On unsolid ground- Cayman Earthquake 2010!

On Tuesday morning we experienced our first earthquake. Or let me rephrase that, Blake experienced his first earthquake. I somehow managed to miss it. Blake was at work when he felt a tremor, like from construction, or a large object falling. It lasted only a second and he looked up at his coworker, wondering what had just happened. No sooner could they discuss the tremor when the whole office started shaking. Blake ran for the door jam, while his coworker threw himself under his desk. Others braced themselves by holding their desks. On other levels people were screaming, but thankfully Blake was calm. The quake lasted quite a few seconds, and by the time it stopped, there was no doubt in anyone's mind what had just happened. Seconds after the shaking, people evacuated the building, not wanting to stay around should it not be safe. The entire company, and all surrounding businesses waited outside to see if there would be any aftershocks. Thankfully there were none. It seems the whole island was taken by surprise. The quake registered at 5.8, which is considered a major earthquake and was 40Km off the coast.
As for me, well, I can tell you that the most seismically safe zone to be in during an earthquake is a tennis court. Some girls and I were out playing tennis when the quake hit, and it was not until our cell phones started going off that we realized we had just served and rallied our way through our first (and hopefully last) quake. Apparently we are the only people on the island who didn't know there was an earthquake!
Cayman survived the quake with no structural damage except a three metre sinkhole in a condominium not far from where we live. In the past days it has set about a strange atmosphere amongst the residents, no one wanting to glorify or talk about it much in the wake of Haiti's horrific disaster. Thinking about the differences between here and Haiti is quite sobering, considering we are the same distance away as Edmonton to Vancouver. We have heard that our quake was a delayed aftershock from Haiti's, but we have also heard that all the Caribbean plates are shifting. No matter the explanation, we count ourselves very lucky. In talking to my mom right after the quake, she asked if Blake and I had an earthquake plan. I had to laugh. We haven't even started thinking about a hurricane plan, let alone an earthquake plan!