Normally, when our bed shakes like that...

...there are two people in it.



This morning, it was just moi. And I was sound asleep.

I sat bolt upright (Bolt upright. Sounds like a comic book character, huh? Bolt Upright and his trusty sidekick General Disarray.) and wondered just what the hell was goin on.

From

WEEK's

website:

The U.S. Geological Survey says this morning's 5.2-magnitude earthquake was likely generated by the Wabash fault zone in southeastern Illinois and southwestern Indiana. Aftershocks were felt throughout the area around 10:15 a.m measuring about 4.5-magnitude.

The quake surprised residents unaccustomed to such a large
Midwest temblor.

USGS geophysicist Carrieann Bedwell says the quake about six
miles from West Salem, Illinois occurred in a northward extension
of the New Madrid fault area.
The fault is the country's most active seismic zone east of the
Rockies and produces numerous small quakes a year, but most are too
weak to be noticed by the public.

In 1811 and 1812, the fault it produced a series of earthquakes
estimated at magnitude 7.0 or greater.

The Wabash fault zone generated a magnitude 5.0 quake in 2002
and a 5.1 in 1987.

This morning's sizable temblor was felt from Georgia to
Michigan, but no major damage has been reported in Illinois.