We had an M4.5 earthquake at 00:29 hours this morning (last night). The linked page is all in Japanese, but X marks the spot of the epicenter in Gifu Prefecture (we're just to the left of the lake on the map shown in the Gifu link).
What differentiated this from other quakes we've felt recently was that it wasn't so much a shake as a heavy jolt. Also, there was no warning. Usually, and I remember this distinctly from the big 'un in 1995, there is a rattle before the actual quake hits. To me it always sounds like a rat scurrying along a rut. It doesn't matter how deep the sleep, if you feel the shake, you usually hear the rattle beforehand. This time it was a just a jolt out of the blue and although it didn't last long - just a few seconds - it was quite a strong one. Strong enough to elicit a "whoa" from me at half past midnight.
Posted by Joe at October 5, 2003 07:40 AMI've had the sudden jolts, and I've had the ones with warning, that just creep up on you slowly and build and build and then (so far for us at least) always subside.
My first earthquake in Japan (I'd like to say my first ever, but I had one in Columbus, Ohio, of all places that rattled the beer bottles in the fridge) was in January 1990, just after my arrival, and the worst thing about it was it *just didn't stop*. All the old hands were joking, but I was under my desk and the building just kept on rockin' and rollin'.
It probably lasted two minutes, which doesn't sound like much unless you're reciting your earthquake mantra: I don't want to be buried in the rubble. I don't want to be buried in the rubble. I don't want ...
Posted by: DJ at October 6, 2003 10:22 AMTwo minutes is an eternity for old hands as well. Let me reassure you. The longest one for us was the big 'un and it was nowhere near two minutes.
My favourite was the wobble. I looked out the window and you could see the ground wobble like jelly. Very surreal.
Posted by: Joe at October 6, 2003 04:46 PM