10 years later: The quake that rocked the East Coast
By
Rina Torchinsky, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Aug 23, 2021 11:19 AM EDT
|
Updated Aug 24, 2021 8:51 AM EDT
It's been a decade since a 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook the I-95 corridor for 58 seconds, causing $34 million in damages to the National Cathedral.
Ten years ago, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck Virginia, and tremors could be felt hundreds of miles up and down the eastern United States. Although it wasn’t the strongest quake to occur in the U.S., it was probably felt by more people than any earthquake in North America’s history, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Researchers say there's plenty to learn from it.
The afternoon earthquake shook the Washington Monument, ripped through chimneys on the Smithsonian Castle and shook a church in Virginia. Homes and other buildings as far as about 80 miles from the epicenter were damaged, according to the USGS. Property damage caused by the earthquake was estimated to be between $200 million and $300 million.
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With an epicenter in Louisa County, Virginia, the earthquake was felt in Philadelphia and New York City, all the way up and down the coast from Canada to Georgia. The seismic tremors were also stretched westward to Ohio and Illinois. The quake covered an extensive area inhabited by one-third of the U.S. population.
The quake sloshed water in glasses in South Carolina and plunged stones in a Delaware church to the ground. According to The Washington Post's archives, at Dorothy I. Height Community Academy Public Charter School in downtown Washington, D.C., teachers figured the shaking ground was just a side effect of students jumping.
One D.C. office worker told The Post in 2011 that she was in an eighth-floor office when the floor started shaking. She said the windows were trembling, the building wobbling left and right.
FILE - This Aug. 23, 2011 file photo shows office workers gathering on the sidewalk in downtown Washington after a 5.9 magnitude tremor shook the nation's capital. The earthquake centered northwest of Richmond, Va., shook much of Washington, D.C., and was felt as far north as Rhode Island and New York City. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
“Mentally, I was paralyzed for a moment. Fear. I felt paralyzed in fear," she told The Post.
A 10-year-old boy who went to a summer camp nearby watched the National Cathedral’s spire plummet to the ground. Damage to the Cathedral prompted years of repairs.
"It was scary seeing it fall," he told The Post.
The earthquake was important in raising awareness of such hazards in the eastern United States, said David Applegate, the U.S. Geological Survey’s associate director for natural hazards. Damaging quakes are rare in the eastern U.S., but the consequence of being unprepared for such events could be severe, Applegate added.
FILE - In this Wednesday, August 24, 2011 file photo, U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., peers into a damaged classroom during a tour of the Louisa County High School in Mineral, Va. The school was damaged by a 5.8 earthquake centered near Mineral. Louisa County school officials say they have received a $10,000 donation from the National Education Association to help rebuild after the August earthquake. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
“The next significant earthquake on an eastern U.S. fault may not occur for hundreds of years, yet there is a small chance it could happen at any time,” Applegate said in a statement from the USGS.
During the 2011 earthquake, the extent to which the quake rattled the U.S. was stronger than what scientists expected, according to the USGS. Thomas Pratt, a USGS research geophysicist and expert in eastern earthquakes, attributed the “amplified shaking” to the “underlying sediment,” according to a statement.
“One of the fascinating things we discovered was heightened ground shaking in Washington, D.C., resulting in damage to buildings in the city at distances that would not ordinarily be expected,” Pratt said in the statement.
Stonemason Sean Callahan examines the damage to the towers of the Washington National Cathedral, in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011, after Tuesday's earthquake. A day after an earthquake rattled the nation's capital, officials begin assessing the damage to some of the city's oldest, and tallest, cultural landmarks including the National Cathedral and The Washington Monument. The monument remains closed after a crack was discovered at the top of the towering white obelisk on The National Mall. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Researchers have observed increased shaking in West Coast earthquakes and across the globe, but the Mineral earthquake demonstrated just how significant this shaking could be, Pratt added. Scientists also noted that the extent of the earthquake ran parallel to the Appalachian Mountains, indicating the significant role of mountain ranges in ground shaking.
