Earthquake hits Prince William and beyond

On Aug. 23, at 1:53 p.m., an earthquake hit the East Coast of the United States.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake, with an epicenter in Mineral, Va., shook buildings up and down the East Coast, from South Carolina to New Jersey. Mineral is near Richmond, Va.

Observer staff members reported their experiences.

In Haymarket, which is about 70 miles from the epicenter, the walls rattled and the floors shook. A light bookcase crashed to the floor.
A New Baltimore writer said she recognized the feeling of the quake. Items were rattling in her house. Although she’s an adult now, she was in an earthquake when she was a teenager in Mexico.

A Gainesville-based writer said she first thought a large truck was going through the neighborhood, then she remembered the feeling of earthquakes from the three years she lived in Japan. She had figurines and a frame fall. Many of her neighbors stepped outside to talk about the earthquake. Her mailman, who she said has a great sense of humor, said he thought someone was jumping on the back bumper of his mail truck.

Another Gainesville writer said he was at his computer when the rumbling began. “The quake seemed to last for about half a minute,” he estimated. He’s heard reports of aftershocks, but hasn’t felt any.

At the Observer’s Manassas office, one staff member said she felt the second-floor building shake along with the computers.

Publisher Randi Reid said the office “at 8803 Sudley Road shook for less than a minute.” She said it felt similar to being in a fun house at a fair or amusement park.

Rick Ellis, a graphic designer, who grew up in California, considered it a moderate earthquake.

Area experts, however, are calling it a substantial quake.

In Woodbridge, Associate Editor Rose Murphy said the shaking knocked off a container of pens and pencils from a stand and rattled the desk in her office where she was working. Her son in South Carolina and daughter in Jessup, Md., both felt the quake as well.

Terri Erwin-Fitz was conducting an interview in Manassas during the quake. She and her interviewee “looked at each other wide-eyed” before they asked what had happened.

While little structural damage had yet to be reported in the area, the Fauquier campus of Fauquier Community College was closed due to damage from the earthquake.

Phone service throughout the area was intermittent at best immediately after the quake.

Facebook postings about the quake ranged from checking an item off a bucket list to being pretty scared.

Aftershocks throughout the area can be expected for a few days or more.