Anyone else feel the earthquake? My daughter did (here in Scott Township). I'm jealous. I was vaacuming and missed the whole thing. Always was mildly curious what it would be like.
I grew up in WV near the VA boarder in the Eastern Panhandle, much closer to DC than to Pittsburgh. I talked to my parents a little bit ago. Water sloshed in pitcher on the table, glasses and such rattled on shelves. Must have been pretty noticable - it actually woke my dad from a nap.
CNN is reporting residential structural damage at epicenter. No major injuries as yet per their reporting. Might be some loose stones on the Washington Monument and possibly some damage to spires on the National Cathedral in Georgetown (DC).
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Don't you love it when a SCIENCE lesson comes to the news without the spectre of injury or fatalities? For example, USGS in CNN interview cites the reason this quake was felt so widely (Toronto, Boston, Atlanta...and my husband in downtown Pittsburgh) is that the eastern part of the US is part of a single tectonic plate, rather than multiple plates like the west coast. So the 5.9 in VA today (www.usgs.gov) isn't so much worse than what they get in California...it is just a bigger chunk of real estate along for the ride.
Had to laugh. Keith Olbermann tweeted that he saw the Fox News ticker actually reassuring people that there is no tsunami risk with this...tsunami (tidal waves) happen in coastal areas after underwater earthquakes. Last I looked Mineral VA was quite a bit inland and above water.
Find out what's happening in Chartiers Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
It is interesting too, that today's tarot was the High Priestess, "mystery". Earthquakes might have been mysterious and frightening in the pre-scientific past. Now we know, and earthquakes of the minor sort are science lesson instead of mystery. Understanding what is really happening might take out the mystery...but it takes out the fear too.
