- RICHMOND - Virginia and surrounding
states was shaken by an earthquake today that sent office workers out of
their trembling towers but apparently caused no damage, officials said.
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- The U.S. Geological Survey reported that a 4.5 magnitude
quake struck 30 miles west of Richmond at 3:59 p.m. It was shallow, about
3 miles below the Earth's surface.
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- The National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado
confirmed the report and was attempting to determine its extent.
-
- Residents in Lynchburg, Harrisonburg, northern Virginia
and central Virginia reported feeling tremors.
-
- The quake could be felt as far as Norfolk, where some
buildings trembled slightly. There were numerous reports from people who
felt it in Maryland, North Carolina and the District of Columbia.
-
- Virginia's Department of Emergency Management was collecting
reports from jurisdictions around the state. It had no reports of damages
or injuries.
-
- At the state Capitol in Richmond, officials and reporters
scrambled from the building after about 10 seconds of rumbling so pronounced
that the walls and windows could be seen shaking.
-
- The rumbling was barely audible at first, but progressed
to almost a mild roar and the shaking could be felt through the floors.
-
- Outside the Capitol, people huddled in small clusters.
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- Portions of the Capitol are 200 years old, and it's built
on a two-centuries-old brick foundation.
-
-
- Some people walked out of their buildings in downtown
Richmond, wondering if it the trembling they felt was in fact an earthquake.
Many sirens were heard along Broad Street, one of the capital city's main
thoroughfares, right after the quake struck.
-
- Downtown Richmond was in a state of shock.
-
- Some workers thought the boilers in their old office
buildings had erupted. They walked outside to see if there had been damage.
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- Others packed up their belongings and quickly went home.
-
- Tom Dodson, who lives in a downtown apartment, said he
was leaving home to walk his dog when he felt the rumbles. His dog whimpered.
-
- "An earthquake in Richmond?" Dodson said. "No
way. Has that ever happened?"
-
- Rose Johnston, 45, was visiting City Hall when she felt
the earthquake. Her cell phone began to ring immediately. It was her mother,
who also lives in Richmond and was worried about her.
-
- "No snow, but earthquakes for Christmas," Johnston
said.
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- While quakes are more common in the West they do occur
in Eastern states from time to time. This one occurred in the central Virginia
seismic zone, a region where quakes have occurred in the past.
-
- The largest quake in Virginia history took place in Giles
County in 1897. It was felt from Georgia to Pennsylvania, some older brick
houses were cracked and bricks were thrown from chimneys in the area from
Pulaski to Roanoke.
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- On Feb. 21, 1774, a strong earthquake was felt over much
of Virginia and southward into North Carolina. Many houses were moved partly
off their foundations at Petersburg and Blandford.
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- The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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- http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=63358&ran=110860
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- Comment
From Susan
12-9-3
-
- Many people felt this EQ as an explosion. I heard very
ba-boom type sounds and felt my house shake and sway.
-
- I actually thought it was an explosion (underground?),
because it did not feel like the EQ's I have been in before (4+ in San
Francisco & 5+ in Seattle) which were more like intense vibrational
energies. This felt like something had blown up - more like concussion.
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