Earthquake Hits Virginia and The NorthEast

Posted by BOC Staff | Earthquake Northeast | Tuesday 23 August 2011 1:18 pm

An eathquake measuring 5.8 on the ricter scale hit in Virginia, and was felt throughout the Northeast.

Please check back to www.blinkoncrime.com for updates.

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48 Comments

  1. Sammy says:

    Just saw this story on the news.
    They showed a news conference that was taking place in NYC – that room was shaking. (and that’s like 200+ miles away from the epicenter)
    People had a understandable look of fear on their faces — their minds must have immediately gone to 9/11 and what might be happening next.

    Blink …
    Did you feel the shaking in your neck of the woods?

    OMG, this is a first for me and definitely. Please Virginian’s check in, and anyone else
    B

  2. Angellica says:

    Bristol, Tn. We felt it for sure. Totally freaked me out.

  3. CJinTX says:

    Just heard about it. News report says it is a 5.9? I read a tweet that said 3.9.

  4. CJinTX says:

    Ooops. Should read before I post. My apology. 5.8 on the Ricter scale. Strong! Be safe.

  5. Xara says:

    I am a native Californian,so I have experienced quite a few, I can totally understand if you’re a bit shaken up….I also read that it was felt as far as Martha’s Vineyard….I now live in southern NH, but didn’t feel it here.

    Lol, freaky
    B

  6. connie says:

    Blink- I live in Christiansburg, Va. and this was a first for me! The house shook and I thought I really must cut down on the coffee and then I realized OMG its a an eathquake-wow!

  7. Cathy says:

    Nokesville, VA here, and I didn’t feel a thing. Between the kids and dog running around, there would need to be actual damage for me to notice anything different.

    My husband was at work and he and his co-workers got under their desks. They had windows crack on the upper floors.

    We’ve been here for one year (and we moved from California!). Seriously people? NOW you start getting earthquakes?

    Sheesh.

    I hope everyone else is okay.

  8. Kimberly says:

    Batten down your hatches Blink! Hopefully there won’t be any after shocks.
    I seen there is a weird pattern to the earthquake activity today,
    Colorado was first this morning and Now you all in the Northeast.
    Stay safe, and remember to breath! lol

  9. Kimberly says:

    should have included this link for ya’all

    http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/

  10. Al says:

    Charlottesville here. No damage other than fraying some nerves, LoL. Scary thing is the epicenter is pretty much directly beneath the North Anna nuclear power station. It’s reported to have shut down as expected.

  11. first-time says:

    Cleveland here, and we felt it! I’m on the 16th floor and there was lots of swaying!
    2 4 1

  12. Becky says:

    I work in Northern Virginia and felt it, and I live in Louisa, Virginia! Traffic is already at a standstill, so don’t know what to expect when I get home.

  13. Jennifer says:

    I live in Newport News, VA and was on the fourth floor of my work building. The whole building swayed back and forth. Scared the crap out of me and I already had enough anxiety over the freaking hurricane coming.

  14. shelly says:

    Felt it here in MD – never felt one before and hope I never feel one again. I walked into my room and tv was teeter-tottering off the stand – looked over my shoulder and saw the bathroom walls swaying. Hope everyone is safe : )

  15. Slowroller says:

    Welcome to our world…CA that is…

    I was reading up on the Nuclear power plants here in the US after the tsunamai in Japan, and their respective vulnerabilities…The most vulnerable were on the eastern seaboard. Why? Because there are no earthquakes…?!? Scary!

  16. T says:

    I work at University of Richmond and it was insane! It seems to me it lasted close to a minute. The majority of our buildings here are very very old, but it appears there has been no damge. And of course, we evacuated all students and all is well now.

  17. maryfromthemorganthread says:

    I live in the upstate of South Carolina and it was reportedly felt in Myrtle Beach. I didn’t feel it but some people I work with did. I happened to be in my annual job evaluation at the time and was already sweatin’…

    On a serious note, I sincerely hope everyone here is okay and will stay okay through Irene.

