WASHINGTON, D.C.—On a sunny Tuesday afternoon at approximately 1:55 p.m. EST in Virginia, just south of Washington, D.C., many small communities were rocked by a 5.9 earthquake on the Richter scale. It may be a normal occurrence for those of us in sunny Southern California, but for the Mid Atlantic region, it is extremely rare. Though quakes do hit the region, they are normally tremors, which many people associate with the rock quarry explosions that have gone on in that region since the late 1800s or construction work as well. However, this quake shattered glass, broke dishes and was felt as far west as Alabama, Illinois and Indiana, as far south as Georgia and the northern states (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York), and the northern bordering nation of Canada also reported rumbling and shaking.
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My cousin Vickie, who lives in Maryland, contacted me immediately, reminding me that she and relatives of ours are all fine, including her daughter Faye, who lives in New York City, her son Ron, who resides in Maryland and her dad Earl, who is home in Maryland, while his wife Ethel is traveling the nation of Australia with a group of ladies from her church.
In Buckingham, longtime friend Tanya reported, “I have broken picture frames and dishes on the floor, but the kids are fine, so all is ok. I actually feel sick at the stomach.” Tanya, her husband Brad and three beautiful children are just happy that no one was harmed in the region.
In northern Virginia, where the U.S. Pentagon is located, minor damage to pipes and some minor structural damage was reported at the National Cathedral. The Pentagon officials and employees immediately evacuated the building, fearing an explosion or some other possible terrorist attack. On September 11, 2001, the Pentagon was struck by a hijacked plane, which had taken off from nearby Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia, so employees in the building were on alert for any possible attacks.
The epicenter for the quake was located in nearby Mineral, Va., which is in Louisa County, where one of the nation’s nuclear power plants is also located. The North Anna Power Station, which is owned by Dominion Power Company based out of Richmond, Va., was immediately put offline, however, power backup immediately engaged and began distributing water to cool the facility’s sensitive nuclear equipment. Everything went as planned for emergency situations at the power plant, and the facility is back online and reporting no major damage and no other problems.
Cell phone service appeared to be down from Virginia through Maryland, where my brother Keith contacted me to notify me that he and other relatives were fine. Childhood friend Loretta posted on Facebook, “I am still in shock.” Stacy said, “Earthquake!! Crazy! Drew lived in California for four years and said he never felt one like that."
In New York City, one of my best friends, Roger Hitts and his beautiful daughter Liana, also experienced the quake. “I’ve lived in Los Angeles and was fascinated when the occasional tremor occurred, to the point where you could see the highway gently roll like a wave. But I sure never expected it in New York City. Just before 2 p.m., while sitting on the bed in our bedroom, the bed felt like one of those vibrating machines they used to have on hotel beds. It lasted about 15 seconds, briefly paused and started up again for 10-12 seconds. My daughter (Liana) and wife (Daphna) ran into the bedroom and we managed to make it down the six flights of stairs in our co-op in about two minutes flat! When we realized we had endured all that seemed to be coming, we returned to our building after about 15 minutes. A little tremor on a beautiful summer day in New York City - but because of all our city has endured I think it made people a little more jumpy.”
Liana Hitts tells Canyon News, “It was definitely a good experience to have in case something worse happens. Maybe a little scary, but very exciting!”
Leave it to children to describe things best. Young Wyatt told his beautiful mom Tanya, “Mom, I got shook to my toes.” Good luck Wyatt and all the kids back home in Virginia, who return to school tomorrow after summer break.
Aftershocks are expected and may occur anytime over the next several days or even months. The Mid Atlantic region is now bracing for a possible hurricane making landfall, which is a lot more scary than the quake, which interrupted soaps “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “All My Children” and “Days of Our Lives” in communities where these shows are daily entertainment.
