--The scariest earthquake I was ever in was only a magnitude 6.3, but I was close to the epicenter.

More importantly, I was underground at the time.

Ironically, I was installing a seismograph in an underground vault. That was in ‘78 or ‘79 in the South Pacific.

--A magnitude 7 earthquake is pretty impressive

Just how impressive depends on exactly where you are--and if it occurs at night or during the day.

Being in the 'near field' of a magnitude 7 earthquake means the ground is shaking fairly violently for 10 - 15 seconds.

That can feel like a long time! You wonder if the shaking will get even stronger or not.

If you are in a building, you wonder if it will collapse and you should immediately run for an exit.

If you are in a tall building you will feel it continue to sway even after the high frequency shaking has dissipated. It feels similar to the slow rolling of a ship at sea.

--Earthquakes also give you a general sense of awe.

It is literally an earth-shaking event. Nothing anyone can do can possibly stop it.

Mother earth is shaking you, and everyone else and everything else for miles around, and she will stop when she feels like it.

--For the geophysicist, it is also intellectually interesting:

Can you distinguish between the component waves that comprise an earthquake (the P, S, and surface waves)?

Can you notice if the major jerks are mainly vertical or mainly horizontal, and how it changes as the earthquake continues?

You will notice the power fail, if you are indoors (especially at night) - which often turns out to be the case.

If you are in a location with other people, it is also interesting to watch their reactions.

--The magnitude 7 aftershock I felt in Santiago made a special impression on me because I was buying steel at the time:

I could hear the clatter of steel bars and plates in the storage sheds..sounding like 50 blacksmiths going crazy at the same time.

I was not that worried by the event… More interested.

But a lot of people were very panicky because they had been through an 8.8 magnitude event a few days before, and their nerves were still on edge. A secretary started crying.

--A magnitude 8.8 is far more terrifying than a magnitude 7 event.

I actually regret not having been in the 8.8, since the chances of my being killed in it would have been very low indeed.

I felt cheated by Pachamama (mother earth) because I had *just* missed it. Darn! I’ll never forgive myself!