Virginia quake rattles Eastern US, Canada

Posted by has in , , , on Tuesday, August 23, 2011




Virginia quake map |  Source: USGS
The magnitude 5.8 Virginia quake on Tuesday was felt as far away as Canada, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, according to reports.

The quake, which had an epicenter located 14 km (9 miles) South Southwest of Mineral, Virgina, struck the area at 17:51:04 UTC (1:51 PM EDT) at a depth of 6 km (3.7 miles), the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

The intraplate earthquake reportedly was the strongest in Virginia's recorded history since 1897.

There are reports that many buildings were evacuated in New York and Philadelphia including the Capitol building and the Pentagon in Washington, DC.

The temblor reportedly caused some damage to the Pentagon, the Washington National Cathedral and the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. 



Civilians and military personnel evacuate the Pentagon after an earthquake on Tuesday. | Photo: Jason Graham
In Virginia, two nuclear plants were taken offline because of the quake. A couple of airports were also temporarily closed.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the quake.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 1:23 PM and is filed under , , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.