Two related stories:
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http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2005/07/29/news/earthquakereaction.txt
Friday, July 29, 2005
What were you doing when the quake hit? By KELLYN BROWN, Chronicle Staff Writer
For some, their first response was to blame the dog.
It couldn't be an earthquake. No way. Really?
When an earthquake, with a magnitude of 5.6 on the Richter scale, shook much of western Montana Monday night, the initial reaction for many people was bewilderment.
Here are their stories, in their words, what happened when folks realized the dog wasn't shaking the sofa and, as Judy Lund said, "freaked."
This was my first earthquake so I really wasn't sure what was happening at first. My granddaughter was on my lap and we were watching TV when the chair we were sitting on started to shake. Shelves started to tremble and pictures on the wall started to rattle. At first, I thought it was my dog, he often sleeps behind my chair. But both dogs were sleeping in the middle of the room. It was a little taste of nature, and I'm so glad it was only a little taste.
-- Angie Coffey, Belgrade
I was sawing a board in my shop. I decided the table was moving a lot more than it should have been. In fact, everything in the shop was moving, including the bulldozer -- it was swaying back and forth. Remember the movie "Killdozer?"
-- Brian Westberg, Bozeman
I was sitting at my computer. I felt my house lift up, sit back down and shake. I live 100 yards from the railroad tracks on North Yellowstone in Livingston and thought a train had wrecked, but heard nothing.
-- DeAnn Kreiger, Livingston
My husband and I were talking in the garage when my chair started rocking from side to side. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up because I thought there was a ghost behind me rocking my chair. Then I noticed my husband's chair was also rocking. My husband thought the house was caving in. He was ready to grab the kids and me and leave the house!
-- Becky Jones, Bozeman
I was in the den watching TV and my husband was in the other room on the computer when the house began to shake. I thought it was the dog, dreaming, sleeping on the floor next to the sofa, kicking its feet. When I looked down on the floor, there was no dog. I asked my husband, "Why is the sofa shaking?" Then the second one hit and we both jumped at the same time and said, "Oh my gosh, we're having an earthquake!" It was a little scary.
-- Colee Wingo, Bozeman
My wife and I are staying in Big Sky. At first, I thought someone was trying to break into our condo. My wife came out and hugged me and said it must be an earthquake. It was a lot different than a hurricane experience.
-- Stan Friedman, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
I was lying on my bed with my two dogs watching a movie. I felt my bed shaking, but I just thought it was one of the dogs twitching as they slept. Then I heard things rattling throughout the house and realized it was an earthquake.
-- Leslie Seaton, Livingston
I was in my den talking to my daughter-in-law when it happened. The house rocked, the air literally went out of it and then it actually roared. You could hear the wind chimes. The pictures and mirrors on the walls swayed. The cats headed for the nearest hiding place. I knew what happened. I grew up in Portland, Ore. My daughter-in-law had never felt an earthquake before. It stopped and then started again. We both freaked! Very scary.
-- Judy Lund, Bozeman
I was sitting on the coffee table when I felt it. I told my husband to sit down. He felt it, too. Then our chandelier started to sway. At first, we thought it was a neighbor's washing machine on the spin cycle.
--April Layman, Bozeman
I had just gone to bed when I felt a shove. The dresser shook. The mirror rattled. I ran into the living room where my husband felt his chair rock. We both asked, "Did you feel that?" We both blamed the dog at first. I had never experienced an earthquake, being from Michigan. The kids, who were just falling asleep, felt nothing at all. They were disappointed.
-- Cynthia Knox, Bozeman
I remember the house shaking. I thought it was just me until I looked up to see our hanging plants and lamps swaying side to side. It lasted about 3 seconds. It scared me because I had never felt anything like that before. My dad said that it was probably a tremor of some sort. My dad called the Chronicle to find out if anybody else had felt the earthquake.
-- Karrah Peterson, 12 years old, Bozeman
I was sitting at my computer when suddenly the desk started moving back and forth. I thought my husband was behind me pushing on the desk. My husband thought I was behind him pushing on his chair.
-- Margie Silva, Helena
My children and I were just finishing up a movie when the earthquake hit. My 7-year-old daughter, Tara, was sitting in a chair and looked at me with big eyes and said, "Mommy, somebody is under my chair and moving it!"
-- Michelle Phelan, Bozeman
Monday's earthquake hit just as I was going to bed. At first I thought that the shaking was the result of my apartment building settling, or wind-related shaking, but when the shaking persisted I realized it was an earthquake. The shaking was mild, and nothing moved or rattled in my apartment.
-- Michael A. Ciccone, Bozeman
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http://www.collegian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/07/27/42e7041860373
Tremor shakes western, southwestern Montana, surrounding states
The Associated Press
July 27, 2005
HELENA, Mont. _ Eight aftershocks rumbled through southwestern Montana early Tuesday in the wake of an earthquake late Monday measuring a magnitude 5.6 that rattled windows, buildings and nerves, but caused no serious damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake and its aftershocks were centered about 13 miles northeast of Dillon, although residents across a wide swath of Montana, Idaho and Washington reported feeling the main temblor at about 10:10 p.m
Reports came in from as far away as Seattle, 490 miles to the west; and Hardin, 246 miles to the east; Troy, more than 248 miles to the north; and Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 303 miles to the south.
Some residents reported two distinct tremors, several seconds apart, lasting about eight to 10 seconds in all.
The aftershocks measured between 2.8 and 3.8, and occurred between 10:30 p.m. Monday and 6:45 a.m. Tuesday, the USGS said.
In Dillon, Beaverhead County Commissioner Mike McGinley said there were scattered reports of broken glass and other minor damage around town. Bricks had fallen off several buildings and chimneys, but the quake's epicenter was on an old geologic fault line with "no population in the area," Chief of Police John Gutcheck said Tuesday.
One man suffered a heart attack at a Dillon motel following the quake, but survived. No other injuries were reported.
The USGS categorized the earthquake as "moderate." Initial reports said it occurred about 25 miles underground, but the USGS later said the quake was at a much more shallow depth _ only about 3 miles below the surface.
Bud Revious, the deputy response coordinator for the state Disaster and Emergency Services office in Helena, said officials there were busy monitoring the state's scattered wildfires when the office shook.
"We thought maybe we were having one of those microbursts like we had a couple weeks ago, but we looked around and there was no wind," he said.
Revious called the quake "heavy" but confirmed state officials had not received any immediate reports of significant damage.
The largest earthquake in Montana's history struck Hebgen Lake near Yellowstone National Park on Aug. 18, 1959. It registered 7.3, killed 28 people and caused $11 million in damage.
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