I was in Mexico City on 1979 March 14 when a 7.6 went off some 400 km (~250 mi) to the southwest. It's known as the "Petatlan" quake. I woke in my hotel room in the middle of the night to see a hanging lamp in the corner swinging in wild circles. I thought to myself, "May, they're gonna make me pay for breaking that!" Then I woke up some more and looked out the window. The brick building across the narrow street was waving sinuously back and forth toward my window.

At the time it seemed (as others have said) to go on forever. But later, the news said that it really was a long-lasting quake. (Thirty years later I can't recall HOW long that was. *G*)

Just over a year later (1980 July 27), I was in Cleveland when a 5.7 earthquake let go near Cincinnati. All my co-workers were excited about it, but I managed to sleep through it. (My day off :-)

BB,
NightWing