BREAKING: EARTHQUAKE IN DC

[Pelranius]

Was in the GWU bookstore when the whole place started shaking. I thought it was the wind at first then realized it was DC, then thought of earthquakes, dismissed earthquakes and then concluded earthquakes. Whole buildings shut down for an hour. Nothing is going to get done today.

[Gil Hamilton]

My votes on gays in the military.

I thought God punished Japan for DADT already.

[Broomstick]

In that case, maybe it was for the Fukushima meltdown what with God having such aiming issues....

[Gil Hamilton]

We knew that from Katrina, where one of the least damaged areas was the French Quarter of New Orleans.

[Agent Fisher]

And cue people in California: Bah, 5.9? Wake me up when it's 7.0, then we'll talk.

[FSTargetDrone]

I'm in Royersford, PA, about 25 miles outside of Philadelphia, more or less. Was in my kitchen when it happened. Didn't feel a thing, but a neighborhood upstairs felt it. I talked to several of the property maintenance workers as well as the office manager when I saw them outside checking the buildings (wood frame on concrete slabs). One of the men was downstairs in another building working on a hot water heater. He felt nothing. Tenant who was upstairs at the time came down and asked what racket was. Many highrises in Philadelphia evacuated. My sister works just outside the city, her building was evacuated. A friend in town here said her building (metal framed/masonry factory converted to apartments), less than a mile away from me, developed a horizontal crack. I drove around town, didn't see as much a popped window in any of the old masonry structures or other tall buildings. Cell coverage is spotty, up and down.

[Pu-239]

In northern VA here, thought it was some drilling or whatever initially. GMU seems to have closed down for the day, and had something fall down somewhere in the house.

[Simon_Jester]

And cue people in California: Bah, 5.9? Wake me up when it's 7.0, then we'll talk.

Hey, don't look at me, the only reason I ran outside was because I didn't think it was an earthquake.

No, my thought process was:

"Huh, maybe it's an earthquake. Well, it's not shaking much, things should be fine... oh shit what if it's the three-ton ball of liquid sodium downstairs about to let go? RUN!"

[FSTargetDrone]

In Philadelphia, Septa service was disrupted for a time. All the nuclear power plants in Pennsylvania are up and running normally:

Posted on Tue, Aug. 23, 2011

Phila. area rocked by Va. quake

Staff Report

A moderate earthquake centered in Virginia rattled Philadelphia, the surrounding Pennsylvania suburbs and South Jersey, triggering alarm and sparking evacuations but causing no major damage.

Aftershocks are expected, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Tall buildings from Center City, to Wilmington and Atlantic City were evacuated, including Philadelphia City Hall.

Phone circuits were jammed after the ground shook around 1:55 p.m. and police urged residents not to call 911 except in an actual emergency. Anyone smelling fumes should call 311 or the Philadelphia Gas Works.

There are no immediate reports of any serious injuries.

Reports of damage were minor.

The tremor cracked a window at the Blue Cross Building at 19th and Market Streets. In Cherry Hill, an official said a "structural crack" was visible on the 13-story Towers of Windsor apartment complex.

A gas leak was reported on Craig Drive in Deptford, prompting the evacuation of some residents.

The quake triggered an early evening rush hour and police mobilized for an exodus by commuters from Center City.

The Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse at 6th and Market Streets and city's Criminal Justice Center closed ahead of schedule.

The Comcast tower, the city's tallest skyscraper, reported no damage but sent its workers home early as a precaution.

Just before 3 p.m., Mayor Nutter reported that all city buildings appeared safe and ordered city workers back to their work locations.

"We got an assessment through department heads and commissioners, all their facilities, everything appears to be fine," Nutter said. "We are contacting private building owners throughout Philadelphia, they need to check their buildings with their own engineers." He said city inspectors from Licenses and Inspections would be available to help any owners with concerns.

The mayor said there had been some reports of people smelling gas in a couple of locations, but the situations appeared to be minor and it was unclear if they had anything to do with the earthquake.

None of the city's roads, highways or bridges appeared to have been affected by the quake, Cutler said.

At 3:45 p.m., SEPTA placed speed restrictions of 30 mph on the Broad Street Line, Market Frankford Line and trolley lines until visual or on-foot inspections of all track, tunnels, bridges and overpasses were made. Service resumed at 4:15. Regional Rail trains are operating at normal speeds, but passengers should expect delays of at least 60 minutes throughout the evening rush. Shuttle buses are being used on the Broad Street Line between Walnut-Locust and AT&T Stations while track inspections take place.

Rina Cutler, the deputy mayor responsible for transportation and utilities, said the Broad Street Subway Line was closed south of Walnut-Locust because inspectors had noticed a crack in the ceiling near Broad and Snyder Streets. It was unclear whether the crack resulted from the earthquake, she said, service south of Walnut Street resumed after 4 p.m.

The PATCO High Speed Line suspended all service for about two hours.

Philadelphia International Airport instituted a "ground stop" under which flights to Philadelphia were held at their departing cities until crews inspected the runways. Similar ground stops were reported up and down the East Coast until flights were allowed to resume around 3 p.m.

