5.8 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles East Coast & D.C. earthquake: Powerful tremor shakes region 23AUG11

I was at my desk at work. All of the sudden there was this this rumbling and things started shaking on my desk and in the office, the rumbling got louder, and people started to get up from their desk, some ran outside. I got up from my chair when it started really shaking and moving on the floor, and then there was a really large booming sound and then it stopped. It was weird because it seemed you could feel and hear it building in intensity from the West. I remember looking over at my friend Russ and he was standing and was leaning on a desk, it looked like he was wiggling! Everyone was kinda wigged out but nobody freaked out. We never lost power, the phone and computer systems kept working, though the phone lines were jammed up for about an hour or so. Thank God there was no damage to my apartment, just a few little things fell off shelves and pictures are askew....but my birds are OK! I was able to get a text to my friends Pam and Tim, they are fine too. I couldn't get through to my sister Jennie and her husband Ted, but I did send them a text. They live southwest of me, closer to the epicenter, I hope they and Katie and their pets Niles and Tommy are OK. It was just a wild and weird experience!!! My third earthquake that I know of. Once, while I was still living in Scandia, PA in the early 80's. I worked nights and was sleeping and the woke up because the bed was shaking. I sat up, walked through my home, couldn't see anything amiss. I went outside, it was still daylight, not storming...so went back to bed. Found out later it was a 3.something quake. I was in San Francisco two weeks before the big quake in 89 visiting my sister and her family. I was woke up by this banging noise, sat up in bed, and then it stopped and all was quite. That morning my sister Sheila asked me if I felt the quake in the night. I told her some banging woke me up but (since my room was next to her's and Dick's) I thought they were just, you know.....She was so "offended", kept telling me I was such a pig....but everyone was laughing too! So that is my experience with earthquakes.....This report from NPR...

by Mark Memmott and Eyder Peralta

Enlarge Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images People gather on Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., after a earthquake on Tuesday.

The East Coast of the United States got a rare jolt this afternoon when an estimated 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia shook buildings and rattled nerves from the Carolinas to New England.
The United States Geological Survey says the earthquake happened at 1:51 p.m. ET with an epicenter nine miles south of Mineral, Virginia and had a depth of 1 km.

NPR The quake's epicenter was in north central Virginia.

At NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., about 83 miles northeast of the epicenter, the building swayed for a few seconds. Many of buildings in the downtown area were evacuated. There were no immediate reports of damage, but in an area unaccustomed to earthquakes, people were surprised and shaken.
The quake was much closer to Richmond, Va., which was only about 40 miles from the epicenter, but according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch so far there have been no reports of damage.
The Times-Dispatch reports:

There were no immediate reports of damage as buildings were cleared throughout Richmond and other cities in Virginia, but within minutes, Richmond police began receiving calls about possible property damage. Those calls included a possible collapsed wall at a house along East Broad Street in the city's East End and a possible wall collapse at a structure along Hioaks Road in South Richmond.

We'll be updating this post. Hit your "refresh" button to see our latest additions.
Update at 5:30 p.m. ET. Washington Monument Inspected:
CBS News' Mark Knoller tweets that reporter Mark Leshan from local CBS affiliate WUSA-TV says the National Park Service has inspected the Washington Monument from a helicopter and "finds no initial signs of damage."
Which brings up one of the many earthquake-related jokes making the rounds on Twitter:

"MSNBC says the Washington monument is leaning to left. Fox news says its to the right." (@jeffheimbuch)

Update at 5:02 p.m. ET. More On National Cathedral Damage:
The National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. sustained "significant damage," it said in a press release. Three of the four corner spires on the central tower were damaged.
Officials report:

"Specifically, three 'finials' (capstones shaped like fleurs-de-lys) have fallen from them, with more significant damage to two of the pinnacles. Similar decorative elements on the Cathedral's exterior also appear to be damaged. Cracks have appeared in the flying buttresses around the apse at the Cathedral's east end, the first portion of the building to be constructed, but the buttresses supporting the central tower seem to be sound."

