Having no clue about the fact that Cincinnati lies on a major fault line, I was surprised in my apartment one morning about a month ago by my very first earthquake. Sitting at my computer feeling very ill, I started to rock in my seat. I remember thinking, “My god I am so sick that I’m starting to feel like I am moving!” Then I looked over to my dog, who was sleeping on my bed, and saw the water in my glass, which was sitting on my nightstand, rock violently. Amazed, I watched in excitement and curiosity until everything settled back to normal.
The whole incident left me wanting to research what had happened further, so I started searching online for answers. Apparently I experienced a Level II earthquake, according to the Mercalli Intensity Scale, and some websites I visited mentioned that most people are ignorant to the fact that earthquakes do occur in Ohio.
The brittle and flat lying sedimentary rocks of the Eastern United States tend to carry waves at very long distances, and the damaging ground motion could occur in an area ten times larger than California (the state everyone knows for its earthquakes), with just the same amount of intensity.
One way to get ready for huge earthquakes is to keep an emergency kit in your house, and talk to your insurance company to see if your home/rental insurance policy includes earthquakes.