PECO reported no problems.

Citizens Bank Park was evacuated, but members from both the Phillies and Mets teams remained inside. The game will be played as a scheduled, the Phillies announced.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the temblor measured an estimated 5.9 on the Richter scale and was centered 34 miles northwest of Richmond, Va.

The shaking was felt from North Carolina to Ohio and New York City and even Martha's Vineyard, where President Obama and his family are vacationing.

It was probably the strongest quake in central Virginia since a 4.8 temblor in 1875.

Two nuclear reactors near the epicenter were taken off line, officials said.

All the nuclear plants in this region continue to operate but a number have declared what are called "unusual events" due to seismic activity. An "unusual event" is the lowest of the emergency declarations, according to Diane Screnci of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

"Our chairs were shaking, trembling," said Arlene Henry, who works in the city human resources department on the 15th floor of the Municipal Services Building. "I thought it was just me. Then I thought, I've got to get out of here."

"I was scared. I left my cellphone and everything," said Charles Gilmore, who works in the city Finance Department on the 13th floor of the building and walked down the stairs.

Zack Stalberg, president of the Committee of Seventy government watchdog group, was heading up to his office on the 10th floor of 8 Penn Center when the elevator car he was in began shaking.

When the doors opened on his floor, before he could exit, frightened people began running into the car to get out of the building.

"That's was my first clue that something unusual was happening," Stalberg said.

Wyncote author Charles Fishman was at the Philadelphia International Airport, ready to board a flight for Dallas, when the concrete walls and pillars began to shake noticeably.

"It took my brain a moment to realize," he said. But as soon as it did, and he began to think he shouldn't be sitting where he was, the shaking stopped. "It couldn't have lasted more than two to three seconds," he said.

He turned to the flight attendant and said, "That was an earthquake."

She answered, "It was? I thought they were just moving baggage."

No one panicked, but everyone started talking. "People had that wide-eyed, surprised look," he said.

Virginia Wilks, a resident of the Richard Allen Homes in North Philadelphia, said she thought her cat was clawing at her blankets from under the bed.

"Then I saw the TV shaking," said a rattled Wilks.

At the Jersey Shore, the sand "felt like jello" said Al Battaglia, coming off the beach at Dorset Ave in Ventnor.

"The lifeguards jumped out of their stands because the stand was shaking," he said. "We thought out son snuck up behind me and was shaking our chairs."

Chris Megella, 9, of Spring City, was in the surf when he felt the sand moving beneath him. "I fell on my knees," he said.

On the Florida Avenue beach in Atlantic City, Amber Cobb, 15, of Mullica, was awakened from a nap. She had the same sensation voiced by so many: Is this just me? "I felt like I was going crazy," she said. "Everybody looked up, it was like, oh my God. Then the text messages started."

In Atlantic City, casino guests on high floors said they felt the buildings sway. "We were looking out the window and the floor was moving," said Janice Ceriello of Glen Cove, N.Y., who had just checked in to the 32d floor of Caesars. "I felt seasick.

"Then we went to lunch."

At the slots at Bally's, gamblers took it in stride.

"The chairs were shaking," said Tracy Currie, 46, of North Carolina.

"We were looking at each other saying did you feel that? I got up and looked out the window to see if there was any tsunami. Then we went on playing."

Hundreds of state employees were evacuated from the state Capitol in Harrisburg when the earthquake struck, shaking windows and floors in the century-old building and causing papers to fall off shelves in some offices.

Among the evacuees was Auditor General Jack Wagner who had scheduled 2 p.m. news conference in his second floor office to announce an immediate audit of Philadelphia school chief Arlene Ackerman's contract buyout deal.

"I was sitting in my office and sensed the walls moving and then the table where I was sitting started to vibrate and I realized something serous was happening," said Wagner, standing in a park outside the Capitol complex looking at the 90-year-old state finance building. "It tells us how potentially vulnerable we are."

The heavy, ornate brass chandeliers in House Majority leader's office Mike Turzai's office just off the Capitol Rotunda started swayed as if someone was swinging from them, witnesses said.

"You could feel vibrations on floor and the chandelier is big they don't move on their own," said Trisha Graham, deputy press secretary. "At first I didn't know what do expect I'd never felt one before but when vibrations subsided it was apparent it was an earthquake. It almost felt you were rollercoaster sitting down."

Workers were later allowed to return to the Capitol building.

[Terralthra]

And cue people in California: Bah, 5.9? Wake me up when it's 7.0, then we'll talk.

Pretty much, yeah. Though frankly, it's an unreasonable reaction. Skyscrapers and buildings out here are designed to withstand earthquakes far in excess of 5.9, where brick & mortar buildings and such have a much greater tendency to come to pieces, sway poorly, or tip in a smaller earthquake than would be the case out here.

[Agent Fisher]

And cue people in California: Bah, 5.9? Wake me up when it's 7.0, then we'll talk.

