stopped, I just kept on doing what I was doing.