Earthquake shakes East Coast

[Christian]

Why did no one mention it yet?

Earthquake jolts millions on East Coast: 'This felt big'
By Dana Ford and Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
August 24, 2011 -- Updated 0247 GMT (1047 HKT)


(CNN) -- Confusion and then an uneasy calm.

That's how residents up and down the East Coast described their reaction to the 5.8-magnitude earthquake that rattled millions of people Tuesday.

The quake, which struck at 1:51 p.m., was shallow -- just 3.7 miles deep. The epicenter was about 40 miles northwest of Richmond, Virginia, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It sent tremors throughout the region, surprising people at least as far away as New York, Ohio and Georgia.

Sarah Merz said her co-worker in Camden, New Jersey, was the first one to notice the rumbling.

"She said, 'What is that? Is it a train?' Everyone kind of started looking at each other. Everyone's eyes just kind of widened, and we all just ran to the front door."

People stood stunned outside for a few minutes, she said.

"All of the sudden your heart starts to pound because you know on the East Coast, this just doesn't happen. It made me nervous at first, but then at the same time it's kind of this crazy curiosity."

Even an hour after the quake, Merz, 28, said she still felt dizzy.

"You're like, wait, am I moving? You keep second-guessing yourself. ... You start thinking too much. You're like, is it happening again?"

When she sat down at her desk, Merz noticed her framed college diploma was still vibrating on the wall.

Stories like hers poured in from across the East Coast as residents, generally not used to earthquakes, struggled in the early moments of the temblor to understand what was happening.

continued..
[CNN.com]

I didn't know until yesterday that earthquakes could happen over there, it even was strong enough to damage the Washington Monument..

[Jenn and tonic]

Yeah, and it did some major damage to the National Cathedral as well.

Well, people get really surprised that Oklahoma has earthquakes. Not big ones by any stretch of the imagine (biggest ever was a 4 point), but we get them. According to my mom, an earthquake guru, you can feel an earthquake just about anywhere on earth. Whether that does happen is another story, but it can, if that makes any sense.

Let's see...who are our east coasters? Tyne, she's not around anymore but I think she lives or lived in NY...EC and Goddess Divine, might have felt it...Bleedblack, I THINK is an east coaster too, I seem to recall he lives or lived in Maryland. Can't think of who else lives out there.

[EmperorChaos]

Sytrohs lives in VA but I haven't spoken to him.


We didn't feel it down here although a lot of people claim they did. I think they're full of shit. I think most people who claimed to feel it were just feeling their cell phones and the social networks that were abuzz, if you get my meaning.

As for earthquakes... we have about 3 per year here that can be felt in the right circumstances (that is, in a concrete or sturdy building that won't absorb the shock so well or in the right area of Charleston).

The thing about this quake and many others on the east coast is this: The fault line that causes these quakes is DEEP beneath the surface. This one originated like 6.1km or something.

These types of quakes (called intraplate quakes) can be felt over very wide ranges because of how deep they are. They also typically have aftershocks that last in the vicinity of DECADES.

For more detail, read the entire Wikipedia article on the 1886 Charleston earthquake. The entirety of the page (the info of which I will vouch for, having added some of it myself :P) is informative enough for you to get an understanding of just what these intraplate earthquakes are capable of.

[Kortenie]

I live on the atlantic, but I wasn't up far enough. The closest it got was Fredericton, which is about a 6 hr drive. And the majority of people that felt that were in tall buildings. So it was magnified a little for them due to the height of the buildings.

[Christian]

We do have such kind of smaller earthquakes here in Germany, in the lower Rhine region, too and just had a surprisingly 'big' one a week ago:

[Earthquake shakes the Rhineland]

I guess I'd freak out if I'd ever experience one of those noticeable earthquakes.
I fancy storms, but earthquakes? Hell no.