Earthquake, aftershock felt all over Michiana

by Dustin Grove (grove@wsbt.com)

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Earthquake in Illinois

Tim Kusky, director of the Center for Environmental Sciences at Saint Louis University, discusses seismic data displayed on a computer screen in the university's earthquake center Friday, April 18, 2008, in St. Louis. Residents across the Midwest were awakened Friday by a 5.2 magnitude earthquake centered six miles from West Salem, Ill., that shook buildings for hundreds of miles around. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Apr 18, 2008 at 11:13 AM EST

Story Updated: Apr 18, 2008 at 4:31 PM EST

SOUTH BEND — You may be one of the many around our area who got an unexpected wake up call early Friday morning. A 5.2 magnitude earthquake centered near West Salem, Ill. struck at 5:37 a.m., and a 4.5 magnitude aftershock hit at 11:14 a.m.

In Louisville, Ky. a street had to be blocked off after debris fell from a building. A road was also closed in St. Louis after debris fell from a viaduct, but there have been no reports of injuries.

About 15 miles from the epicenter a woman was trapped in her home after her porch collapsed. And at Vincennes University in southern Indiana dorms were evacuated Friday morning as a precaution.

Both the earthquake and aftershock have been felt across our area, from St. Joseph and Benton Harbor in the north to Warsaw and Rochester in the south.

WSBT staff felt it during the newscast Friday morning, and we received hundreds of phone calls and e-mails right after the earthquake occurred.

The earthquake woke up Cinder Grant, who just moved to South Bend from Los Angeles and thought she was finished with earthquakes.

“I felt the jerk and I thought, ‘Is that a tornado? Wouldn't I be hearing sirens? What should I do?’” she told WSBT News.

“I just went into the living room and said, 'We had an earthquake!” and he said, ‘No!’” said Zora Littler of her husband.

“I didn't believe her, then I heard it on the news!” laughed her husband.

That was the reaction from a lot of people. They weren't sure if it was indeed a quake that they felt, until they saw it or heard about it on the news Friday morning.

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