Luckily no one was injured.
Update at 4:40 p.m. ET. Reports From Around The East:
— Richmond Times-Dispatch: "The quake ... shook buildings and employees were ordered outside across Richmond and other cities in Virginia. Within minutes, Richmond police began receiving calls about possible property damage. Those calls included a possible stairwell collapse along North First Street downtown, a possible wall collapse along East Broad Street in the city's East End and a possible wall collapse at a structure along Hioaks Road in South Richmond — as well as numerous reports of possible gas leaks."
— The Washington Post: "A senior Obama administration official said the White House 'shook pretty hard' and that employees evacuated onto the driveway between the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Construction workers also got off scaffolding wrapped around the EEOB. Employees fled the U.S. Capitol, and House and Senate office buildings were evacuated, as tremors shook the buildings for several seconds."
— Baltimore Sun: "In Baltimore, 113 miles from the epicenter, the quake startled many, rattling pictures off walls and sending downtown workers into the streets. In Annapolis, tremors shook plaster off the ceiling in parts of of the historic State House. Baltimore police said on Twitter that there have been no injuries reported in the city."
— Philadelphia Inquirer: "Tall buildings from Center City, to Wilmington and Atlantic City were evacuated, including Philadelphia City Hall. Phone circuits were jammed after the ground shook around 1:55 p.m. and police urged residents not to call 911 except in an actual emergency. Anyone smelling fumes should call 311 or the Philadelphia Gas Works. There are no immediate reports of any serious injuries."
— New York Daily News: The quake "sent thousands of people running out of swaying office buildings across the city and briefly grounded flights at Kennedy and Newark airports. ... No problems were reported with the MTA's bridges and tunnels or the subway, but flights at Newark and Kennedy Airports were briefly delayed as a precaution."
Update at 4:19 p.m. ET. The History:
Barbara Wainman, a spokeswoman for the USGS, says this earthquake is definitely in historic range. As Mark noted earlier, it is slightly smaller than 5.9 earthquake in 1897. Wainman says the biggest earthquake to strike the East Coast happened in the late 1800s in South Carolina. That was a magnitude 7 earthquake.
Update at 4:10 p.m. ET. On How Far Away It Was Felt:
The Associated Press writes that "shaking was felt at the White House and all over the East Coast, as far south as Charleston, South Carolina."
Update at 3:55 p.m. ET. Quakes Are Rare, But Not Unknown In Virginia:
The USGS has several historical notes posted about Virginia's earthquake history. Here, it reports that "the largest damaging earthquake (magnitude 4.8) in the seismic zone [where today's was centered] occurred in 1875." Elsewhere, it writes that "the largest earthquake to originate in Virginia in historic times occurred on May 31, 1897," in the southwestern part of the state." That temblor had an estimated 5.9 magnitude, meaning it was slightly stronger than today's.
Update at 3:52 p.m. ET. At The Pentagon.
Stars and Stripes writes that:

"The Pentagon violently shook during Tuesday's 5.9-magnitude earthquake in Arlington, Va., as thousands of employees and visitors ran full speed for the exits.
"Reporters in the second-floor media filing center felt some initial swaying and as some quickly noted they had felt no 'boom' to indicate any explosions (or ever-feared plane crashes) the walls began to roll back and forth more intensely, causing a rush for the doors."

Update at 3:46 p.m. ET. Magnitude Revised:
The USGS now says the earthquake registered 5.8 magnitude.
Update at 3:34 p.m. ET. Damage Reports:
So far the reports of damage have been minimal but the The Washington Post reports a building collapse in the Southeast part of the city:

A congressional staffer reported that a portion of a building collapsed on the 300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in Southeast.
"A huge dust cloud came from the BBT building," he said, and "the people who came out of it said the back collapsed." The staffer said he was a pizza place and that "the entire ground literally moved up and down — you could see it."

