We had an earthquake in Nagano Prefecture today; the epicenter was about 30 minutes away. I think it was about a magnitude 4.8. I was on the third floor of the school and it shook a lot, but luckily the direction of the shaking was longways along the building. It's hard to describe, but suffice it to say that if the direction had been different, the building would have shook more. Growing up in a place where there is little seismic activity, I am still freaked out by earthquakes. I remember the first one I felt while working in Seattle. It was small and barely registered as anything more than mild curiosity, but since moving to Japan, I have felt one or two magnitude 3 or higher earthquakes a year. The one today was my second at school. I felt another of about the same strength last year while talking to my good friend on the phone in the US. I was home alone, so it was kind of like having someone there with me even though it was just on the phone. I think the times it's been the scariest has been when I've been alone. Apparently I've gotten used to the small tremors, and they don't wake me up anymore.

There are a number of hurricanes and tornadoes a year in the area I grew up, and I don't remember ever feeling the same fear that I feel from earthquakes. I suppose it's because it's possible to predict the general direction that the hurricane or tornado will go. As of yet, there's still no definitive was to predict an earthquake, and that makes it more frightening. Even though I know that most houses in Japan are built with earthquakes in mind, and even though most can handle rather strong earthquakes, the fact that the whole building shakes is disconcerting.