Earthquake in VA

[GTTPF]

There was just an 5.9 earthquake in Va. Our house in Central NJ shook for about a minute. The east coast has earthquakes all the time but it was the first time we ever felt one. Wierd feeling!

[ajbrown]

Barely detectable here in Norton, MA, but you could feel things moving. It is a strange feeling for sure.

[l2ridehd]

My office building in Chatilly VA shook really hard. I was on a conference call with people from NJ, DE, MD, VA and WV and everyone felt it. There were buildings in Falls Church VA and DC that they evacuated. Epicenter was someplace just South of Fredricksburg according to the news.

[vclaes]

Was upstairs in our Lancaster, PA home when the rumble and shaking began. Weird how strongly the house shook...and what a helpless feeling. Would not have taken too much more to cause damage.

[pooh]

Coming from earthquake country, they are indeed weird feeling. They are also a bit frightening because you never know if it's the beginning of something longer or if it's of a short duration. Be aware there could be aftershocks, sometimes of the same intensity, more times of lesser intensity.

http://www.rwrinnovations.com/images/cat_cartoon_from_the_wild_life_of_cats.gif

[Yorio]

There was initially a rumble then suddenly the whole house and things around the houses started to shake up and down as though a freight trains rumbled right next door. No damages detected so those people who are currently in TV but have homes in VA, MD, DC should not worry. But definitely shook us as there should not be earthquakes around this area. Perhaps time for us to pack up and permanently move to TV.

[graciegirl]

Oh my.:(

Mike? Do you have an earthquake app too???

Hope everyone is o.k.!

[2newyorkers]

Our house was swaying on Long Island. Our Virginia children are fine. They said a few things fell off the shelf.

[njbchbum]

was sitting at my computer and felt such rumbling under the chair that i thought the foundation under our sunroom was crumbling because of all the rain we have had of late! lamps were swaying and computer monitor rocked back and forth! was definitely freaked out!

[mrsanborn]

Felt it here in Wheatfield which is between Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

[JJ&TJ]

Felt it here in south eastern PA. Was on a ladder upstairs putting in a bathroom light fixture and walls started shaking, came off that ladder in a hurry. Heard all my golf balls bouncing on kitchen floor downstairs, dog barking and my wife outside said she didn't feel it.

[pooh]

I have a question for those of you who felt the shaking.
Did you notice any particular out of the norm behavior of a pet? We lived with quakes for years and only once did our dog react strangely. ( Had Max for 14 years.) He wanted out of the house and would NOT come in and he barked...shortly afterwards, the earth moved.

[Pturner]

There is a 99 cent app for iPad called QuakeWatch

"I feel the earth move under my feet
"I feel the sky tumbling down..."
:sing:

[renielarson]

My niece and nephew live in Fredericksburg. I need to call them. Thanks for the updates.

[bkcunningham1]

My niece lives 30 miles from the epicenter in Virginia. We are friends on FB. She is fine. Said it was terrifying when the light over her kitchen table started to sway and things started to shake.

My stepdaughter lives outside of Baltimore, MD, and said she felt it too. The Pentagon has been evacuated and JFK was shutdown. All of the National Musuems in DC were evacuated. There are several nuclear power plants that was taking precautions.

My 91 year old dad, who lives in the far western corner of Virginia said he didn't feel anything. He lauged when I called to ask and said, "I have been awake all day and didn't feel anything."

[2BNTV]

A service person that came in where I work in CT, said the quake was as far west as OHIO and up to Toronto. A building shaking was felt in New Haven, CT. I personally did not feel anything in Shelton CT.

I read there was a quake in Colorodo and I'm reading hurricane, 'Irene" is going to come up to the east coast.

People tended to feel safer in the northeast than other parts of the country. At least until this latest bit of news.

As Yogi Berra said, "who woulda thunk it".

My hope is that everyone will be safe.

[memason]

Oh my.:(

Mike? Do you have an earthquake app too???

Hope everyone is o.k.!

oh boy... you had to ask.