A 5.1-magnitude quake in Sparta, North Carolina, demonstrated a similar shaking trend along the Appalachian Mountains, according to the USGS.
The extent of the damage after this Eastern earthquake is also a product of the older structures in the region. Buildings and bridges built before the 1970s were not built to withstand shaking, according to the USGS.
Bearing in mind these factors, emergency managers can adapt their response, identifying communities that could be more vulnerable to earthquakes. It will also help the USGS better estimate the impacts of ground shaking in areas across the country.
File - In this Aug. 23, 2011 file photo, debris covers the floor of the Miller's Mart food store after a 5.9 magnitude earthquake in Mineral, Va., a small town northwest of Richmond near the earthquake's epicenter. Researchers in a nationwide study of earthquakes will soon place new instruments in Georgia and other eastern states as they seek to learn more about what causes them and where they might strike. Scientists involved in the study say the recent earthquake in Virginia, which cracked the Washington Monument, has led to a renewed emphasis on trying to understand more about what lies below the Earth's surface in eastern states. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
State and local governments could use this information to alter building codes, and engineers and architects could use these findings to design or renovate buildings to mitigate the impacts of future earthquakes, according to a release from the USGS.
While eastern earthquakes might be less frequent than those of the western U.S., a large quake could produce damage equal to or more than that of other more common eastern natural disasters, like severe storms or floods, according to the USGS.
Five years after the temblor, researchers discovered a likely cause behind the earthquake, and they warned that more could follow. The region is not located in a place where earthquakes typically occur: near tectonic plate boundaries. Instead, it is situated in the middle of the North American Plate. A study released in 2016 found that pieces of the North American Plate were peeling off and sinking into the Earth's mantle.
For those looking to prepare for another earthquake, the Southern California Earthquake Center is presenting The Great SouthEast ShakeOut on Oct. 21. At least 1.3 million participants will “drop, cover and hold on” as they practice preparedness for when a quake might hit, according to a release from the USGS.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Weather News
10 years later: The quake that rocked the East Coast
By Rina Torchinsky, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Aug 23, 2021 11:19 AM EDT | Updated Aug 24, 2021 8:51 AM EDT
It's been a decade since a 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook the I-95 corridor for 58 seconds, causing $34 million in damages to the National Cathedral.
Ten years ago, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck Virginia, and tremors could be felt hundreds of miles up and down the eastern United States. Although it wasn’t the strongest quake to occur in the U.S., it was probably felt by more people than any earthquake in North America’s history, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Researchers say there's plenty to learn from it.
The afternoon earthquake shook the Washington Monument, ripped through chimneys on the Smithsonian Castle and shook a church in Virginia. Homes and other buildings as far as about 80 miles from the epicenter were damaged, according to the USGS. Property damage caused by the earthquake was estimated to be between $200 million and $300 million.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
With an epicenter in Louisa County, Virginia, the earthquake was felt in Philadelphia and New York City, all the way up and down the coast from Canada to Georgia. The seismic tremors were also stretched westward to Ohio and Illinois. The quake covered an extensive area inhabited by one-third of the U.S. population.
The quake sloshed water in glasses in South Carolina and plunged stones in a Delaware church to the ground. According to The Washington Post's archives, at Dorothy I. Height Community Academy Public Charter School in downtown Washington, D.C., teachers figured the shaking ground was just a side effect of students jumping.
One D.C. office worker told The Post in 2011 that she was in an eighth-floor office when the floor started shaking. She said the windows were trembling, the building wobbling left and right.
FILE - This Aug. 23, 2011 file photo shows office workers gathering on the sidewalk in downtown Washington after a 5.9 magnitude tremor shook the nation's capital. The earthquake centered northwest of Richmond, Va., shook much of Washington, D.C., and was felt as far north as Rhode Island and New York City. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
“Mentally, I was paralyzed for a moment. Fear. I felt paralyzed in fear," she told The Post.
