The room was shaking for at least 5 minutes and the walls were cracking. I ducked under the desk and waited for it to stop. Even when it was finished the building was swaying for a long time. We all ran outside, down the stairs, and waited across the street until the engineers told us to walk far away. Then the siding started falling from the 29 story building.

About an hour later we experienced a 5.5 magnitude aftershock. I slept in a hotel that night. Surprisingly, the hotel had no signs of damage.