Pretty much, yeah. Though frankly, it's an unreasonable reaction. Skyscrapers and buildings out here are designed to withstand earthquakes far in excess of 5.9, where brick & mortar buildings and such have a much greater tendency to come to pieces, sway poorly, or tip in a smaller earthquake than would be the case out here.

I know. Just proves us Californians are superior to those of the East Coast.

[Terralthra]

And cue people in California: Bah, 5.9? Wake me up when it's 7.0, then we'll talk.

Pretty much, yeah. Though frankly, it's an unreasonable reaction. Skyscrapers and buildings out here are designed to withstand earthquakes far in excess of 5.9, where brick & mortar buildings and such have a much greater tendency to come to pieces, sway poorly, or tip in a smaller earthquake than would be the case out here.

I know. Just proves us Californians are superior to those of the East Coast.

It proves we've each designed our urban areas around natural threats we anticipate and can predict happening more regularly. SF and LA would be utterly and completely paralyzed by 2 feet of snow. NYC gets at least that much most years.

[Agent Fisher]

*snip other quotes*

It proves we've each designed our urban areas around natural threats we anticipate and can predict happening more regularly. SF and LA would be utterly and completely paralyzed by 2 feet of snow. NYC gets at least that much most years.

Are you related to Buzz Killington?


But on the original topic, glad to see there wasn't any real damage.

[CaptainChewbacca]

I was confused when I got up because last night I'd seen on the news there was a mid-5 quake in Colorado. Then I got a bunch of texts about a quake in VIRGINIA, and I kept thinking 'no, you guys mean Colorado'.

Wacky. A 4.5 aftershock anywhere near DC is going to do a lot of damage. If this thing had been just a little stronger it would've shut America down.

[Sea Skimmer]

Working outside near Philadelphia, didn’t feel a thing but I did hear a sudden wave of dogs barking, which I thought little of other then ‘a bit odd’ in that they all started barking at once. Then the homeowner, who just moved to town a week ago came out asking me if I felt anything because she’d felt it and had her glass sway back and forth. I said no, but that it sounded like an earthquake and that I’ve never felt one in my life but people tell me you can feel one in PA about once every one or two years. Didn’t know it actually was one until an hour and a half later.

[Broomstick]

"This Catastrophe Drill brought to you by Mother Nature. This was only a drill. If this was an actual catastrophe there would have been lots more running and screaming about."

[Raj Ahten]

From where I was in Chantilly the quake didn't seem like much. Mainly because I was in my car when it happened. It felt like I was being buffeted by high winds.

This shows once more that DC is screwed if we ever have to evacuate for something serious as there were epic traffic jams after practically every building downtown was evacuated as a precaution.

[eion]

From where I was in Chantilly the quake didn't seem like much. Mainly because I was in my car when it happened. It felt like I was being buffeted by high winds.

This shows once more that DC is screwed if we ever have to evacuate for something serious as there were epic traffic jams after practically every building downtown was evacuated as a precaution.

They didn't activate any of the mass evacuation plans though. If memory serves in an actual evactuation they would close 66 and 95 to inbound traffic, bring in first responders that way, and then turn both those roads into one way outbound only to double the evacuation capacity and bus as many people as possible. On top of that you can just walk people across the bridges into arlington to be taken downriver or out via air from Washington National Airport, or via bus from the the Pentagon parking lot. DC is actually better off than a lot of cities evacuation wise because you have highway access from all 4 directions. When they've actually tested the evacuation plan (which they've done twice in the last ten years during the mass exodus following the 4th of July Fireworks), they've actually done alright.

[Simon_Jester]

Do you know if any elements of the evacuation plan were used for Obama's inauguration? That had some of the same elements.

[FSTargetDrone]

The Washington Monument has cracked:

Washington Monument top cracked by earthquake

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

(08-23) 19:19 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --

The National Park Service says engineers have found a crack near the top of the Washington Monument presumably caused by a magnitude-5.8 earthquake that shook the East Coast.

Park service spokesman Bill Line said Tuesday night that structural engineers found the crack where the 555-foot landmark narrows considerably.

He says the monument will be closed indefinitely to keep the public safe.

An outside engineering service will study the crack on Wednesday.

The 91,000-ton monument is made of Maryland marble.

[JME2]

Now the East Coast knows what it's like living in California on the middle of God's Etch-A-Sketch.

Seriously, this is unprecedented and I'm glad there was no real damage.

[Enigma]

My wife felt it but I didn't and we live in the NE part of Ohio.

I read online that the earthquake was felt as far north as my hometown of Ottawa, Ont., Canada. That's roughly 650miles from the epicenter. It wasn't a particularly strong earthquake but imagine if it was a 7.0 earthquake.

[weemadando]

Some horrible pictures of the devastation left behind by the quake.

However will the East Coast recover from this massive, devastating event?

[Oni Koneko Damien]

The net leaps into action to show our strength and solidarity in the wake of this disaster:

[Broomstick]

Seriously, this is unprecedented and I'm glad there was no real damage.

Unprecedented? No, there have been quakes before in that region, the last significant one a little over a century ago. It only seems unprecedented because of the time span involved.

But yes, good that there are no reported injuries and only minor damage.