Shake, rattle, & roll

When Brian's traveling, I don't sleep the greatest. I become ultra-sensitive to every creak and shift of the house.

I thought I was just dreaming this morning when I woke up because of this...

Midwest Gets Shakey Start Friday

Rare Earthquake Felt From Louisville To Milwaukee

POSTED: 5:33 am CDT April 18, 2008

UPDATED: 8:58 am CDT April 18, 2008

WEST SALEM, Ill. -- A 5.4 earthquake that appeared to rival the strongest recorded in the region rocked people awake from Milwaukee to Indianapolis and beyond early Friday, surprising residents unaccustomed to such a powerful Midwest temblor.

The quake just before 4:37 a.m. was centered 6 miles from West Salem, Ill., and 66 miles from Evansville, Ind. It awakened people in neighboring Indiana and even Milwaukee, Wis., 350 miles north of the epicenter.

"It shook our house where it woke me up," said David Behm of Philo, 10 miles south of Champaign. "Windows were rattling, and you could hear it. The house was shaking inches. For people in central Illinois, this is a big deal. It's not like California."

In Chicago, the city’s 911 call-center had an immediate spike in calls from people reporting tremors, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said.

More than 100 calls came into the center, Office of Emergency Management and Communications spokeswoman Jennifer Martinez said.

"For the most part, people are reporting they felt movement and some items vibrated on shelves and some ceiling fixtures could be seen moving," Langford said.

As of 5:30 a.m., the fire department said nobody has been injured, Langford said. There have been no reports of significant structural damage to area buildings.

In Plainfield, a police dispatcher said multiple people reported their houses being shaken. She said the quake was not felt in the police station.

Langford said the fire department immediately contacted Chicago police and OEMC after receiving reports of tremors.

The quake also shook tall buildings in downtown Indianapolis, about 160 miles northeast of the epicenter.

Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle in Evansville said there were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake occurred in the Illinois basin-Ozark dome region that covers parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas and stretches from Indianapolis and St. Louis to Memphis, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The organization's Web site said earthquakes occur irregularly in the area, and that the largest historical earthquake in the region -- also a magnitude 5.4 -- caused damage in southern Illinois in 1968.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey the depth of the earthquake was 5.0 kilometers.