Magnitude 5.8 earthquake shakes Virginia, D.C. and New York

[Hardbopjazz]

My glass of water started to shake a few minutes ago in NYC and now CNN reports a 5.8 quake on the east coast.

Anyone on the east of the US feel it?

Edited August 24, 2011 by Hardbopjazz

[Christiern]

I thought I was imagining things. Sure, I felt movement—thanks for making me feel better about it!

[BERIGAN]

Thankfully, it was "only" a 5.8-6.0 earthquake. Though they still have closed JFK , a ways away from the earthquake epicenter.

[Face of the Bass]

Thankfully, it was "only" a 5.8-6.0 earthquake. Though they still have closed JFK , a ways away from the earthquake epicenter.

I felt it up here in Albany, NY. I was sitting at my computer when everything started gently shaking for about 15-20 seconds.

[Michael Weiss]

My apartment (10th floor) was swaying big time. I busted my ass down the stairwell to the street. It's amazing there's apparently no damage. I'm the one that's still shaking.

[jeffcrom]

I felt it (slightly) here in Atlanta, but didn't recognize it for what it was until I saw the news on CNN.com. I've never been in an earthquake, really, so I didn't understand why my chair was vibrating. I kept looking around to see if one of my cats was pawing the chair.

Michael (and everyone else, I hope), I'm glad everything is okay.

[Stefan Wood]

Was in the basement at the National Gallery when the whole damn place started to shake. Bailed out onto the Mall, where a bunch of other people from other museums did the same thing. Frightening.

[Dan Gould]

My brother works in DC, near the Pentagon, said other buildings were evacuating but not his. Other brother in Harrisburg felt it strongly, lives in an massive stone and iron and steel building and said it shook and swayed.

And now y'all get to look forward to a hurricane on Sunday, while those of us in Florida enjoy some sunshine. (Hope I didn't just jinx myself.)

[Brownian Motion]

State College checking in. Tsunamis expected any minute now...

[JETman]

Nada felt in Chestwester, NY.

[Neal Pomea]

Fine in Colesville Maryland. Where DC was originally shaped like a baseball diamond, I am right at second base, on the dirt. Didn't even lose electricity.

My work building had visible hairline cracks from top to bottom, but no broken windows.

[kinuta]

Mine is bigger than yours !

Hope you chaps are all right.

[jlhoots]

5.5 earthquake in southern Colorado / northern New Mexico.

Strongest in 40 years in the area.

Didn't feel anything here in Santa Fe.

[Rooster_Ties]

I was home in our apartment here in DC (Columbia Heights) when it hit, and our building shook one heck of a lot. Seemed like 30-45 seconds in all, but I suspect it was shorter. I'm surprized nothing fell off the shelves, as much as everything shook. Our car ran under the bed, and wouldn't come out for almost 2 hours.

Not something I was expecting when I moved to the east coast, to put it mildly.

[Jim R]

Our car ran under the bed, and wouldn't come out for almost 2 hours.

Classic typo.

[Shawn]

My Mother said she felt it in West Virginia, about 90 miles west of D.C.

[Ron S]

Felt it in Philly--everything in my home office (and apparently the rest of the house) rattled for a few seconds.

[Adam]

Didn't feel a thing here in Los Angeles. Glad I live here, away from all those places that have earthquakes!

[Aggie87]

Glad all my friends (and Ron too!) are doing ok!

[Big Wheel]

Rookies.

Amazing that the effects were felt over such a wide area and over the Appalachians. I guess the tectonics work very differently when it's not a straightforward junction between plates.

[7/4]

Didn't notice a thing. I was walking down the street on the way to the Dentist. I miss all the fun.

[Shawn]

Rookies.

Amazing that the effects were felt over such a wide area and over the Appalachians. I guess the tectonics work very differently when it's not a straightforward junction between plates.

from an NPR story:

East Coast earthquakes are typically felt in a wider area than those in California. That's because the Earth's crust is more solid in the East, and it carries seismic waves better than in the more fractured West Coast crust.

[GA Russell]

I felt a brief and mild earthquake in York, PA, ca. 1983. I was standing at the time, and felt the tremble pass under one foot and then the other.

Today in Raleigh I felt nothing. I heard on the national news that they felt it in Wilmington, so I'm surprised that we didn't get anything here.

[GregK]

ann arbor.com reports that people felt it in SE Michigan. I did not, however.

[RDK]

Possible explanations...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/ridiculous-explanations-for-the-east-coast-earthqu