  18. dolce says:

    Live in Charlottesville here – but I was in Richmond when it struck – filling up my truck. Glad I stopped for lunch or else I would have been right on top of it driving down 64 at that time if I hadn’t stopped for a sandwich. I had just put my oldest daughter on the train back to Durham. I was panicked when I couldn’t reach her for a while – but she reached me first. All is well. I’m just amazed that it was felt so far away – it really wasn’t that big where I was. Felt like I was parked on a bridge. Have to admit I thought the gas pump was acting rather oddly – so I wasn’t figuring out what it was until the gas attendant began screaming and running around her little building. She knew exactly what was going on. lol

  19. Eloise says:

    This is the second earthquake I have been in and did not feel- go figure. Hope all are safe.
    This is appropriate for the video of the day.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY

  20. Jane says:

    I’m in Henrico, west of the City of Richmond. Shazam…I was upstairs, husband down. House started rocking along with this really loud noise. My first thought was “what is he doing down there”. Then I realized it was a quake. I yelled “quake”, ran downstairs, grabbed my husband and got outside. I actually thought it was going to be reported as a “terrorist attack”. I’m 55 and lived here all my life. Jeezie, pretty bizarre. Anyway, we’re all fine. I understand Lake Anna nuclear reactors were shut down. Suppose that plant is secure as well.

    Ok, I have to say, you win for the cute story and use of shazam.

    B

  21. OhioSheryl says:

    Columbus Ohio here and yes I felt it. That was crazy!!

    Hope everyone is ok.

  22. Mom in NJ says:

    My desk started shaking at work, I had no idea what was happening! I’m in northern NJ. Very scary to say the least. Hope to never feel one again!

  23. Word Girl says:

    Blink,
    The Universe must be getting pretty peeved about what’s been going on and used your reputation as an Advocate to give it a lot of rumble and tumble~!

    Shazam!

    Gawd I love that word- in any permutaion, lol.
    B

  24. nana2 says:

    My son lives in Washington DC not far from the WH & his house shook a bit when it hit. Can still only text him he’s having ISP issues. My daughter lives in Leesburg Va & I haven’t been able to reach her yet. My granddaughter at college in So Carolina getting ready for their second year so hope all is well.. New York Daily News has had great pics & coverage on Twitter & their website all day..

    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/08/23/2011-08-23_58_magnitude_earthquake_strikes_virginia_shaking_felt_in_new_york_city.html

  25. nana2 says:

    and here in Florida the hurricane is passing over us with much rain..

  26. Ragdoll says:

    Praying there are no serious injuries XO!

    Does my ego count?

    Lol, kidding.
    B

  27. zeus says:

    Hi Blink, I live close to Seattle WA and when we had our 6.8 back in 2001, it was crazy-I sympathize with you all! Stay safe! I just found an interesting story that connects us and you guys on the East Coast.

    When our 2001 quake struck it knocked out most of the plate glass windows in the Sea-Tac Airport control tower. Strangely, one window survived and for some weird reason, it got sent to Washington D. C. and put in their control tower. That piece of glass was the only thing that broke there today! Spooky or what?
    ————————————

    “But a piece of glass that survived the quake found a new home at the headquarters of the National Air Traffic Controller’s Association in Washington, D.C.

    Make that, a temporary home.

    The association’s Doug Church wrote to KOMO News Tuesday to let us know a little piece of Seattle history was no more.

    “Interesting tidbit about the East Coast earthquake today,” Church wrote. “The only thing that fell and broke during the quake here this afternoon at the NATCA HQ building in Washington, D.C. A piece of glass that our Sea-Tac members gave us from the old SEA tower that was heavily damaged in the February 2001 Seattle earthquake!”

    http://www.komonews.com/news/topline/128279453.html

  28. IBE says:

    Stay safe, all, please. Earthquakes are really call to Faith time. I live near an active fault line where the last one was 80 years ago and was big time. This time thousands will be killed even though we have earthquake building codes it still will cause big time damage.

    Every time we have one I count the seconds to see if it is the “Big One”.

    Yes, sometime you can hear the sound. Been in a tornado. Don’t know which one scares me most!

    Stay safe! Check for horizontal cracks around your house foundation and inside.

  29. A Texas Grandfather says:

    I hope everyone is safe. Forty-five seconds is a long time.

    I have felt one earthquake. The big one in Mexico City in the 1980′s rocked all the buildings in downtown Houston. Creaking and groaning and a little sway from North to South.

