5.9 Earthquake Jolts US East Coast

This is the first earthquake to occur in this region of the US in over a century. Graphic courtesy of the US Geological Survey

An earthquake with the magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale occurred today at 1:53 pm, with its epicenter in Mineral, Virginia.

The earthquake’s impact was felt in major cities on the East Coast, including Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City.

Items were jolted off shelves, and in more severe cases, buildings — including JFK Airport in New York — were evacuated.

CNN is reporting Virginia has recorded only 25 earthquakes since it became a state. The last time an earthquake occurred in that state was more than a century ago.

13 thoughts on “5.9 Earthquake Jolts US East Coast”

  1. @zerosity
    “And third, when one considers that perspective in relation to the fact that the Gulf of Mexico is the dumping ground for unexploded ordnance, it may be that we won’t have to worry about 2012 or the planetary alignments. Mother Earth is either going to cough us humans up like a hairball, or more likely, blast us off the face of the planet with a giant methane fart.”

    This is not rambling, Jann. Compared to fracking and nuclear plants built on fault lines and dumping ordnance into the gulf of mexico–this is intelligence at it’s best–

    thanks for the LOL and seeing what we are seeing and feeling what our ancestors are feeling–and thinking what we should be thinking–

    hairballs, methane farts–what an end–neither fire nor ice–nothing grand at all, sorry T.S.–this is about all that the collective intelligence driven by its over arching greed deserves–

    some native tribes have a history based on their ancestors coming up out of the ground–I keep thinking that some of us escaped once before into hideouts (caves? tunnels?)–and others came from the stars–circling space vehicles waiting til whatever disaster was wiping most of the populace out to end for them to land again on our sweet green planet?—how many cycles– how many? do we need?

    glad that I can ramble… thanks PW and all….

  2. darkmary,

    Thank you for mentioning “fracking” since it was another in the fast moving sequence of thoughts this morning. “We” already know that fracking causes problems with aquafirs and water tables, as in Colorado where the undisclosed “proprietary blends of brine” contain benzine, apparently in sufficient amounts to contaminate the water enough that the flick of a Bic near a running faucet will cause the water to erupt into flames. Yet, that intentional poisoning (reminds me of chemotherapy, no offense to those beholden to traditional Western medicine) of the water was exempted from the Clean Water Act amendments under Dubya Bushie. No disclosure of ingredients, no clean up of any “pollution.” And, we already know that frack drilling has increased the incidence of earthquakes. All of this was in the documentary “Gaslands.”

    One news commentator said that the reason that a 5.9 earthquake in the east is felt much more is that the geology and faults are such that the vibrations are amplified and carried for far greater distances, which is why yesterday’s quake was felt here in Michigan while a 5.9 quake in LA would not be felt in San Francisco. One California wag tweeted that a 5.9 earthquake in CA was less than the vibration on his cell phone. Right. Glib as usual.

    So, all of the zooming through the zerosity consciousness this morning was before I had read Eric’s posting (“Earth Sign, and the Earth Moves”) and his reference to drilling. It is comforting to know that I am not hallucinating when I think such things, that there are others – especially in this PW blog – who also sense, dream, feel, think, intuit – whatever – that what humans are doing is bad, bad juju. Especially if one thinks of fossil fuels as “all our ancestors.” So many threads, and we are all connected, and maybe it is earthquakes that will shake some sense into us.

    Mea culpa for the rambling verbosity.

    JannKinz

  3. Zerosity, Your ‘ramblings’ helped me understand a dream I had last night that had been nagging at me. I dreamed that my head was swollen with fluids just under the skin. I kept trying to get someone to help me, but I couldn’t make a sound. I would form words but no one could hear me. It was one of those dreams that seemed to go on forever. At some point I came upon a man who was a healer and he was going to release the pressure, but then I don’t remember anymore of the dream. It is not my dream that matters so much, but the earth’s cries that are falling on deaf ears. On an intellectual level, I understood that hydraulic fracturing was causing damage to the earth, but it was a whole other level of understanding to experience it in my body, if though ‘just’ a dream.

    From a Wikipedia article on induced seismicity: “Fossil fuel extraction can generate earthquakes. Hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells produces large amounts of waste water. This contaminated water is often pumped into salt water disposal (SWD) wells. The weight and lubricity of this waste water has been shown to trigger earthquakes.”

  4. Fe’s post about the tectonic plates brought to mind three things. First, the documentary “Dirt, the Movie” which describes the abuse we humans have inflicted upon what the movie calls the cloak or skin of Mother Earth (or something similar – can’t remember this moment). It’s all related – like a rash making you thrash around.