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that after the earthquake, people started calling 911 to report possible damage:

Those calls included a possible stairwell collapse along North First Street downtown, a possible wall collapse along East Broad Street in the city's East End and a possible wall collapse at a structure along Hioaks Road in South Richmond _ as well as numerous reports of possible gas leaks.

Update at 3:30 p.m. ET. National Cathedral Damaged; Small Aftershock Reported:
The Washington Post reports that "the tip of the National Cathedral in Washington spire crashed onto the steps on Pilgrim Road. Three of the four pinnacles of the central tower are down and there's significant damage, said spokesman Richard Weinberg. No injuries were reported."
Meanwhile, according to the USGS, there was a 2.8 magnitude quake in the same area of Virginia at 2:46 p.m. ET.
Update at 3:23 p.m. ET. USGS Shakemap:
The USGS released this map that shows "instrumental intensity." It shows the epicenter was between Richmond and Charlottesville:

USGS A USGS "shakemap."

Update at 3:20 p.m. ET. Nuclear Power Plant Goes "Offline":
There are two nuclear reactors at the North Anna Power Station in Louisa County, Va., not too far from the earthquake's epicenter. The Associated Press reports that federal officials say the reactors "were automatically taken off line by safety systems around the time of the earthquake" and that the plant is "being run off of four emergency diesel generators."
The company confirms on its Twitter page that "both reactors at North Anna Power Station were shut down safely with no reports of damage."
David McIntyre, spokesman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulator Commission, tells NPR there is usually enough diesel fuel for the generators to run for at least a week.
Another nuclear power plant in Virginia, as well as plants in Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Jersey felt the temblor but did not shut down, McIntyre said.
Update at 3:05 p.m. ET. Smithsonian Castle Damaged:
G. Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and an earthquake engineer, said the Smithsonian Institution Building, or the castle as it's referred to, had suffered some damage. He was standing outside of the castle when he spoke to us and said he saw cracking inside the building and some of the windows had shattered.
Clough said it this was a big earthquake and he's experienced quite a few on the West Coast, he said.The problem in the area, he said, is that the construction is not made to withstand earthquakes. He said the Castle was built in 1881 with brick that was not reinforced, so they've decided to close the the building and will have it structurally inspected.
At the time of the quake, Clough said, he was in a meeting and he felt the tell tale sings of an earthquake, including the see-saw motion.
Update at 3 p.m. ET. "Oh, My God, This is An Earthquake":
In Washington, D.C., Anita Fogan was at her job with the United States Mint, "when I thought our building got hit by a wrecking ball from the construction site next door. Then, I heard things falling off shelves and thought 'Oh, my God, this is an earthquake.' That's when I got out of the building."
Update at 2:33 p.m. ET. Historical Perspective:
As we said earlier, earthquakes, especially this strong, are rare in the area. According to the USGS, "the largest damaging earthquake (magnitude 4.8) in the seismic zone occurred in 1875. Smaller earthquakes that cause little or no damage are felt each year or two.
(Contributing: Scott Neuman)

D.C. earthquake: Powerful tremor shakes region

By Jason Samenow

Strongest quake to hit Virginia since 1897

Live chat transcript with Seismologist

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has confirmed an earthquake struck central Virginia at 1:51 p.m ten miles south-southeast of Louisa, Va., near Mineral, Va. It was felt throughout the D.C. metro region and over a large part of the eastern U.S. USGS reports it measured 5.8 on the Richter scale.
Minutes after the quake,Marcia McNutt, USGS director -- who watched objects falling from the shelves in her office -- concerned about aftershocks, cautioned that the shaking might not be over.
“When something like this happens, remember what to do in the case of a seismic event. Duck, get under something sturdy like a desk or a doorway, get away from falling glass. Make sure that you are not in the way of falling objects like pictures, bookshelves, books, anything that’s not firmly connected the wall.”

