This past Tuesday, August 23, we had a 5.8 earthquake whose epicenter was in Mineral, VA, which is about 90 miles from the Washington, DC area. I was actually walking outside back to the office and didn't feel the tremor. However, people running out of buildings was a big clue. Although no major damage, it was a bit unnerving.
Then, this past weekend, Hurricane Irene decided to swirl up the east coast. She provided lots of rain and a downed tree a block away from our house. It did damage the back of a car, but did not hit a house. Lots of leaves and a few branches, but nothing major at our house.
What you don't see in this picture are their neighbors sitting in lawn chairs watching the clean up. Just a little odd, in my opinion.
Here's the trunk and roots from the remaining portion of the tree.