Have you ever experienced an earthquake or earth tremor?

[TheTecknician]

I appreciate that this may be a sensitive subject for some, given the often dangerous and destructive nature of seismic activity. Thankfully, my one and only exposure was on the mild side. I don't remember much about it except that it occurred one night in the last 25 years or so and it woke me up as my home shivered and trembled for a few seconds. I think the epicentre might have been in Lincolnshire. That's all!

Yes, numerous in New Zealand where I grew up. A big one in California (was by a pool and the water started lapping over the edges). Most recently a sharp jolt when in NZ last Christmas. Was over before I realised what it was but unsettling nonetheless.

Never in the UK. Experienced a 5.9 in Melbourne in 2021. The epicentre was 130ish km away. We lived in an old apartment at the time and my cup of tea was sloshing in my cup.

Yes both in the UK and abroad.

In the UK, I thought “is that an earthquake?”

Abroad, I thought “OMG. ” and did Duck, cover and Hold!!!

Yes very small ones are fairly frequent here - our area (Rutland) is very “active” in relative terms but they are tiny. I find them a bit unnerving though, it’s not like anything else.

A marginally bigger one in California but still small.

Small earthquake whilst on holiday in Kusadasi, Turkey in 2022, the whole ground literally moved sideways - was a very surreal feeling - was certainly the topic of conversation for the rest of the day around the pool!

One in I think it was 2001?? East midlands, it woke me up I was having a nightmare and was very alarmed to be woken by the bed shaking!! I tried to get up to escape got tangled in my covers and ended up in a heap on the floor lol. Another one in I think 2010 I was in the bath!! I wouldn't want to experience a strong earthquake I'd be terrified!

Lots of smallish ones in California. One a few months ago woke us up in the middle of the night.

On holiday in Turkey. Thought my husband was shaking my sun lounger to annoy me.

Yes, regularly when I lived in Japan many years ago. Sometimes got woken up by them. Sort of felt like the earth was shifting left and right beneath you - which I guess is exactly what it was doing!

Two since we moved to Dominican Republic..first was about 2 years ago,, husband was in bed as he was recovering from a hospital stay.. he thought one of the dogs was on the bed scratching.. house shook but lightly.. scared the shit out of me. Last one was a few months ago...hit when we were asleep..woke us both .. it was a bigger one..really scared the shit out of me lol.. it was a 7.7 of the coast . no damage in our area but beaches all closed for the next 24 hrs as risk of tsunami

2 in the Midlands in the 80s and the swarm in 2002. Cat fell off the wardrobe during that lot.

I have experienced them when in Japan. My fiance was on the th floor of a clients office in Tokyo when the big one hit. A 7 hour walk back along the train track with others back home. Dark days he said .

Yes, 1999 in Turkey and it was awful because it hit at night so many thousands died. I’d just come in from a night of dancing and was drunk and I thought the house was haunted - bed shaking, walls moving side to side. When I got up, my dad said it was an earthquake and to go outside if it happened again. We were advised to sleep outside for two nights, and lost some people who went home early from holiday and were in the epicentre. I’ll never forget it.

I’m also in Yorkshire and I remember the 2008 one . A picture fell off the wall and broke my nose!! Note to self don’t hang glass above your bed!!

Also felt one in Greece that was stonger in the early nineties

Yes, in Wales as a student. I was sitting in the library , and everything rattled as if a heavy lorry was passing, but the library wasn’t near any busy roads.

I did in East Anglia, early 90s, maybe 92. My friend was sleeping over and we had the metal sofa bed folded out, we noticed the bedframe and curtain rail rattling.

Watched the local news in the evening and it was a big story, it knocked the head off a snowman in Watton. 😅

Very glad I have never experienced anything stronger than that.

Couple of times in New Zealand, once in Turkey.

Same here- 7.3, and nearly 20,000 deaths. I was close to the epicentre and spent several nights outside with many who’d lost family members and their homes - entire villages had collapsed. The noise was insane, I was thrown from my bed, and the experience of sitting on a pavement during an aftershock was mind-blowing. I remember every moment of it vividly - a life-changing event for me for sure.

Ive grown up in New Zealand and wasn’t really phased by them as it’s always been pretty normal. Until 2016 and the 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake. I tried to get down our hallway to get to my kids and I couldn’t stand. It’s amazing how much a house can move.

We had a 4.5 last night and my DH’s phone gave us a 30 second warning. That was first time that’s happened it was very strange waiting for it to happen!

I felt one at home in London in the early 2000's. It was very late at night / early hours of the morning and I was sitting downstairs waiting for DH to finish in the bathroom. I felt something run across my back and for some reason, I thought a mouse had got into the sofa. Within seconds, there was a terrible rumbling and I really thought my house was about to collapse. By the time I was halfway up the stairs to get the dcs to safety, it had stopped. I put the radio in and it was the headline news. I believe the epicenter was somewhere near Birmingham.

I’m ex cabin crew. I was in Istanbul on a night stop in 1999 and the massive earthquake hit. I was 15 storeys up in the Crowne Plaza. It was chaos.
I think it was 7.6 on the Richter scale.

Yep in the U.K., can’t remember the year
thought I was being burgled, climbed out the ground floor window in my pj top and knickers
slightly embarrassing having to get back in the same way!

I have lived in Japan and Taiwan, so earthquakes were pretty much a fact of life. I have been in one that was genuinely scary: we were in a rather rickety wooden house on a steep slope, pretty close to the epicentre; it wasn't a huge one by Japanese standards but I think about 50 people died. We just had to hide under a table for quite a long time, and had a lot of broken glass and china.

I was back in Japan for a visit not long after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, when they were still getting frequent aftershocks. That was in the early days of mobile phone alerts for incoming earthquakes - these days in Japan, if you are anywhere in public, you know to expect one within a minute or so if all the mobile phones around you start buzzing simultaneously.

I also felt one in Bristol a few years ago - extremely minor by Pacific rim standards, but everyone I knew was panicking about it!

I can recall two small ones - West Mids area. One in the 2000s and one in the 1980s.

1990 in Shrewsbury. 5.7 apparently and we were very close to the epicenter. I was at school and we all hid under the tables. It caused a lot of local damage in the town.