Southern California was shaken yesterday, by a magnitude 5.4 earthquake. This was the most quake I've ever felt, because of my proximity to the epicenter, about 100 miles north of here. The initial shock was quite alarming. Our whole building shook and lurched for a couple of seconds. Everyone stood up, several people shouted "earthquake!". It was over too fast for any real panic to ensue. There were a series of much gentler aftershocks that went on for about a minute afterward. We were all smiles and laughter here afterwards, but in the greater LA area, it was a fairly significant quake. There was no significant damage nor injuries, but it gave them a good scare. I can understand that since the people of LA have been hearing for years about the "Big One" that was due to hit them at any time. This wasn't a "Big One" but it was big enough to impersonate one for a few seconds.

As with the earthquake I experienced in Peru, altitude definitely magnified the shaking. In Peru, we were aware of the full 2+ minutes of shaking from the magnitude 7.9 quake. Due to our distance from the epicenter, it felt more like a 3 or 4 where we were. However, we were on the very top of a mountain. Down at our campsite, several hundred feet below, they didn't notice the quake at all. Here, those of us on the second floor felt a very significant shake, but those on the underground level didn't notice it at all. It was amazing what a difference it made. On the second floor, it felt for a split second like the building would collapse. 2 floors down, they didn't feel anything.