Editorial: All shook up on the East Coast

Oh my God. What was that? Did you feel it? Is it over? Is everyone all right?

Those were the questions that mattered for a few moments yesterday as a magnitude 5.8 earthquake centered in Virginia rumbled across the eastern United States, shaking and evacuating buildings from the Carolinas to Canada. Thanks to differing geology, earthquakes east of the Mississippi are felt as much as 10 times further than those in the West.

This wasn't the natural disaster we've been expecting, with Irene gaining strength and looking like she may visit this weekend. Many of us were fretting about a hurricane as an earthquake hit.

While our world quivered and swayed, it was impossible to worry about the deficit, or taxes, home values or even the seismic shudderings of the stock market. Dow drops are unnerving -- but when the planet starts dancing, the tremor running through us is animal fear.

After the fight-or-flight physical reaction fades, the instinctive nurturing kicks in. Cell signals jammed once the ground stopped moving, as pretty much everybody east of the Mississippi River called all loved ones to exchange breathless "I'm fines." The mood was nearly giddy. Surviving a minor earthquake unscathed is a cheerful experience, getting the instincts all revved up for an emergency that, in the end, didn't occur.

By late afternoon we knew the earthquake had done little damage; even the Dow was up 322 points. Everyone was spared, all fine.

But for a few moments, we remembered that there are no guarantees. hN