Well, as it turns out, there is an app called Quakes in the Apple App store for iPads... :thumbup:

Enjoy.... Mike

YIKES!... I see PTurner beat me to an app. Well, now you have choices

[sandybill2]

I'm from Richmond, Va. Had a friend call me who works at Chippenham Hospital Southside Richmond. She felt the building shake --thought something had hit the building but everyone o.k. She said it was "surreal". Finally got through and talked to my son and granddaughter. (Cell phones and phones were down for a while) He works Southside Richmond as well and was taking a nap at lunchtime in his VW Bus---woke up--thought someone was shaking his bus. My granddaughter was in Henrico County (West End of Richmond)---was outside of school as she was taking an early class---didn't feel anything but teachers ran out of school and made all the children get away from the buildings/awnings, etc. Just glad everyone is o.k.!!! Still have other friends/lots of family there but from the news reports, think everything is o.k. at the moment.

[eileen6715]

Felt it here in NYC...our office building, all 22 stories swayed back and forth.:wave::posting:

[villages07]

Oh my.:(

Mike? Do you have an earthquake app too???

Hope everyone is o.k.!

I have Tectonic on my iPad...it was free when I downloaded it awhile back.

Amazing how much earthquake activity goes on around the world on a daily basis.

Hope all is well back in my old MD/DC stomping grounds.

[hansel]

We are in central NJ and our two dogs started to howl just before the house shook. About 15 years ago we had a small quake in NJ about 4 in the morning at the time we had cats. They woke us up before the quake because they were jumping up and down on the bed. For sure the animals sensed something before it happened.

[BETHPAGE BLACK]

:shocked: from Long Island..at work on confrence call with people in NJ & Pa..all three of us started feeling it..My computer was jumping my chair moving and the vertical blinds swinging...I felt seasick..
All three of us got very quiet until we figured out what was happening..
Not alot of fun..scarely first time experience but certainly could have been worse...Laura

[pooh]

We are in central NJ and our two dogs started to howl just before the house shook. About 15 years ago we had a small quake in NJ about 4 in the morning at the time we had cats. They woke us up before the quake because they were jumping up and down on the bed. For sure the animals sensed something before it happened.

Have a friend who lives in Brooklyn and she said her cat was acting extremely strangely...and cats can behave strangely without a quake. After the shaking, and her building did shake, the cat settled down and went about her regular cat duties.

Our dog Max only acted strangely once and it was very out of the norm for him. Most of the other times we had quakes, I had to wake his furry butt to get him under the doorframe or under a table... ;)

[tainsley]

I live in Chesapeake, VA about 96 miles south of Richmond. My neighbor came over and asked if my house shook...I didn't feel a thing...his house must be on the fault line...or could it be St. Joseph resides here? My daughter felt it 20 miles away in VA Beach...my son also felt it 10 miles from me in Suffolk. Go figure. Anyway, earthquakes, a possible unwanted guest named Irene stopping by this weekend...:22yikes: Just two more reasons to move to TV!

[rhredd1654]

They felt it at Cleveland Stadium this afternoon during the Indians ballgame.

[momesu]

I have Tectonic on my iPad...it was free when I downloaded it awhile back.

Amazing how much earthquake activity goes on around the world on a daily basis.

Hope all is well back in my old MD/DC stomping grounds.

It's been and interesting afternoon here in Metro DC area. I'm in northern Montgomery County and was in my car waiting to make a left turn when the quake hit. I've just had work done on my brakes and all I thought at first was **it the brakes are grabbing again. My car was bouncing and rolling as I sat at the light. Then I heard the guy on the radio who was down in DC say "What the heck was that? I think we just had an earthquake." Yep that's what it was. Maryland seems to have fared okay as far as damage reports. There is some in DC and also in Northern VA. Now we wait for Irene......and people wonder why I ant to move to FL and TV.......
Suzanne

[joannej]

Felt like we got a very strong wind gust, then I looked outside at the trees and there was no movement of the branches. I said to my husband "earthquake". Had the tv on and CNN & Fox reported it. My daughters in Phila. both felt it. One was on the 15th floor on the building and the other one was standing in front of someone's desk and had to grab the desk so she wouldn't fall down!

