Tuesday, August 23, 2011

All Shook Up

Notice the house in the last three pictures, it is not far from us. They have it really bad in both the front and back. They sit right on the road and a guardrail had to be put up on their porch! And there is a railroad in their backyard. They have lots of kids and often their toys are just a foot or so from the tracks. Today I felt like I was living in this house. As I was sitting on the couch, a large roar started, sounding like a train. Then the whole house shook and trembled. Then I shook and trembled. It was an earthquake, and we live almost right at the epi-center. The sound I heard was literally the earth giving way. But our mountains did not fall, and I hear that they protected us by deflecting some of the shock waves.


"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 
therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea...
The Lord almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress."
Psalm 46



31 comments:

Mary Bergfeld said...

Ginny, I am so glad you were spared serious damage. Mother Nature, unleashed, can be quite formidable.We were in Sichuan at the time of the big earthquake in China and I know how unsettling the tremors can be. I'm sending lots of hugs and blessings your way. Mary

Beverly said...

This was quite a day, wasn't it. Sarah texted me right at 2:00 saying they had had an earthquake. She works on the second floor. She said everything shook, including the building. They were outside for about half an hour, she said.

And now the hurricane is coming.

SquirrelQueen said...

Earthquakes do make a lot of noise don't they? Sometime you hear the sound before it starts to shake.

You were really close to the epicenter it must have been quite a jolt in your area. It sounds like a lot of the East Coast all the way into Canada felt it.

There was one in Colorado today also and one report I read suggested the two quakes were connected. I'll have to research that a little more.

RoeH said...

That amazes me. I've never been in an earthquake. I was in California between 2005 and 2007 and I wanted one. I didn't want a tragedy - I just wanted to feel one. My daughter in DC said exactly the same thing you did. They live maybe a half mile from the railroad heavilly used track and she said she heard the train and when she decided it was going on too long, that's when she stood up and the house started to shake. They live in Beltsville MD. I never even heard about it. Course I was in the theatre.

Crazy days. I keep hearing about the last days coming and I think I might need to start believing it.

MadSnapper said...

my aunt and uncle lived this close to the tracks and we would be eating dinner and the house would start to rattle and shake and the pictures on the wall would hang crooked, every time the train roared past. so now i know a little bit of how you felt yesterday, like a train in your living room only harder and louder. so glad you are safe and sound.

Reanaclaire said...

Indeed it must be very frightening, Ginny! How strong was the movement? Did you feel you swayed? My first time ever to feel the tremor was a few years back, i was in the hotel and I thought there was something wrong with the air con duct.. it was shaking... and then later in the evening, i heard on news that the earthquake had happened in Indonesia and we only felt the slight tremor over here in my country.
Thank God... yes, our Lord protects!

Melanie said...

Glad you were safe, Ginny. We were in the car when it happened, so we didn't feel anything. We pulled into a gas station about three minutes after it happened and that's all everyone was talking about. I guess we have good shocks and plenty of air in our tires! :)
The hurricane coming up the coast is our concern now. I'm going to the store today to stock up!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

It was an unsettling feeling for sure! Glad all is well though.

Tammy@Simple Southern Happiness said...

That had to be terrifying for you, I hope you did not have any damage. The news said it traveled as far a Ga but I did not feel anything here. I am relieved to know you are physically okay but I bet your nerves are still shaking.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Hi Ginny, I dropped in for a visit after a mutual blogger friend, Sandra (MadSnapper) left a comment on our blog regarding the earthquake. We also live in VA - eastern shore and had no damages (thankfully). Grenville is a BIG train fan and would really like to have your neighbor's RR in our backyard (me not so much). Glad you were also safe leaving closer to the epicenter. Please DO drop in for a visit anytime - we enjoy all visits and appreciate all comments too.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Praise God you were kept from harm.It must be a little alarming to feel the house shake.

Fred Alton said...

Ginny, I read somewhere that they had located the epi-center just outside of Washington, D.C. and it was in a graveyard - caused by our founding fathers turning over in their graves! ☺ So glad that you and Phil were protected and un-harmed.

Stephanie V said...

Glad you're OK...I was thinking about you when I heard about the quake. That's not supposed to happen on your side of the world.

Anonymous said...

We have more than a fair share of these frightening tremors! That must have been scary but glad it stopped there.

Living in that house with the kids and the tracks...hope the children stay safe!

George said...

I'm glad you made it through the earthquake safe and sound. I also hope you don't have to go through another.
I don't think I would enjoy living in the house you showed.

DawnTreader said...

I did not know you have earth quakes in your area. Is this the first time you've felt one or does it happen a lot? Did it cause any damage? I know they do occur even here in Sweden but are not usually felt. There is however a railway passing not far from my building and I do feel and hear when trains pass. There is also a railway very close to the house where my grandparents and later my parents lived.

Anonymous said...

Oh, Ginny! I didn't realize you were so close to the epicenter. What an experience that must've been!!...and now Irene is a'comin'. I do hope she doesn't cause problems for your area.

I enjoyed your interesting set of "shakey" photos, too!

Take care -- Prayers for no more disasters for your hometown! :)

Bobbie said...

Wow, you were really close then. I'm so glad you all are ok. My sister is teacher and she was in her classroom down near DC and she said she could harldy walk out of her room, it was terrible. Thankfully, God IS our refuge!! Great post, Ginny.

Joanne said...

We felt it here on the east coast...or should I say my family did. I was in the bathroom washing my hands when it happened and I didn't feel a thing! That sounds like it was very scary. Have you ever felt an earth quake before? I think Earth Quakes and tornadoes are just about the scariest things! They just happen so suddenly. So glad you and Phil were not hurt.
Blessings, Joanne

Anonymous said...

Hi Ginny, Some folks love trains. I have a relative who was like that before getting very disabled. Glad to hear that your area did OK in that earthquake. Quakes are not fun. I have been through many but do not like the experience at all! Have a wonderful evening and a super day tomorrow!

Neal said...

I'm sure glad you didn't get any serious damage. I've never been that close to an earthquake and have no desire to be that close.

photowannabe said...

I was wondering how close the earthquake was to you. Glad you are ok.
I've been through many of them here in California. They can be a bit unsettling.

Karin said...

Thank God for protection for you all! It would certainly be frightening to feel an earthquake! God keep you in His care!

S. Etole said...

You've had all kinds of events this year it seems. Glad you have been safe through it all.

Reena said...

Ginny, that was a great lead into the earthquake! Very clever and nicely done!

Deborah said...

Speaking of Earthquakes. The earthquake in VA yesterday was felt in MASS. The middle school my town, the desks shook!!
xxoo
Deborah

Deborah said...

OK, I just reread your post. You were NEAR the epi-center...OMGoodness. I am sooo glad you are OK. I misread your post..I'm sorry....I'm glad your ok and who cares about our desks...
Sorry....next time, I will read slower.I still can't believe that the east coast was hit by an earthquake.
xxoo
Deborah

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Gosh---what a horrible place to live and raise kids... That's terrible... Why would anyone build a house in that spot??????

Glad that 'train' that you heard yesterday didn't do any damage. I'm sure it was horribly scary.

Hugs,
Betsy

Chatty Crone said...

First of all I am glad you are okay!

Second of all that poor house - sitting so near that? I feel bad for them!

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

Glad you were not hurt in the earthquake....I did not feel it in Georgia but you were much closer

Rose said...

Ginny, I am just finally finding this post about the earthquake...I know you told me and I looked for it but didn't see it then...and with being over at Sarah's didn't get any blogging done...

Anyway, that had to be awful scarey...I too am really glad all is well with you.

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