She is using a simile comparing the way everything in the world vibrates to a drummer, Stew Beef, drumming.
This simile intensifies the imagery of the storm, showing how fierce the storm is. She continues to emphasize the storm throughout this section of the novel when she makes biblical allusions (Gabriel - angel of death).
Use the present perfect for the amount of time up to the moment of speaking that you've done an action. Use the past simple to express the starting point in time.