(U.S. Geological Survey) An earthquake also occurred in the D.C. metro region July 16, 2010. A 3.6 magnitude quake centered near Gaithersburg shook the area. Today’s 5.8 magnitude quake was about 160 times bigger than that quake and almost 2,000 times as powerful (USGS How Much Bigger Calculator).
Virginiaplaces.org reports:
Virginia is classified as a “moderate” seismic risk, and has a 10-20% chance to experience a 4.75 quake every century or so. In quakes above 4.5 on the Richter scale, buildings begin to fall...
Since 1977, Virginia has experienced 160 earthquakes, of which just 16% were felt according to Virginia Tech.
Experts say there are two active earthquake areas in Virginia: The one apparently responsible for Tuesday’s quake runs along the James River between Charlottesville and Richmond and is known as the Central Virginia Seismic Zone. The other is an area centered in Giles County in southwest Virginia, which had a 5.8-magnitude quake more than a century ago.
The Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory(VTSO) offers the following on earthquake history in the central Virginia seismic zone:
Since at least 1774, people in central Virginia have felt small earthquakes and suffered damage from infrequent larger ones. The largest damaging earthquake (magnitude 4.8) in the seismic zone occurred in 1875. Smaller earthquakes that cause little or no damage are felt each year or two.
It would appear today’s quake is the largest on record in that region. USGS said it was the strongest quake to hit the entire state since the 5.8 magnitude tremor in 1897.
VTSO adds the following:
A magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake typically can be felt at many places as far as 100 km (60 mi) from where it occurred, and it infrequently causes damage near its source. A magnitude 5.5 eastern U.S. earthquake usually can be felt as far as 500 km (300 mi) from where it occurred, and sometimes causes damage as far away as 40 km (25 mi).
Reports on the USGS website indicate that the quake, 3.7 miles deep, was felt from Georgia to southeast Canada (see neat interactive map from Detroit Free Press).
The energy from the quake propagates farther in this region compared to a similar quake in the Southwest U.S. as the crust is colder and there are fewer cracks to dissipate the energy.
“The rocks are old and cold and they carry the seismic energy very far. Even a magnitude 6 or less earthquake can be felt over a considerably large area, unlike California where the shaking is more concentrated,” said Mike Blanpied, associate coordinator for the USGS earthquakes hazards program.
Useful Links: Virginia’s Largest Earthquakes
Virginia Earthquake history
More Virginia Earthquake resources
Aftershock risk?
USGS’s Blanpied cautioned aftershocks are possible:
“Aftershocks could go on for days, weeks, or even months. They’re most likely to be felt under the next three or four days.”
An aftershock of 2.8 on the Richter scale occurred at 2:46 p.m., 5 miles south-southwest of Mineral and a 2.2 magnitude aftershock occurred at 3:20 p.m. 8 miles south of Louisa.
Eyewitness account at epicenter from CWG’s Steve Tracton
Purely coincidentally myself, wife, and grand daughter were in a Food Lion within a mile of the center of the quake, Mineral ,Va. The first indication of something unusual was a the sound, louder than a loudest thunderclap I’ve ever heard, but not thunder like - more like an explosion. I knew of course from weather conditions it could not have been thunder and concluded immediately it had to be an earthquake (I’ve only felt one relatively minor earthquake before in when in Israel.)
Immediately after, the store floor shook violently, lights went out and everything - and I mean everything - came crashing down from shelves. Luckily we were not in an aisle so were not hit by falling cans and glass, although, of course, quite scared at first.
Everyone in the store was ordered out right after the building stopped shaking. I attempted to take some pix with phone camera but was blocked from doing so. I did hear that there was some structural damage to the store - cracks in the floor and possibly foundation.
Fortunately, it appeared no one was seriously injured, except possibly one woman who appeared to have been hit on the head by something. Certainly could have been worse but, nevertheless, an experience to be remembered.

USGS map indicating earthquake epicenter, where it was felt, and the degree of shaking. (See latest zoomed in map)
More Washington Post Earthquake coverage:
Earthquake rattles Washington area