2011 Virginia earthquake
( 14 km southwest of Richmond 141 km southwest of Washington, D.C. )
Northeastern United States and part of Canada
Map of the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake
The earthquake in Virginia in 2011 occurred on Tuesday, 23 August 2011, at 17:51 UTC ( 13:51 local time). The quake lasted about 30 seconds. The epicenter was about 140 kilometers southwest of Washington, DC and 60 km north- west of Richmond. The magnitude of the earthquake was measured from the United States Geological Survey (USGS ) with Mw 5.8 on the moment magnitude scale. The quake was measured at a depth of 6 km (3.7 mi). The earthquake was felt as far as Canada.
It was the strongest quake in Virginia since the earthquake of 5 May 1897 in Giles County, with 5.8 Mw or 5.9 Mw on the moment magnitude scale.
Aftershocks
Eight aftershocks followed after the actual earthquake. The first three- entered within 12 hours after the main quake, they were measured with 2.8 Mw, 2.2 Mw and 4.2 Mw on the moment magnitude scale. Another 2.5 Mw strong aftershock occurred shortly after midnight on August 25. At 1:08 local time on August 25, the strongest of the eight aftershocks occurred, with a magnitude of 4.5 Mw this aroused the people of West Virginia and Washington, DC
Effects
United States
Earthquakes are very rare on the east coast of the United States which is why many buildings are not earthquake safe are built in the region. Minor to major damage to buildings were widespread.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal Emergency Management Agency used a one-hour delay, a fact sheet: "What to do during an earthquake? " This suggests, " Stay as safe as it goes Remember that some earthquakes in truth are only foreshocks and a. could be followed by larger earthquakes. reduce your movement to a few steps to the nearest safe place to go. " If you are in the inside, it suggests: " Go to ground, crawl under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture, and stay there until the shaking stops. "
In the Mid-Atlantic States, the mobile network operators AT & T and Verizon Wireless was briefly overloaded.
Washington, D.C.
In Washington, D.C. several buildings were briefly evacuated, among others, the Capitol, the White House and in Virginia, the Department of Defense. The staff of the Defense Ministry were asked to leave the building immediately; after 15 minutes they were able to return to their jobs again.
The earthquake collapsed three of the four spiers of the main tower of Washington National Cathedral. The main tower seems to lean because of the quake. According to CNN, cracks were formed at the top of the Washington Monument, it was temporarily closed. Also, the Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial were temporarily closed. In a subsidiary BB & T Investment Bank on Pennsylvania Avenue and collapsed a wall. There was also damage to the Smithsonian Castle and the Pentagon. Power outages were in some parts of the city of Washington, and the mobile network was temporarily collapsed. The Washington Dulles International Airport, and Washington Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was closed at short notice.
The Ecuadorian embassy also reported damage, three broken-down chimneys and cracks on the interior walls. Only minor other damages were reported.
New England Region
The earthquake was felt across much of the six New England states, except in northern Maine.
In New Haven, the New Haven Open at Yale 2011 women's tennis tournament was interrupted for two hours. The stadium was evacuated while firefighters checked it for damage. The earthquake continued during the third set of a match between a Serb Jelena Jankovic and the Russian Jelena Sergejewna Wesnina. No damage or injuries were reported.
In the state of Massachusetts United States District Court was evacuated in South Boston and the University of Massachusetts Boston closed at short notice. No damage was reported on the Logan International Airport and most of the buildings were not evacuated.
New York
In the state of New York to Pennsylvania Station arriving and departing trains of Amtrak arrived at their destinations with a delay.
In New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg informed the public in a press conference on the happenings. Among other things, the city hall, the police headquarters and several high-rise buildings had to be evacuated. The John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport had to be momentarily disabled. The rail-based mass transit system AirTrain JFK, which connects the airport to the New York City Subway, was temporarily closed to check it for damage. About to property or personal injuries are no reports, even though the New York population times to emergency 911 called within half an hour of 6900, however, these more worried about the then impending Hurricane Irene.
Virginia
The North Anna nuclear power plant in Louisa County had to be shut down. According to Atomic Energy Authority no damage had been identified.
According to initial reports, there were major damage to homes, since the epicenter in Virginia. In mineral collapsed two houses. The roof of the City Hall is badly damaged. After damage to the main building of the Louisa County High School, all schools remained on Wednesday, 24 August closed. Also closed were all schools in Culpeper County and Spotsylvania County. In Culpeper 1821 built St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is in danger of collapsing in part. In the city of Fredericksburg tore a gas line, so had to be evacuated within two blocks houses.
Canada
The earthquake was also felt in Canada, most in southern Ontario, also partly in Quebec and the Maritimes. A few buildings were evacuated in Toronto, Greater Sudbury and Windsor precautionary measures have been taken.
Internet & Social Media
The United States Geological Survey received at their citizen science project "Did you feel it? " ( To German: "Did you feel it ?") About 60,000 letters in the first two hours after the earthquake, within 24 hours, the number of letters to over 100,000.
On Facebook, the word " earthquake " appeared in the status messages of 3 million users within four minutes after the earthquake. Users of Twitter sent up to 5,500 messages ( tweets ) per second, this amount of messages is comparable to the time at which the Operation Neptune 's Spear was completed, approximately the same amount of sent tweets per second were on the Tōhoku earthquake in 2011.
On the west coast of the United States media has been blasphemed loudly by Social. A 50 -year-old posted on Facebook the following message, which went in a short time around the world and ended up in the media:
"Really all this excitement over a 5.8 quake? Come on East Coast, we have Those for breakfast out here! "
"All the excitement because of an earthquake of magnitude 5.8? Come on East Coast, we have something here for breakfast! "
Pictures
- Pictures from the earthquake
Turned- down parts of the wall of the Ecuadorian Embassy in Washington DC
Damage in an office
Cracks in the Washington Monument