D.C., N.Y. areas evacuate as quake felt across East

[Annan]

There was a 5.9 magnatude earthquake in VA this afternoon.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44245009/ns/us_news-life/#.TlPvS6jAGuI

I felt it all the way up in NY

I live in the foothills of the Alleghany Mountains in southwestern Pennsylvania.  I was on the phone with a friend who lives only a few miles from me when she started yelling like crazy.  She said her whole house shook and the couch she was sitting on starting walking across the floor.  We live in coal country and she thought the mine shafts underneath her house had collapsed.  I didn't feel a thing.  

I'm so glad I didn't feel the earthquake.  Such a think would no doubt make me quite hysterical.

[veggiewolf]

There was a 5.9 magnatude earthquake in VA this afternoon.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44245009/ns/us_news-life/#.TlPvS6jAGuI

I felt it all the way up in NY

We felt it here in SE PA, but my parents on the other side of town did not.

[Ocelot]

We felt it here in SE PA, but my parents on the other side of town did not.

 
Apparently, according to the news reports, East coast quakes are felt over a much greater area than west coast quakes. This is due to the east coast being more bedrock and the west having a softer crust to absorb the tremors.

[Aisling]

There was a 5.9 magnatude earthquake in VA this afternoon.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44245009/ns/us_news-life/#.TlPvS6jAGuI

I felt it all the way up in NY

 
It made its presence felt in western North Carolina as well.  We initially thought it was a local quake as we get small magnitude rumblings occassionally.  I'm just glad the damage reports seem to be fairly minimal.

[mandrina]

There was a 5.9 magnatude earthquake in VA this afternoon.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44245009/ns/us_news-life/#.TlPvS6jAGuI

I felt it all the way up in NY

 


My inlaws near fredericksburg felt it, but they're fine.

[mlr52]

Okay maybe rock giants than lol.

 
Tell Thor never mind about the Ice and Rock Giants, take his wrath out on Both Houses of Congress.

[Garm]

There was a 5.9 magnatude earthquake in VA this afternoon.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44245009/ns/us_news-life/#.TlPvS6jAGuI

I felt it all the way up in NY

I got the Northen edge of it

I was falling asleep at the time

I just thought "WTF, either the guy in the next room is moving his furniture around or that's an earthquake.  If it's an earthquake, I'll find out about it later."

Then I dozed off

And sho' 'nuff.....

[Aster Breo]

I was falling asleep at the time

 
I felt it here in MD, just outside of DC.  It actually woke me up from a sound sleep, and lasted maybe 30 seconds, during which my daughter and I just stared at each other in disbelief.

My first thought was actually "9/11".  Which is sad, I guess.  It's the 3rd or 4th I've felt here over the last 45 years.

Schools are closed around here tomorrow -- I'm assuming that's just so they can inspect all the buildings and make sure they're safe.  I don't know why else they'd close school because of an earthquake.  The DC fire department apparently evacuated the entire downtown area, which was a mess, since Metro was running all trains at no more than 15 miles per hour while a system-wide inspection took place.  The Capitol, White House, Pentagon, all the monuments, and the Smithsonians all evacuated and closed down.  Sounded like a lot of overkill to me.  Although I did hear that there's a crack somewhere in the Washington Monument.

This graphic really says it all.  

[Inca]

While most things seem to turn out ok, it is still noteworthy I think:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-08-23/Earthquake-rocks-East-Coast/50107542/1
The Lake Anna plant was very close to the epicentre.

Voor de beving was ooit gezegd:
   
"Mar 30, 2011 5:33 PM EST
The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission has ranked the earthquake damage risk at all 104 nuclear power plants in this country. The pair operated by Dominion Power, at Lake Anna in eastern Louisa County, come in at 7th most 'at risk' on the list.

According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, North Anna 1 and 2 face an annual 1 in 22,727 chance of the core being damaged by an earthquake and exposing the public to radiation. The national average for U.S. nuclear plants is a 1 in 74,000 chance.[...]
According to Jim Norvelle with Dominion Power, North Anna was designed to withstand a magnitude 5.9 – 6.1 earthquake."
http://m.nbc29.com/default.aspx?pid=2771&wnfeedurl=http://www.nbc29.com/story/14265528/lake-anna-reactor-ranked-7th-most-at-risk-for-earthquake-damage%3Fredirected%3Dtrue%26clienttype%3Drssstory#top

Na de beving:
   "Dominion spokesman Jim Norvelle said the plant was designed to withstand an earthquake of up to 6.2 in magnitude.

But some experts expressed concern about the narrow margin between the design metrics and the quake's size.

"It was uncomfortably close to design basis," said Edwin Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists, which has pushed for stronger nuclear regulations."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/24/us-quake-usa-nuclear-dominion-idUSTRE77M8C120110824