The only *MAJOR* earthquake I experienced was the ~7.0 earthquake near Seattle on Ash Wednesday 2001.
From one of my many websites, comes this:
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At 10:54am Feb 28 2001, a magnitude 7.0 (later downgraded to 6.8) earthquake shook downtown Seattle. Although the structural integrity of my building does not appear to have been compromised, the interior of my home sustained virtual total damage.
The quake started as a single "thump", which I mistook for the roofers dropping a piece of machinery on the roof. Several seconds later, a north-to-south swaying motion became evident, which increased in intensity over the next 15-20 seconds. By this time, it was no longer possible for anybody in the building to stand unaided. The dominant sounds were those of breaking glass and large bangs & thumps from furniture, large appliances, and home electronics falling to the floor; and of doors banging back and forth. A loud slow rattling noise was also evident, along with various creaks, cracks, and groans from the building's structure itself. The sound of the elevator car slamming into the walls of the elevator shaft was also evident.
At around 30 seconds, the breaking glass and falling object noises became spaced farther apart as fewer and fewer objects remained upright. The water was thrown out of toliets and fishtanks (those which didn't come down), and hanging fixtures banged against walls or broke off the ceiling.
Finally, at approximately 40 seconds, the violent swaying subsided, and was pretty much gone around ten seconds after that.
A buzzing noise became evident after everything stopped moving. Three sources were located: a computer monitor soaked in water from the fishtank, an outlet strip shorting out from water entry, and the fishtank pump running dry after too much water was thrown out of the tank.
No other damage to live electrical systems was found.
Down the 3rd floor hall, I heard a toliet flush, and then the sound of splashing water and that of something being knocked over and breaking. Presumably, the toliet flooded and its owner was pawing through debris to find their plunger or some towels.
Structural damage to the building was limited to a fractured facade on the north wall (broken off at the roofline, but remained attached by its embedded rebar), numerous cracks on interior joints, several fractured & buckled cinderblock flooring plates on the surface of our outdoor rooftop courtyard, and several ceiling tiles in the lobby ruined by water running down from another busted can on the 4th floor.
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