Jess Burrow, left, and James Patterson, look over the damage caused outside the home of Joe and Mary Reneau when their chimney was toppled by Saturday's earthquake, in Sparks, Okla., Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Originally published November 5, 2011 at 11:12 p.m., updated November 5, 2011 at 11:27 p.m.
Earthquake history in Kansas
Earthquakes rarely get much attention in the Midwest, but Don Steeples, McGee Distinguished Professor of Applied Geophysics, said Kansas experiences a dozen or more each year.
Most seismic activity in Kansas can only be detected with instruments, Steeples said. But once every couple of years residents will feel a tremor. He said Kansas would experience a 6.5 magnitude earthquake once every 2,500 years.
“We don’t know when the last one occurred,” he said. “Or when the next one will be.”
According to the United States Geological Survey, the earliest recorded earthquake in Kansas was on April 24, 1867, when several individuals were injured. The USGS website reported that the quake was the largest recorded in Kansas, with an estimated 5.1 magnitude and an epicenter reported near Manhattan. In Lawrence it was reported several stones were knocked off a church. Other earthquakes are reported having been felt in Kansas at several points over the last hundred years.
Nationwide earthquake drills
On Feb. 7, 2012, at 10:15 a.m., thousands of people across eight states will participate in a massive earthquake drill organized by a partnership that includes FEMA, the USGS and the Red Cross. The drill, called the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut!, is part of a nationwide effort to prepare for catastrophic earthquakes and teaches people to take cover under surfaces such as tables and desks in an earthquake. More than three million people in eleven states participated in the last drill, according to organizers, which made it the biggest earthquake drill in the history of the Midwest. It marked the bicentennial of major earthquakes that destroyed New Madrid, Mo., in 1811.
Some students were shaken, others were not
Danny Chui, a senior from Olathe, said he felt the tremors Saturday night while sitting as his desk at home in an apartment near 23rd and Wakarusa streets.
“I’m sitting in my room, and felt the shaking in my desk, my chair, the lamp over my desk was shaking,” he said.
Chui said he thought at first that someone was banging on his door. He checked Facebook and found reports of an earthquake.
“It was crazy, because I never experienced anything like that before,” he said. “It freaked me out.”
Chui said he knew that his apartment wasn’t going to collapse but was still alarmed. He said the shaking wasn’t violent, but it was enough to force him to stop what he was doing.
“I was shaking, too,” he said.
Others felt nothing, and were disappointed when they learned of the earthquake after the fact.
Deep Singh, a senior from Gardner, said he was at home on Illinois Street near the University, “getting ready to party” when friends reported shock waves on Massachusetts Street.
“They were like, ‘Dude, did you feel the earthquake?’” Singh said. It was the first he heard of it.
“I felt left out,” he said.
Earthquake safety
Though almost all earthquakes felt in Kansas have been minor, if a major quake did hit, there are several steps that can be taken to stay safe. FEMA recommends doing the following during an earthquake:
IF INDOORS:
-Take cover under a sturdy table or other furniture and hold on to the table.
-Stay from windows and outdoor walls and doors and other objects that could fall.
-If you are in bed at the time of an earthquake stay there and protect your head with a pillow.
-Do not exit a building while there is shaking.
IF OUTDOORS:
-Stay outdoors.
-Move away from buildings and utility poles.
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Comments
Tremor felt in Lawrence
crazy
Tremor felt in Lawrence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa_TWi0lRzk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Tremor felt in Lawrence
i dont feel no qake
Tremor felt in Lawrence
Check out the last 30 seconds of that video can you believe he is a phi delt
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