Earthquake in Virginia, did you feel it?

We're 30 miles from Roanoke, VA. When the event occurred, I had the TV tuned to Fox news, and was amazed to see our refrigerator (a big, double door model) shaking. It was all over in about 3 seconds, but kind of scary. After that the reactions in Washington on Fox news was even more amazing. They were evacuating the capital, the White House, etc. I hear the effects were felt all along the east coast to varying degrees. Now, all we need to worry about is where the hurricane is going to hit. Mother nature never seems to stop dishing it out.
 
On the second floor of our office in Portsmouth, VA we felt it and at first thought someone had hit the building with a truck. Building swayed for about 30 seconds.
 
Felt it in Manassas, thought it was a train, since we have tracks less than a hundred yards from my office. Luckily the local news station (WTOP) was on the ball and reported that no tsunami was expected... seriously...
 
We felt it here in sw PA (Washington county) and a few people I work with got a bit freaked out over it and several left the building. It wasn't all that bad here but it was quite noticeable.
 
i had some empty brass 44 cases on the kitchen counter...they hit the floor...i thought all the glass was breaking
 
Oh, yes. We're in Richmond, about 40 miles or so from the epicenter (where the heck IS Mineral, Virginia, anyway?) and we rattled and rumbled and shook for about a minute (and you know, a minute is sometimes a very... long... time...).

It felt like 20 of the biggest dump trucks you can imagine, full of gravel, were bouncing at 60 mph right outside my window.
 
Yep, It moved us here

Middle of N.C. in Rowan County, my first experience too, not good. I went outside and walked around the house looking for the culprit who was causing the shaking. I do not envy those of you in the areas where these occur more frequently. Glad no one was hurt!
 
I was at work when it happened. The folks on my side of the building didn't feel it, but the ladies on the other side definitely did. One hollered out loud.

I felt several while working in Afghanistan. One made my bed sway side to side for over 30 seconds. What really worried me was the fact that my room was underneath the Ghurka post, which was fortified with sandbags and a machine gun. I sure didn't want all that to come tumbling down on my head!

I moved at the first opportunity. :)
 
In central New Jersey it felt like a train was moving under the building.
We all felt the vibration but nothing moved.

As soon as we heard nobody got hurt and that the epicenter was all the way in Virginia we all thought it was a fun experience.
 
I was entering advertising orders when I felt the floor moving one way and my chair moving another for about 10 seconds. Everyone in the building felt it. Started a web search for an earthquake a couple minutes later.. Strange and glad I was 200 miles from the epicenter. Freinds of mine live in Manassas VA. She said all the pictures were on the floor and the contents of her kitchen cabinets was all over the place too.
 
Dang!! Our newscasters and talk show hosts are roasting the eastern US for "shutting down" over a few tremors. Alaska is rocking and rolling, so nothing new to us. I'm originally from tornado country. You can have them and I'll take the quakes any day. If you want to see some disastrous quake stuff , check out the quake of '64 in Alaska. Not to minimize the 5.8 but, it is all what you are used to. I have even felt a quake in South Dakota!! God Bless and glad nobody was hurt.............
 
Sprefix said:
Dang!! Our newscasters and talk show hosts are roasting the eastern US for "shutting down" over a few tremors. Alaska is rocking and rolling, so nothing new to us. I'm originally from tornado country. You can have them and I'll take the quakes any day. If you want to see some disastrous quake stuff , check out the quake of '64 in Alaska. Not to minimize the 5.8 but, it is all what you are used to. I have even felt a quake in South Dakota!! God Bless and glad nobody was hurt.............
Click to expand...

LOL, well remember, DC, Maryland and Northern VA shut down the schools and government (including the Federal Government) when we get 2" of snow, too. My 11 year old's soccer practice was cancelled for last night and tomorrow, for God's sake, because of the earthquake because the soccer fields had to be checked for damage (as if they could tell.... :)
 
I'm in North Raleigh, about a hundred miles south of the epicenter and I felt it quite positively. My first thoughts were the new deck fell off the house or a truck ran through the end of the cul-de-sac but when it continued, I knew it was a quake. I've spent some business time on the west coast and I have felt a 5.9 but closer. My neighbor was visiting some friends a couple of miles away and didn't feel a thing. Our dog was whiney and clingy beforehand; I should pay better attention to her!

My cousin is a Professional Geologist (like a P. E.) and I've asked him to get some details about the epicenter like location and how deep it was. I'll report back if he gets some data for me.

Russ
 
My first experience with ground movement was when I was in high school. I was sitting on a stool (the legs felt like rubber) in art class when they fired off a nuclear bomb in a salt dome less than 20 miles away. I felt a few more small ones while stationed at Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay while in the Navy. When the New Madrid fault pops again we could possibly feel it as far south as Hattiesburg. Memphis and surrounding areas will have big problems. For about $.50 a month I have earthquake insurance. The area where the recent earthquake occurred has a much larger concern right now. Irene is headed your way.
 
We felt it in Memphis, slightly. We were downtown on the ninth floor of a parking garage getting some things out of the back of the truck. Felt the truck swaying side to side. I first thought someone was inside my truck. We went back in the building after a few minutes and one of the people in an office on the 23rd floor had shot video with her cell phone of the fluorescent light fixtures that hang from the cealing swaying back and forth.

Charlie's right, "When the New Madrid fault pops again we could possibly feel it as far south as Hattiesburg. Memphis and surrounding areas will have big problems." I do some work with CUSEC Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium - CUSEC Predictions for the Memphis to St. Louis area don't look promising.

Class III
 
Cooter Brown said:
Was it caused by congress actually accomplishing something?

Oh, right, they're on vacation. Must have been the old earth's-crust-moving thing.
Click to expand...

It was the Founding Fathers spinning in their graves... :(

Damage was extensive...

2011-va-earthquake-we-will-rebuild-east-coast-damage.jpg
 
Last edited:
rcnixon said:
I'm in North Raleigh, about a hundred miles south of the epicenter and I felt it quite positively. My first thoughts were the new deck fell off the house or a truck ran through the end of the cul-de-sac but when it continued, I knew it was a quake. I've spent some business time on the west coast and I have felt a 5.9 but closer. My neighbor was visiting some friends a couple of miles away and didn't feel a thing. Our dog was whiney and clingy beforehand; I should pay better attention to her!

My cousin is a Professional Geologist (like a P. E.) and I've asked him to get some details about the epicenter like location and how deep it was. I'll report back if he gets some data for me.

Russ
Click to expand...

OK here is the actual data from the USGS:

Magnitude

5.8

Date and time

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 17:51:04 UTC
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 01:51:04 PM at epicenter

Location

37.936°N, 77.933°W

Depth

6 km (3.7 miles)

Distances

8 km (5 miles) SSW (195°) from Mineral, VA
11 km (7 miles) SSE (148°) from Louisa, VA
29 km (18 miles) NE (45°) from Columbia, VA
61 km (38 miles) NW (317°) from Richmond, VA
135 km (84 miles) SW (217°) from Washington, DC

Uncertainty

horizontal +/- 2.3 km (1.4 miles); depth +/- 3.1 km (1.9 miles)

All of this is public US Government published data available from:

Glossary of Terms on EQ Maps

Russ
 
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