Whats it like to be in an earthquake? to those who know, please answer.?

Question

can you describe the feeling through your body. the ground, etc?

Answer 1

Earthquakes vary in intensity.

  A slight jiggle or a great jiggle,that's all it is.

Answer 2

Well when you first feel the earthquake it's kinda shocking because at first you don't really know what's going on and it was unexpected. Then after a few seconds you realize that it's an earthquake. It's pretty scary because you don't know how long it's gonna last or if it's gonna get stronger.

And the ground + everything else is shaking so much that it's like a really strong vibration going through everything. And things will start shaking.

Answer 3

I was in Seattle when we had an earthquake in 2001.  I was actually out on my porch, when the ground and everything just started moving.  It was wild!  This earthquake was deep underground but it was strong enough that it knocked out power to a lot of the city.  My daughter was only 2 and she freaked out and jumped up on the couch.  The best description I can think of is if you have ever been on one of those wiggly bridges at a playground.  It kind of feels like that.

EDIT After reading Chris G's notes about the rumble I do remember that also.

Answer 4

I can tell you not only by human but also the behaviours of other animals also.If you feel boring to read you can read only about human sensing section.

Unusual animal behaviors before earthquakes

Mammals Nervous, restless, irritated, panic and act “crazy”.

Human Headache, nausea, urge to vomit, giddiness, dizziness, heart complaints, nervous        

disorders, hysteria, bad weather symptoms.

Dogs Bark loudly, whine ingratiatingly, anxious.  Act as if tracking an unseen enemy; panic and bite owners, bark and pull owners outside, howl insufferably as if they have rabies.

Cats Restless, meow pathetically, take kittens outside, climb high trees, jerk ears, lay ears back, leave home for days, disappear.

Rats Disappear, fuss, panic, running on wires.

Horses Stamp, snort, tremble, jump, buck, fall to the ground.

Cows Bellow, crowd together, run away in panic.

Pigs Aggressively bite each other, dig under fences, attempt to climb walls.

Deer Leave bush and forest, do not fear humans, run to humans, run aimlessly.

Rabbits Jump and run around.

Sea lions Swim in zigzags, act agitatedly, fuss when out of the water, do not ear food.

Dolphins Nervous, do not obey orders, leap put of the water.

Bats Fly in the daytime.

Birds Stop singing, become excited, flocks fly restlessly, cry weirdly, some die.

Chickens Flap wings, shriek as if in terror, fly, fly to roofs.  c***s crow at midnight.

Hens Lay no eggs, fewer eggs or eggs with two yolks.

Ducks Avoid entering water, cry, act aggressively, bite humans.

Sparrows Flutter in swarms, flutter down while flying, no twittering.

Seagulls Fly inland, mew in sky, stay away from the sea.

Parakeets High pitched chirping, flutter wings, fly at night, stay on fence, die.

Reptiles Come out of hibernation.

Crocodiles Call, leave the water for land or leave cages for the forest.

Snakes Come out to the open in winter, swarm in bamboo clumps in summer.

Turtles Wake from hibernation, climb on others apparently in panic, run.

Crabs Leave wet habitats and crawl ashore, large numbers found dead.

Fish Float and align in one direction, leap out of water, move violently, die.

Turn upside down, act as if in turmoil, swarm, bigger fishing catches.

Deep sea fish appear near surface, do not eat, sea fish swim up rivers.

Eels Crowd onshore, disappear.

Insects

Ants Leave habitats carrying their eggs, swarm, enter houses.

Bees Evacuate hives in a frenzy, buzz agitatedly and sting aggressively.

Cockroaches Swarm close to metal ware.

Dragonflies Swarm close to metal ware.

Earthworms Come out of soil, aggregate.

Flies Swarm and cling to sweaty skin, fly in circles, rotate themselves.

Silkworms Unusual alignment.

Plant anomalies before earthquakes.

Blooming ahead of season

Potato Two months Vines bloom.

Apricot Six weeks Trees bloom in winter.

Early flowering & early crops

Rice A few weeks before Small plants, early crops,

Bar-code leaves.

Orchid One day before Sways without wind.

Mimosa At or just before Closes leaves and droops.

Tree leaves Just before Shake without wind.

Malfunctioning home electric appliances before earthquakes.

Appliance Behaviors

Car navigators Fluctuation of the pointer arrow.

Clocks (quartz) Stopping or sudden movements of the second hand.

Fast forward and backward movement or delayed movement.

Fluorescent lamps Dimming of light as during thunderstorms.

Intercoms Spontaneous buzzing sounds, or not functioning.

Mobile phone Ringing & light but no record of caller.

Do not function, make odd sounds.

Radio   (AM) Spontaneous switching and loud sounds, pulsed noise.

Refrigerators Strange compressor noises, spoiled yogurt.

TVs Spontaneous switching, speckling and flicker.

Barber-pole color, lines, image disortion, white bands, loss of colour, reversion to black and white, channel fluctuations.

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Earthquake precursor phenomena in the sky and atmosphere.

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Phenomena in the sky Preseismic (time) Coseismic

Earthquake light (EQL) A day or a few hours Flash and arc just before

Earthquake fog (EQF) A few hours or just before Sudden dense fog

Earthquake cloud (EQC) A few days, 8 days A dragon cloud appears

Yellow sky A day Becomes dark

Short rainbows A few days …

Haloed sun A day to a few hours …

Elongated or red moon A day …

Stars appear close A day …

Answer 5

Its shaky, you lose your balance and if its real bad things collapse on top of ya.

Answer 6

Very unnerving when the one thing you think will never move starts to move....

I liken it to standing on a table with a person on each corner pulling it backward and forward under you.

This was a 6. something in the Solomon Islands: enough to get the concrete pillars in the house rocking but no physical damage.

Funnily I heard it coming..... kind of low rumble that got louder before it hit: don't know if this is common or not.