Earthquake Felt in Connecticut: A Look Back
By WXedge Staff on July 29, 2012, 6:00am
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New Haven, Conn. (WTNH) - Connecticut residents reacted with shock and surprise after a magnitude 5.8 earthquake in Virginia was felt across the state. Some buildings in New Haven, Hartford and Danbury were evacuated, but no damage was reported.
The US Geological Survey reports the quake hit at 1:51 p.m. and was centered 84 miles SW of Washington, DC, and about 38 miles NW from Richmond, VA. A 2.8 magnitude aftershock hit about an hour later.
Gov. Dannel Malloy's Office said in a statement "The movement people in Connecticut felt was associated with the earthquake which originated in Virginia. Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection staff is at the Emergency Operations Center as a precaution, but at this point, there have been no reports of injury or damage."
Connecticut state police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance told News 8 they are fully operational throughout Connectcut. They were flooded with 911 calls.
"Definitely no injuries" and no reports of damage in Connecticut, Lt. Vance said.
The social networking site Twitter was jammed with comments from people in Connecticut sendign Tweets about what they felt.
@MoodaTia said "on Long Beach Blvd in Stratford, CT and we evacuated the building a few moments ago due to the building swaying back & forth!!!"
@DaneLopes said "I felt it in Fairfield, CT", while @Amy_Etkind said "in Hamden CT, mirror in bedroom shook briefly a few minutes ago."
And @StephHughesXO said "OMG totally thought my sister was shaking the table at lunch and I yelled at her to stop! Nope ...5.9 earthquake! #ctearthquake @WTNH"
Among the buildings evacuated as a precaution in New Haven was police headquarters, city hall and the federal building. The Connecticut Tennis Center, where the New Haven Open tennis tournament was being played, was also evacuated.
New Haven police opened the city's emergency operations center. New Haven building officials were sending inspectors to check out high rises and office buildings.
"Virtually every highrise downtown has been vacated," New Haven Mayor John DeStefano said. Building inspectors are going to check out structures, but there are no reports of damage. The mayor asked any city residents who are concerned about damage to call the Emergency Operations Center at 203 946 8221.
In Hartford, Mayor Pedro Segarra said the city has received a number of phone calls. Emergency personnel are assessing the situation, but there are no known reports of any injuries or major structural damage.
The Connecticut State Capitol was also evacuated as precaution because of the tremor, News 8's Mark Davis reports. Connecticut Department of Transportation headquarters in Newington and DMV headquarters in Wethersfield were also evacuated as a precaution.
On Twitter, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said "Everything seems OK after earthquake. Matrix building has been evacuated as a precaution."
The earthquake was felt at Mohegan Sun, but there was no damage and no injuries.
News 8's Tina Detelj reports there were shaking chairs and some rattling at William Backus Hospital in Norwich. The building was checked out and it's fine and back to business as usual.
State Department of Emergency Management officials advised people to report any damages to local emergency officials.
Other earthquake headlines:
- The weather service says no tsunami is expected after the East Coast quake.
- The National Park service said all National Mall monuments and memorials were closed and evacuated after the earthquake.
- Verizon Wireless and AT&T say their networks were congested as the quake sent people scrambling for the phones.
- MTA : There are no earthquake-related disruptions to subway, bus, Metro-North, LIRR, or our bridges and tunnels.
- Jim Scuitto/ABC : Damage to national cathedral. Small spires collapsing.
- Federal officials: 2 nuclear reactors taken offline near quake site in Va.; No damage reported
- CT DEMHS : Both Indian Point in Buchanan NY and Millstone Station in Waterford CT reporting normal operating conditions at this time.
- Bradley International Airport accepted flights that were diverted from
cities including New York and Washington, D.C.
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