As you probably have heard on the news, Seattle experienced a 6.8 magnitude quake at 10:55am this morning. I work from home, but my company's building was in the heart of the most damaged area in Seattle. In fact, so damaged that they closed shop (building is very old). Everyone is ok though, so that is good. Apparently it was felt in Portland and as far as Salt Lake City. My furkids were out all morning and I noticed that Cleo was not as active today. Dopey was following me around for about a half hour before, trying to lick my legs which is somewhat unusual for him. Marley was sleeping. When the quake hit, Dopey hid behind the fridge and I don't know where the others went. My hubby was in his underwear about to get in the shower and he came running downstairs to find out where I was. We both ran out on the porch (yes, he was still in his undies). It lasted about 30 seconds. When it was over, I went hunting for the kids and found Cleo curled up in a ball, in the corner of our bedroom, shaking. She was really freaked and it took about ten minutes of holding her to calm her down. I guess it is true that animals are very sensitive to this kind of stuff. Fortunately, the earthquake was 30 miles beneath the surface, so it did not cause as much damage as it could have. The worst thing is that an elevator shaft collapsed and they are still looking for ten missing people. Overall, it could have been much worse. No damage to our home (not even anything fell over) and I found out that we are safer than most because we live on top of a hill. Most of the area where my work building is, is built over a landfill. We should not have aftershocks because of the depth of the quake, but as a precaution, I got the carrier all ready and put it next to their cage. Of course they saw this and got all excited that they were going somewhere. June Batz, if you are reading this, you will feel much better about moving to TN. It is total mayhem right now. Not only did this happen today, but all last night stupid rioters destroyed parts of Seattle celebrating Mardi Gras. This also took place near my work and several windows were broken. Seattle is becoming a very lousy place to live. I cannot understand what has gotten into people. I look at New Orleans who had over a million celebrating, and no major problems to report. Seattle had about 2,000 celebrating, and major problems (looting, injuries, fights, etc...). I hope everyone on this list who lives in Washington are ok. Please write about how the earthquake affected your ferrets behavior. Shakin' not stirred in Seattle. [Posted in FML issue 3345]