Washington, D.C. Earthquake 2011: 5.8 Earthquake Hits Nation's Capital, Felt In New York
Dean Praetorius First Posted: 8/23/11 02:07 PM ET Updated: 8/23/11 07:08 PM E
Preliminary reports are indicating that a 5.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Virginia at 1:51 pm EDT., according to the USGS.
Shaking has been reported as far north as New York. Reports of shaking have also been coming in from the New England area. According to the USGS, a magnitude 5.5 Eastern US earthquake can typically be felt as far as 300 miles away.
The USGS reported that epicenter of the quake was located in Louisa, Va. just southeast of Charlottesville and northwest of Richmond.
From the AP:
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was half a mile deep. Shaking was felt at the White House and all over the East Coast, as far south as Chapel Hill, N.C. Parts of the Pentagon, White House and Capitol were evacuated. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
UPDATE: The USGS has since upgraded the magnitude of the earthquake to 5.9 and stated that it occurred at a depth of about 0.1 miles.
UPADTE 2: Upon further review, the USGS has adjusted the magnitude of the quake back to 5.8 and adjusted the estimated depth to 3.7 miles.
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Today 9:35 PM Closer look at Cathedral damage
The Atlantic has posted new photos of damage done to the Washington National Cathedral in today's earthquake, including fallen statues and damaged spires. The photos can be found here.
Today 8:31 PM Washington Monument is cracked
washingtonpost @ washingtonpost : Washington Monument may be cracked and could be closed indefinitely.
http://t.co/tRq7ahD #dcquake #earthquake -via @postlocal
Today 7:12 PM 4.2-Magnitude Aftershock In Virginia
According to USGS, preliminary 4.2-magnitude aftershock in Mineral, Virginia
Today 7:11 PM Aftershock In Mineral, VA
NBCNews @ NBCNews : RT @newmediajim Aftershock in Mineral, VA just now.
Today 7:10 PM Another Aftershock Reported
jdickerson @ jdickerson : Quake just hit again. Kids furious they've missed it twice This time they were jumping around house-- couldn't distinguish.
Today 7:06 PM 'I Felt The Whole House Coming In From Underneath Me'
HuffPost's Christina Wilke reports:
MINERAL, Va. -- Residents of this small town in Central Virginia's farming county began repairing the damage to their homes and businesses Tuesday after an earthquake struck their close-knit community. The quake measured 5.8 on the Richter scale, a force not seen in this part of the country in more than a century.
"I felt the whole house coming in from underneath me, and everything flew off the shelves," said Dot Payne, a lifelong resident of Mineral. "It felt like it lasted forever, but it was probably only 40 seconds."
Read the full report here.
Today 6:32 PM More Tweets Per Second Than Bin Laden's Death
twitter @ twitter : And, we hit about 5,500 Tweets per second (TPS). For context, this TPS is more than Osama Bin Laden's death & on par w/ the Japanese quake.
Today 6:30 PM Over 40,000 Tweets Within 1 Minute Of Quake
twitter @ twitter : Within a minute of today's #earthquake, there were more than 40,000 earthquake-related Tweets.
Today 6:28 PM President Obama Reportedly Did Not Feel The Quake
According to the White House pool report, Josh Earnest provided an earthquake update, stating: "The president didn't feel the earthquake today."
Today 6:06 PM West Coast Teases East Coast
Associated Press reports:
On Facebook, Twitter and even Google's fledging Plus network, people asked Tuesday if it was really an earthquake they just felt or perhaps Godzilla paying a visit. For many, it was the first quake they ever experienced.
Their West Coast peers, more used to such rumblings, promptly started making fun of them.
"Really all this excitement over a 5.8 quake??? Come on East Coast, we have those for breakfast out here!!!!" wrote Dennis Miller, 50, a lifelong California resident whose house in Pleasanton sits on an earthquake fault line. He said he's had a number of people click "like" on his post on Facebook – all of them from the West Coast, though.
More here.
Today 5:42 PM Tar Sands Protests Continue In D.C.
Jamie Henn of 350.org wrote to The Huffington Post regarding the Tar Sands Action protests in D.C. He said, "Clearly, we're shaking things up."
Today 5:20 PM Image Of The National Cathedral Missing A Pinnacle
Chevy Chase Patch provides an image of the National Cathedral with a lost pinnacle here.
Today 5:13 PM D.C. Employees Wait On Sidewalks
HuffPost's Jen Bendery and Sara Kenigsberg report that in D.C., "employees from an array of government agencies and chain restaurants stood together along the sidewalks for more than an hour as their buildings were being cleared for re-entry." More here.
Today 5:08 PM Earthquake Felt During Indians-Mariners Game
Associated Press reports:
CLEVELAND -- Shock waves from an earthquake on the East Coast made the press box sway slightly and sent some fans toward the exits during the first game of a doubleheader between the Indians and Seattle Mariners.
As the Mariners were batting in the fourth inning Tuesday, the press box high above home plate and the third-base line moved left and right and continued for nearly 30 seconds. Fans sitting in the upper deck at Progressive Field noticed the unusual movement, and weren't sure what was happening.
More here.
Today 4:56 PM Data Suggests Over 96% Of Quake Conversation Occurred On Twitter
According to this Purple Strategies analysis of Radian6 data, there were 743,000 online posts mentioning "earthquake" as of 2:48 p.m. ET and 96.7% of the public conversation took place on Twitter.
Today 4:55 PM USGS Records 2 Aftershocks
The USGS has now recorded two aftershocks measuring 2.8 and 2.2 in magnitude.
Today 4:49 PM Earthquake May Have Distracted From Larger Threat Of Hurricane
HuffPost's Lynne Peeples reports:
Has today's earthquake distracted East Coasters from a greater pending threat?
The National Hurricane Center forecasts Hurricane Irene's winds will peak at about 125 mph over the next few days, as the storm makes its way through the Bahamas and up the eastern seaboard -- potentially as far north as New England.
The result could very well be a double or even triple-whammy of natural hazards for some regions. “The flooding may be intensified in areas that have received torrential rainfall recently this month, such as coastal areas of the Northeast,” reported AccuWeather.com.
During a press conference on the earthquake, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg said that he is “more concerned” about the approaching hurricane, according to a tweet from The New York Times’ Michael Paulson.
“There is nothing between where Irene is now and the U.S. in keeping it from not intensifying further into a major hurricane,” Chris Hyde, a meteorologist with MDA EarthSat Weather in Gaithersburg, Md., told Bloomberg News. “The water temperatures are warm especially when you get to the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream is going to explode this thing.”
Today 4:42 PM WATCH: Dog Reacts To Virginia Quake
A YouTube user has uploaded video of a dog reacting to the earthquake in Virginia.
WATCH:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HwkPC8mX3Q&feature=player_embedded#t=0s