    The second is the unacknowledged fragility of the earth’s mantle, and of course, the unintended (or intentionally ignored) consequences of tampering with it. I am thinking of the deep water drilling, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico. What is the effect of that invasive action on the planet’s energy/vibrations? What about the belief that there is a giant methane gas deposit beneath the Gulf of Mexico?

    And third, when one considers that perspective in relation to the fact that the Gulf of Mexico is the dumping ground for unexploded ordnance, it may be that we won’t have to worry about 2012 or the planetary alignments. Mother Earth is either going to cough us humans up like a hairball, or more likely, blast us off the face of the planet with a giant methane fart.

    Then there’s the indigenous tradition that the fossil fuels are our ancestors – “All our relations.”

    Sorry for the ramblings from earthquakes to fossil fuels. ‘Tis the scattered mentality of this morning.

    JannKinz

  6. The chart for the epicenter of the earthquake shows 27+ Scorpio ascendant, hence a choice of chart ruler Mars or Pluto. No surprise. Mars is positioned in the 8th house (where the entire sign of Cancer is intercepted) and Pluto is in in the 2nd house (where the entire sign of Capricorn is intercepted). The ruler of the 8th house is Mercury, 2nd house ruler is Jupiter. Sun was, of course, in Virgo by the time of the earthquake. Moon was at 21+ Gemini, coming off a sextile to Mercury, applying to trine Nessus and Neptune. Notably, all of the planets featured in this week’s daily astrology bogs also feature in the earthquake chart. Therefore, the earthquake is part of what Eric/Gary/Amanda are writing about yesterday and today. Best to re-read Eric’s weekly preview from yesterday and take today’s “king” blog to heart. Also, it appears that there is some tension being released as we move from solar fixed to solar mutable. Uranus is an interesting question in sextile to the 3rd house cusp, trine the 9th.

  7. Here is PA, west of philly, it was very disorienting and unsettling, but no significant damage to people etc … having lived in earthquake prone spots for so long I knew instantly what was up and STILL it was very freaky. A photo of my dear departed Mom crash-landed on my foot as I tried to grab the breakables before there was too much loss. My foot is bloodied a bit but I’m a little freaked as my pal and I had just been talking about her this very morning — so surreal, the whole thing.

    Thanks for the info dear people. Cells to DC and Balt aren’t working and I’m not getting email from anyone there either.

    Mutuable, you say!

    Mary

  8. Luckydriver:

    You guys got a moderately large quake, which in the scheme of things, in any geologically active part of the world, is something to be preferred. Rather let it shake loose now and again to prevent larger more cataclysmic events build up to level everything in one fell swoop.

    Just breathe through the aftershocks on this one, they’re part of the process and better in the long run, setting aside your nerves. Sounds like your house ‘performed’ well for you. It’s a good sign.

    Kristina:

    There are seven primary tectonic plates in the world: African Plate, Antarctic Plate, Eurasian Plate, Indo-Australian Plate, North American Plate, Pacific Plate, South American Plate. From what it sounds like, this event, on the North American plate could actually trigger another one in the near future in the Caribbean, African and Eurasian plate. We shall see.

    The more I watch these patterns, the more I feel connected to the nature of the planet.

  9. Yes, I can understand how you feel Fe. I have family and friends in the Bay area, and they are acutely aware of the risks of living there.

    Even though it’s so obvious and natural, it still seems strange to me that our earth’s crust is so interconnected. I watched a documentary a couple of years ago about the Pacific plate tectonic activity linking Asia, Hawaii, California, Mexico and South America. The film showed how activity in one area often correlates with recent activity in others as the giant plate shifts. I find tectonics fascinating, despite the danger.

  11. I’m in Massachusetts and felt this one roll through while I was standing in the basement dealing with a repairman who was fixing a fuel line in the house. Just as the work was finished, I felt the concrete slab roll, and I looked up and saw the whole structural system of the house rocking. As a former Berkeley resident, I’m used to the sensation, but this one was pretty strange! I was amazed we felt it all the way up here.

  12. kristina:

    I often worry when quakes happen in Central America and Japan and SE Asia – out here in CA we’re all directly related to or part of the whiplash effect from seismic events anywhere on those coasts.

    Goes to show how small we are in comparison to what sizzles and burns underneath the crust. We’re on a frosting-like surface over a core of molten, seething liquid rock.

  13. Interesting this coincided with earthquakes yesterday in Colorado. Apparently it’s been a long while since earthquakes occurred there, as well.

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