[TednRobin]

Working here in State College, PA today, we felt the building shake and sway, quite an experience.

[hedoman]

Outside Philly I thought the clubhouse was having a fire edrill as we came off nine. Nope it was an achey breaky earthquake and we didn't feel a thing on the golf course.......... wierd!

:22yikes:

Did anybody feel anything in TV?

[skyguy79]

We're 10 miles north of Albany NY (1200 N or TV) and we didn't feel a thing. Couldn't tell though if the pets acted strange; strange is their normal behavior!
http://sp8.fotolog.com/photo/56/5/107/vazquez17/1226078931681_f.jpg
On the other hand it was reported that it was felt in Albany and other area locations. We heard on our TV (television) that the reason some felt it and some didn't around here is because those who didn't feel it had homes built on hard rockbeds whereas those who did were on less solid stratum.

Well, at least the material below my feet match the material at the top of my head! :22yikes:
http://www.maxwelllightning.com/images/fyi_damage.gif

[BookBarb]

I was testing a group of students in Annapolis when one of the ladies asked me what was that. It sounded like a washing machine in the spin cycle. I told her I don't know. Then everything started shaking. I really had no idea what was going on, because I never suspected an earthquake, but we went outdoors and heard that was what it was. Very humbling experience. My only thought was that we weren't going to make it to TV (in 5 and a half weeks, but who's counting?) Don't thing I like earthquakes, and like many others, now we brace for a hurricane. Bring on TV!!!!!:thumbup:

[jimmemac]

I was in school 30miles north of Baltimore and the whole school swayed a good 2-3 feet for about 20 seconds. My oldest was working just south of DC and major roads closed due to the high number of hear attacks that ambulances had to get to. A few of his office buildings had partial roof collapses but no major damage.

[oot]

My husband is in Mid-Michigan and was laying on his recliner. He said he started feeling real strange, so he put the chair upright. He looked over at the fireplace and the fireplace tools were swaying into each other. He had never felt a quake before and said it was the weirdest feeling he ever experienced. He called me in the Detroit area and I never felt a thing...

[joycenemetz]

Reporting from NE PA - I was sitting @ my desk in my office in Kingston, my desk started to sway and then my chair started moving across the floor - very weird feeling. It was a very long 15 seconds - when we realized it might be an earthquake, we got out of the building along with everyone else. Hope to never experience that again!

[islandgal]

From my daughter at T Rowe Price office on the Baltimore Harbor:

"The earthquake was fun. No one believed me when I said it was an earthquake, I had just finished reading about the one
in Colorado today. As soon as I felt it i rushed to get my friend out of the building before she could freak out.
She was a swimmer in 9/11 getting out by hanging on to a ferry in the Hudson so she does not do well in out of her control situations.

The street lights and the windows across the street at the Hyatt were shaking like crazy.
They came in yelling for us to get out.
The streets filled with downtown workers but we had no where to go because of all of the bleachers that are up, one month early,
for the Indy race next weekend so we went and stood by the harbor.

Thank god there was not a tsunami in the harbor.... Standing next to a tall building is just like being in it, but worse.
All kidding aside, we had pretty bad damage in our building so they would not let us back in so we went to
our Disaster Recovery site out by the airport, since the markets were still open.
The structural engineers are coming out tonight at midnight so we are on stand by on where to go for work tomorrow morning.

So, the jokes have already started. The guy that sits next to me is from San Fran and all he did is laugh and call us names
all afternoon for being wimps.

Just cross your fingers Irene moves and stays to the East, otherwise we are swimming (she lives in MD right on the Chesapeake Bay)"

[another Linda]

Here in Syracuse my arms and legs felt "shaky" and I thought I was hypoglycemic! Ha!! Never would have realized what was going on except my son from DC called. There went my excuse for chocolate.

