CHENANGO COUNTY – Some thought it was a dizzy spell. Others wrote it off as a heavy truck rattling by. Still others knew something was wrong by their pets’ behavior. But one thing is for certain: whether they were at home, work or somewhere in between, residents from across Chenango County felt the earth shake Tuesday afternoon as a result of the 5.8 magnitude quake which hit roughly 84 miles southwest of the nation’s capital.
Chief Dispatcher A. Wesley Jones said the Chenango County 911 Center received approximately two dozen calls over its emergency and non-emergency phone lines within minutes of the event. The Evening Sun newsroom also received a number of calls.
According to the US Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Information Center, what area residents felt stems from a 5.8 magnitude quake which hit at 1:51 p.m. Initially reported as being 5.9 in magnitude and centered roughly 2/3 of a mile beneath the earth’s surface, 4 miles outside of the Central Virginia town of Louisa, the USGS now places the tremor’s epicenter at 3.7 miles beneath the crust, closer to Mineral, Va.
Two aftershocks, the first registering at 2.8 and the second at 2.2, followed over the next hour and a half in roughly the same area.
According to the federal agency, yesterday’s earthquake is the largest to hit within the Central Virginia Seismic Zone in recorded history. The last major event in the area was a 4.5 magnitude temblor on Dec. 9, 2003.
DC area news outlets reported that many buildings were evacuated immediately following the quake, including the Pentagon and one terminal at Reagan National Airport. Damage is still being assessed, but at least two Washington landmarks – the Washington Monument and National Cathedral – sustained structural damage.
According to CNN, 13 nuclear power plants in Virginia and nearby states reported “unusual events” following the quake. Two reactors at the North Anna plant near Richmond – located a mere 7 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter – have reportedly been shut down.
Officials say no major injuries have been reported.
According to Jones, no reports of damage or injuries have been received from within Chenango County as a result of the quake. He did state, however, that at least one employer in the Norwich area did briefly evacuate their facility out of “an abundance of caution.”
The USGS asks that anyone who felt the earthquake report their experience via their website at www.earthquake.usgs.gov. As of press time, 22,476 people from 8,269 zip codes in 159 cities up and down the East Coast as well as in Canada reported feeling the tremor.
The last time area residents reported feeling the earth move was last June, following a 5.5 magnitude earthquake which hit at 1:41 p.m. 38 miles from Ottawa, Canada in the Ontario-Quebec Border Region.