Rare Earthquake Hits Virginia, Rattles U.S. East Coast
Tremors felt in Washington, D.C., New York City.
"It was quite sizable," said seismologist Hua-wei Zhou of Texas Tech University.
The Virginia earthquake struck at about 1:51 p.m ET near Mineral, Virgina, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Richmond (map).
The tremors shook buildings and prompted evacuations as far away as Washington, D.C., and New York City. The quake was followed by a magnitude 2.8 aftershock 45 minutes later.
(Related: "Japan Earthquake Vibrations Nearly Reached Space.")
Earthquakes rarely strike the U.S. East Coast and are generally less severe when they do.
Before this latest quake, for example, the largest earthquake on record in central Virginia was a magnitude 4.8 temblor that occurred in 1875, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Earthquakes are rare in the