[pooh]

You should have had the chocolate anyhow :D

Reminds me of a young man we encountered years ago at a Palm Springs hotel. A very early morning quake of a fairly strong magnitude woke us and after the initial shaking, hubby and I decided to head down to the parking lot to move our car away from the building....bricks and concrete might fall on my brand new car! When we got there, there he was, a young man in his mid 20's in his underwear, swigging a beer. The quake scared the daylights out of him and he figured if he was going to die, he was going with a Coors!

[brightlife60]

I know people in NC...they felt the shake. I'm praying for everyone.

[getdul981]

My son works in Falls Church and said he thought one of his friends was shaking his chair. Turned around and no one was there. His girlfriend is a teacher and was in a meeting in her school. Said the ceiling tiles started falling and the metal tracks that they sit in got bent. The school has cracks in several places. No children today, supposed to have classes tomorrow. Probably not. The school is about 9 miles from the epicenter. When my son got home in Fredericksburg, he said that some of the pictures had fallen off the walls and some were crooked. One cabinet had the doors standing open, but no other damage that he could tell.

By the way, I just downloaded the earthquake app for my Droid and it said there was a 4.2 quake in VA at 804 PM a few miles from the first one.

[pooh]

Why this quake shook so much....and the difference between quakes in the east and quakes in the west.
Interesting!

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110824/D9PA5ANO0.html

[senior citizen]

There was just an 5.9 earthquake in Va. Our house in Central NJ shook for about a minute. The east coast has earthquakes all the time but it was the first time we ever felt one. Wierd feeling!

Our cousin in Bergen County New Jersey was at her desk at the college when the entire desk and floor began to shake, which freaked her out. She wondered if we had felt anything in Vermont.

We did not, although others in town heard their pots and pans clanking together & various other reported events. Nearby Albany New York evacuated office buildings due to the shaking. It was front page news in Vermont today.

Our neice in Raleigh North Carolina was in the swimming pool with her two little ones and felt nothing at all. Earlier this year, they had all taken shelter in their interior bathroom for several hours, with the "grandma" from Bergen County visiting...luckily, they were all spared the Tornado damage that did hit some parts of the city at that time.

Bergen CO. N.J. has had some fierce thunderstorms which caused trees to fall and severely damage homes, fences, patio furniture........not to mention the flooding all over the northeast..........so I don't blame our cousin for freaking out.

In the past, we've only felt one small tremor in our home in Vermont.
Missed this one, although others in town did experience it. I've always been concerned about our family in California plus the fact that our son travels quite often to California on business........but never really worried about the east coast. Watch the movie 2012.

[LI SNOWBIRD]

I'm a litle late on this but my wife posted earlier. Anyhow-I thought this was funny.I hope the GiF works

[senior citizen]

I'm a litle late on this but my wife posted earlier. Anyhow-I thought this was funny.I hope the GiF works

It was just a bit blurry...........

[flamingo]

We felt it here in central Ohio. My husband felt his chair move. Surprised we felt anything this far from the epicenter.

[hedoman]

Did anyone in TV feel anything?

Small cracks in patio up here in PA

[robertj1954]

BREAKING NEWS:

Obama interrupts his Martha's Vineyard vacation and golfing to announce that the Washington DC earthquake occurred on an obscure shift in the tectonic plates under the White House known as "Bush's Fault."

[Bill-n-Brillo]

We felt it here in central OH as well. I didn't know what had happened until I later heard about the earthquake on the news, checked to see the time when it occurred, and then put two-and-two together:

I was out in my truck sitting at a traffic light along with other vehicles, waiting on the light to change........when I felt the truck start moving about, like someone was either bumping into me or there was a really strong wind pushing on the truck. The trees were still and there was no activity around the truck that I could spot from looking in my mirrors. Lasted about 5-10 sec. Weird sensation!!! I had no idea what had happened until I heard the story on the news later on.

Bill :)