Earthquake shakes northwest suburbs, no damage or injuries reported
Erin Sauder and Liam FordChicago Tribune
An earthquake hit the northwest suburbs near Lake in the Hills on Wednesday evening, authorities said.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.9 hit about 1 1/4 miles west of Lake in the Hills at 6:08 p.m.
USGS data show that if confirmed, it would be the biggest seismic event in the Chicago area since one near a McCook quarry on Nov. 4, 2013, measuring 3.2. Before that, the largest in recent years was Feb. 10, 2010, when a 3.8 quake hit near Elgin.
East Dundee resident Julie Loewe said she was watching television in her room when she heard “a thunderous sound.”
“My son ran into my room saying, ‘Was that an earthquake?’ and I said, ‘I think so.’ My walls were shaking,” Loewe said.
She said she was one of the first of her friends to post on Facebook that she thought an earthquake had occurred.
“And then it was confirmed,” she said.
Local police departments sent out notices to residents, citing USGS to confirm the earthquake.
"If you felt a loud bang or rumbling you may have experienced a local earthquake," Huntley police said in a message emailed to local residents.
Huntley police have "received calls about a 'bang,' but no incidents of damage have been reported."
An employee of the Lake in the Hills Police Department said some calls came in from concerned residents.
“But no reports of any damage,” he said.
The AMC Lake in the Hills 12 theater also seemed unaffected. The manager said nothing was felt there.
“I was in my living room and I thought it was a loud thunder,” said Renée Piquette, who lives off Binnie Road in West Dundee.
She went on Facebook and saw other people were posting about it.
“That's how I eventually found out it was an earthquake,” she said.
Lake in the Hills resident Diana Passarelli said she was sitting on her bed Wednesday evening when “I actually felt it shake, like someone was shaking my bed.”
She said the shaking stopped after a few seconds, then briefly started and stopped again a few minutes later.
She said the movement was barely noticeable and said it likely only registered with her because she was sitting down.
“Honestly, you could easily miss it,” Passarelli said.
Nick Hammer of East Dundee initially thought it was just a semi truck driving down the street.
“It felt a little more intense than just a truck. More like an intense bass sound wave hitting the house. I took a look outside and didn't see any truck,” he said. “So I figured it was an earthquake.”
The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District was holding a board meeting Wednesday when word of the quake reached those in attendance.
"The only reason we even knew about it was because we were in a board meeting in the basement, and during a promotional ceremony in the board meeting, one of our management services directors gets an email from her husband saying 'what's up with the earthquake?'" said Peter Van Dorpe, assistant chief for the fire protection district.
No one at the meeting, which was held at the Headquarters Fire Station on West Algonquin Road in Lake in the Hills felt the quake, Van Dorpe said. He added the district received no calls about the seismic event.
No damage was reported at Lake in the Hills airport.
"There were no broken runways or mishaps," said Ian Smith, a line service technician at the airport. Smith said nothing was found out of place following the quake, at least "nothing that could catch our eye right away."
An employee at the Algonquin Police Department said, “We didn't get any calls at all about the earthquake."
Sauder is a freelancer and Ford is a Tribune reporter. Freelance reporter Lee V. Gaines contributed to this story.
Copyright © 2018, Chicago Tribune
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