  30. Seaturtlemom says:

    We felt it all the way down in Charleston, South Carolina. I do disaster preparedness work and was busy focusing on the hurricane heading up the coast. When I felt our building move for a solid 20 seconds, I wondered if I was suffering from vertigo or losing my mind. Everyone in our building was wondering what on earth it could be. If that is what a 5.8 earthquake 3 large states away feels like, we are in big trouble the next time the major Charleston fault shakes. Now heads up for Irene!

  31. PamVA says:

    I was at work in downtown Richmond. It was really freaky. It felt like it took forever for it to end!

  32. just_a_mom says:

    I live just outside of Richmond, Va. I thought someone was breaking in the back door because the blinds were rattling–then I noticed everything on the walls shaking. I’ve never felt anything like this! Thankfully, no damage in my neck of the woods!

  33. Jen Hamilton says:

    There was a 5.3 in Colorado at 11:45 the night before but didn’t seem to make much news after the Virginia quake. The last quake in Colorado was in 1960-something. Two quakes in the US in 24 hours is pretty remarkable… Granted, the part of Colorado is not very populous as the East……

  34. minpinmom says:

    We live right on the beach in Myrtle Beach, SC and we didn’t feel anything here. I’m shocked to hear how far the quake was felt. Hope no aftershocks.

  35. Janice says:

    Wonder if hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling aka “Fracking” had anything to do with the Virginia earthquake on Tuesday August 23, 2011?
    Found an interesting article about this techinque.
    http://www.bloomberg.com:80/news/2011-07-08/fracking-should-be-allowed-on-u-s-land-virginia-official-says.html

  36. PigletinCT says:

    Hi Blink! We even felt the rumble for a few seconds in Connecticut! Have a friend at work that’s always trying to sneak up on me & I thought he actually succeeded – felt like somebody gave my chair a little jiggle, and for a second or two I thought I was having a dizzy spell! Nobody else in my area at work even noticed – probably because it’s usually chaos there anyhow. There were actually buildings they evacuated here in CT – didn’t seem like that much of a big deal to me.

  37. Valley Girl says:

    35.Janice says:
    August 24, 2011 at 12:44 am
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Excellent thought Janice! Definitely something to think about.

    Here in NEPA it was felt. I didn’t notice anything but my coworkers did.

    Eloise~That was the second quake for me as well and like you, didn’t feel either one. Guess we are immune!

    Glad everyone is okay….please be prepared for Irene if you are in it’s path!

  38. PamVA says:

    Just after my post last night, I felt an aftershock. Just before I felt anything, my little dog who was asleep right up next to my leg, jumped straight up and looked me right in the face. And about 3 seconds later I felt the aftershock. My little one looked at me and yelled “Mom, it’s one of those after thingies!”

    lol
    B

  39. In Memory of Gini says:

    Blink,

    I live in Cville but work in Louisa. I was about 3-5 miles from the epicenter…it was a wild ride for a few seconds!

  40. moxiemom says:

    My niece in Washington, D.C. sent me this…Pretty darn funny!!

    http://jmckinley.posterous.com/dc-earthquake-devastation

  41. maryftmt says:

    Zeus that is one of the freakiest things I’ve ever heard. Thanks for posting that.

  42. janetoo says:

    I’m in Ohio, north of Dayton and I saw trees swaying that never sway!

  43. susanm says:

    it is 10 14 pm pst and i was looking at the earthquake map when a red square showed up, meaning you just had anothew one preliminary is 4.5 .

  44. PamVA says:

    Another 4.5 after thingie at 1am this morning.

    Now that one missed us.
    B

  45. PamVA says:

    Blink you have your own big worry coming that way. Be safe!

  46. IMOIMO says:

    I work in western Henrico Co, VA. My office is roughly 25 miles away from Mineral, VA… We’re on the 3rd floor…. Ummm yes… we were rocking and a shaking away, VERY frightening… no one was hurt and no damage done luckily, unfortunately, my aunt, who resides in Louisa Co was not so lucky, it left a bit of a mess for her to clean up BUT they’re alive and well and that’s all that matters.

  47. just_a_mom says:

    PamVA, I felt the after thingie at 1am and thought I was imagining things–lol.

  48. Irish says:

    I was on the 5th (top) floor of the hospital in Charlottesville where I work. We are in the middle of a move to our new hospital so at first, I thought it was a big truck or something. Then it grew and grew, and the building started swaying. Whew…

    The Louisa county schools seem most affected: http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/2011/aug/26/louisa-announces-major-changes-school-year-post-qu-ar-1267069/

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