My, my, my... something to take our minds off the upcoming G20 Summit here in the city. This afternoon (Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010) at 1:41 p.m. local time a magnitude 5.0 earthquake (according to the US Geological Survey) shook Toronto. The epicenter was located 60 kilometres north of the national capital of Ottawa. It was felt as far west as Michigan and Ohio, as far east as Montreal and in some parts of New York State.
I, for one, was sitting on my sofa in my condo when the quake hit. It was the strangest sensation. The whole room seemed to move beneath me. The floor lamp beside me started to sway and I could hear the large, floor-to-ceiling windows in my kitchen and even the building creaking. I have to say I was a little bit concerned. I didn't know if I should hightail it out of my condo or not. I walked into the kitchen and noticed some workers in the office buildings across the road from me streaming out onto the street. Perhaps they were genuinely scared or maybe they just wanted an early afternoon break. In all the shaking lasted from 20-30 seconds.
Now that I look back at it, it was kind of exciting. I phoned my mom and asked her if she felt it. She mentioned she did. My sister called her from work and talked to her too. The local news media was on top of the story right away broadcasting all sorts of reports and analysis. For a moment all the G20 protesters and their attention grabbing antics took a backseat to something of far greater interest to the citizens of this city.
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