I can vouch for the Northridge earthquake...it shook for a minute and lifted by 300lbs body up into the air!
there was a minute long aftershock immediately after it too!
Sherman Oaks, CA
Well, that changed with the recorded results of the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. I had a college friend from the San Fernando Valley, in our geology department, who swore he saw through his bedroom window patio furniture being tossed into the pool (not just knocked over). I had a co-worker in Sherman Oaks who had a heavy microwave oven propelled off the counter-top into the refrigerator door across the kitchen.
I'm a believer when it comes to the observations of those who experienced a quake. I also know that it is difficult to accurately measure time in a extraordinarily tense situation.
P.S. Glad you made it! ;^)