5.8-magnitude earthquake strikes near Mineral, Virginia

Various: Yesterday at 1:51pm an earthquake 3.7 miles deep hit central Virginia, about halfway between Charlottesville and Richmond and about 90 miles southwest of the nation’s capital. At a magnitude of 5.8, the quake is the largest to hit Virginia since 5 May 1897. The US Geological Survey has placed the quake in the yellow alert category, with the potential for local, but little economic, damage. Some damage to buildings, including the National Cathedral and the Ecuadorian Embassy , along with minor injuries, has been reported in the region.Tremors were reported up and down the East Coast from New England to Georgia, and as far west as Columbus, Ohio. Because of geological differences, earthquakes on the East Coast are often felt over a larger area—at least 10 times larger—than quakes of the same magnitude on the West Coast. On the East Coast, Earth’s crust is older, harder, and more connected, so seismic waves propagate there more efficiently.