On Aug. 23, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 hit Virginia, centered 40 miles north of Richmond, Va. It was the strongest to hit the East Coast in 67 years. Americans felt the tremors from South Carolina to Maine. Parts of the White House, Capitol and Pentagon were evacuated. Additionally, many New Yorkers feared that the shaking of high-rise buildings was a result of a terrorist attack.

On Sept. 18, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 hit the sparsely populated Indian state Sikkim, known for its Buddhist monasteries and trekking. The quake bucked roads and knocked down houses. As of when the Observer went to print, the death toll was at 80 throughout India, Nepal and the Chinese region of Tibet.

Did you feel the earth

shake? under the green sky I

thought we were dolphins

Did you feel the earth

move? side to side, mile by mile,

we gasped and held hands

Did you feel the earth

quake? speakers boomed, and our legs

swam under the sheets