This week I’ve been to Las Vegas, Iowa, and Chicago (where I currently sit writing this post). And of all the exciting things to happen, last night a near record breaking earthquake struck Illinois.

(CNN) — A magnitude-5.2 earthquake, centered 131 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri, shook southern Illinois early Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

There were few reports of damage immediately after the predawn quake, which struck at 4:36 a.m. (5:36 a.m. ET), but CNN affiliate WHAS-TV in Louisville, Kentucky, showed footage of rubble left in a street after a cornice fell off a brick building there.

People as far north as southern Michigan and as far west as Des Moines, Iowa, reported feeling the quake, according to The Associated Press. Map »

At least 30 people reported feeling the quake in Clarksville, Tennessee — 227 miles south of the epicenter — according to the USGS Web site.

Buildings swayed in Chicago’s Loop and people were shaken awake in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the AP reported.

The USGS said the largest historical earthquake in the region — magnitude 5.4 — shook southern Illinois in 1968.

Now, I’ve been to California God knows how many times. And I keep hoping that I’ll be there when an earthquake strikes so I can see what it feels like. Who would have guessed that during my 24 hour stint in Chicago we’d have one right here! And I would sleep through it, completely oblivious.

Damn.

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