earthquake

Woke up with the house shaking during heavy wind and rain. Not sure what was happening at first since I was groggy from sleep and I could see the wild weather which was also hitting our hilltop dwelling.
A little frightening for a few seconds - should I go to some safer part of the house or jump up and run out into the coincidental rainstorm? What about my daughter who I could hear in the kitchen? Was there  a real risk of collapse? This is not an earthquake area so we don't believe anything really bad could happen. In the end I didn't move and the tremor stopped without obvious harm.
Later I asked F what she thought was happening and she said,"Was that an earthquake? I just thought it was lightning or something," as she continued with a phone call. The cat pressed up against me closely, purring very loudly.
Outside - if you weren't looking - the wind and rain sounded like the crashing of waves on rocks.The dairy herd was trying to escape the elemental onslaught but was stopped by the fence. Closer up, however, they seemed typically stoical.

                     Inside, the cat was no longer concerned.