Its August 23 at 1300 and it was reported on the news that Virginia had a 5.9 earthquake which was later classified as a 5.8.. The is apparently in the middle of a triangle with Roanoke, Charlottesville and Richmond, as the points of the triangle
What is usual is that earthquake that occurred in Colorado a few hours before.followed by an after shock of 4.6.. Earthquakes in Colorado are not that usual. What is usual is the intensity and the fact they are were both within the Continental United Stated, Both were greater the 5.0 and they occurred within 24 hours of each other.
The fault lines were different and ever at different depths. Ironically the fault line in Virginia is the same one that formed the Appalachian Mountains. It will take months or even years to learn more about what happened with this earthquake event.
We have all heard of the super volcano under Yellowstone, the question is are these quakes connected to it in some way?
About the earthquake in Virginia
The area involved is one of the large areas traveled by all major airlines, freight lines, and railroads. Roanoke is the transportation center for the East Coast. Almost all interstate highways going to all major cities intersect with in this area. The area involves many bridges and tunnels. Inspections are taking places now. Many of them go under water such as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, the Hampton Rhoads Bridge Tunnel and several others. All of these and several smaller older ones transports thousand of commuters every day.
Several cell phone towers are down and other are over loaded with calls We have learned from our history with hurricanes, winter storms and emergencies such as 911 that demands on the communication system can create nightmare in its self.
A nuclear power plant in the area automatic closed down and as the results of a built-in safety feature. This was an excellent time to review safety plans.There were no problems of rods over heating or escaping radiation that occurred with the earthquake in Japan. Nuclear power has been a concern since the earthquake in Japan resulted in national emergency. The reactors in Virgina will help answer several questions that may affect the future of Nuclear Power.
It is surprising that there in not more damage since there are so many buildings in that region that are well over 150 years old. The National Cathedral and the Washington Monument suffered some damage. Mineral Springs, Virginia seemed to have had the usual fallen bricks and items falling from shelves that we see so often on television. While the damage was substantial in dollar amounts, at least it wasn’t in human lives
At this time there is no reports of casualties.
DETAILS ABOUT THE VIRGINIA EARTHQUAKE
Magnitude 5.8
Date-Time Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 17:51:03 UTC
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 01:51:03 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 37.975ÃƒÔ ”ÃÆ”ÃƔÃ’Ò°N, 77.969ÃƒÔ ”ÃÆ”ÃƔÃ’Ò°W
Depth 1 km (~0.6 mile) (poorly constrained)
Region VIRGINIA
Distances 45 km (27 miles) E of Charlottesville, Virginia
55 km (34 miles) SW of Fredericksburg, Virginia
64 km (39 miles) NW of RICHMOND, Virginia
82 km (50 miles) NNE of Farmville, Virginia
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 10.9 km (6.8 miles); depth +/- 7.4 km (4.6 miles)
Parameters NST=390, Nph=390, Dmin=57.9 km, Rmss=1.17 sec, Gp= 47ÃƒÔ ”ÃÆ”ÃƔÃ’Ò°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=6
Source Magnitude: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Location: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc0005ild
DETAILS ABOUT THE COLORADO EARTHQUAK
Magnitude 5.3 COLORADO August 23, 2011
Magnitude 4.6 COLORADO August 22, 2011
Magnitude 5.3
Date-Time Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 05:46:19 UTC
Monday, August 22, 2011 at 11:46:19 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 37.070ÃƒÔ ”ÃÆ”ÃƔÃ’Ò°N, 104.700ÃƒÔ ”ÃÆ”ÃƔÃ’Ò°W
Depth 4 km (2.5 miles)
Region COLORADO
Distances 15 km (9 miles) WSW of Trinidad, Colorado
33 km (20 miles) NW of Raton, New Mexico
54 km (33 miles) S of Walsenburg, Colorado
290 km (180 miles) S of DENVER, Colorado
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 12.5 km (7.8 miles); depth +/- 2.8 km (1.7 miles)
Parameters NST=372, Nph=372, Dmin=18.9 km, Rmss=1.25 sec, Gp= 14ÃƒÔ ”ÃÆ”ÃƔÃ’Ò°,
M-type=centroid moment magnitude (Mw), Version=A
Source Magnitude: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Location: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc0005idz
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/?region=Virginia