Post by James on May 7, 2008 11:15:12 GMT -5
ANNANDALE, Va. (WUSA)- If you thought you felt the earth move on Tuesday, you were not alone. Many residents across the area heard and felt the effects of a small earthquake centered in the northern Virginia suburbs. Advertisement
Officials with the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed a small earthquake occurred Tuesday afternoon about 1:30 p.m. The quake had a magnitude 2.0. It was centered three miles west of Annandale Va.
U.S.G.S. officials described it as 10 kilometers deep, meaning the seismic activity occurred at a relatively shallow depth, which they say is typical of the quakes that have occurred in the east.
Regardless of the scientific explanation, many residents felt the tremors and heard the rumbling sound, and lit up the switchboards of area police and fire departments. Fairfax county police in particular reported they received a high volume of calls.
Initially it was thought the shaking and rumbling may have been the result of some blasting scheduled at Fort Belvoir. But it was determined that the blasting expected to occur during a construction project there had not actually happened at the time the tremors were felt, and officials at the miltary base and at U.S.G.S said that the tremors felt were not the result of the detonation of explosives at Fort Belvoir.
Officials with the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed a small earthquake occurred Tuesday afternoon about 1:30 p.m. The quake had a magnitude 2.0. It was centered three miles west of Annandale Va.
U.S.G.S. officials described it as 10 kilometers deep, meaning the seismic activity occurred at a relatively shallow depth, which they say is typical of the quakes that have occurred in the east.
Regardless of the scientific explanation, many residents felt the tremors and heard the rumbling sound, and lit up the switchboards of area police and fire departments. Fairfax county police in particular reported they received a high volume of calls.
Initially it was thought the shaking and rumbling may have been the result of some blasting scheduled at Fort Belvoir. But it was determined that the blasting expected to occur during a construction project there had not actually happened at the time the tremors were felt, and officials at the miltary base and at U.S.G.S said that the tremors felt were not the result of the detonation of explosives at Fort Belvoir.