A 10-year-old boy who went to a summer camp nearby watched the National Cathedral’s spire plummet to the ground. Damage to the Cathedral prompted years of repairs.
"It was scary seeing it fall," he told The Post.
The earthquake was important in raising awareness of such hazards in the eastern United States, said David Applegate, the U.S. Geological Survey’s associate director for natural hazards. Damaging quakes are rare in the eastern U.S., but the consequence of being unprepared for such events could be severe, Applegate added.
FILE - In this Wednesday, August 24, 2011 file photo, U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., peers into a damaged classroom during a tour of the Louisa County High School in Mineral, Va. The school was damaged by a 5.8 earthquake centered near Mineral. Louisa County school officials say they have received a $10,000 donation from the National Education Association to help rebuild after the August earthquake. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
“The next significant earthquake on an eastern U.S. fault may not occur for hundreds of years, yet there is a small chance it could happen at any time,” Applegate said in a statement from the USGS.
During the 2011 earthquake, the extent to which the quake rattled the U.S. was stronger than what scientists expected, according to the USGS. Thomas Pratt, a USGS research geophysicist and expert in eastern earthquakes, attributed the “amplified shaking” to the “underlying sediment,” according to a statement.
“One of the fascinating things we discovered was heightened ground shaking in Washington, D.C., resulting in damage to buildings in the city at distances that would not ordinarily be expected,” Pratt said in the statement.
Stonemason Sean Callahan examines the damage to the towers of the Washington National Cathedral, in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011, after Tuesday's earthquake. A day after an earthquake rattled the nation's capital, officials begin assessing the damage to some of the city's oldest, and tallest, cultural landmarks including the National Cathedral and The Washington Monument. The monument remains closed after a crack was discovered at the top of the towering white obelisk on The National Mall. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Researchers have observed increased shaking in West Coast earthquakes and across the globe, but the Mineral earthquake demonstrated just how significant this shaking could be, Pratt added. Scientists also noted that the extent of the earthquake ran parallel to the Appalachian Mountains, indicating the significant role of mountain ranges in ground shaking.
A 5.1-magnitude quake in Sparta, North Carolina, demonstrated a similar shaking trend along the Appalachian Mountains, according to the USGS.
The extent of the damage after this Eastern earthquake is also a product of the older structures in the region. Buildings and bridges built before the 1970s were not built to withstand shaking, according to the USGS.
Bearing in mind these factors, emergency managers can adapt their response, identifying communities that could be more vulnerable to earthquakes. It will also help the USGS better estimate the impacts of ground shaking in areas across the country.
File - In this Aug. 23, 2011 file photo, debris covers the floor of the Miller's Mart food store after a 5.9 magnitude earthquake in Mineral, Va., a small town northwest of Richmond near the earthquake's epicenter. Researchers in a nationwide study of earthquakes will soon place new instruments in Georgia and other eastern states as they seek to learn more about what causes them and where they might strike. Scientists involved in the study say the recent earthquake in Virginia, which cracked the Washington Monument, has led to a renewed emphasis on trying to understand more about what lies below the Earth's surface in eastern states. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
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State and local governments could use this information to alter building codes, and engineers and architects could use these findings to design or renovate buildings to mitigate the impacts of future earthquakes, according to a release from the USGS.
While eastern earthquakes might be less frequent than those of the western U.S., a large quake could produce damage equal to or more than that of other more common eastern natural disasters, like severe storms or floods, according to the USGS.
Five years after the temblor, researchers discovered a likely cause behind the earthquake, and they warned that more could follow. The region is not located in a place where earthquakes typically occur: near tectonic plate boundaries. Instead, it is situated in the middle of the North American Plate. A study released in 2016 found that pieces of the North American Plate were peeling off and sinking into the Earth's mantle.
For those looking to prepare for another earthquake, the Southern California Earthquake Center is presenting The Great SouthEast ShakeOut on Oct. 21. At least 1.3 million participants will “drop, cover and hold on” as they practice preparedness for when a quake might hit, according to a release from the USGS.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo