Panic and confusion was triggered in Washington D.C. Friday morning by a mild earthquake in Maryland that would make Californians yawn. The D.C. earthquake caused no property damage or traffic delays, and also the trains ran on time. But following the ground rumbled and buildings vibrated for about 10 seconds, thousands of confused people dialed 911. {There was no word of fighter jets scrambling or members of the executive branch being hustled to an undisclosed location|Apparently there was no need for fighter jets to scramble or to send the President to his bunker|No reports surfaced of fighter jets scrambling or politicians running for their bunkers.
Media feasts on mild earthquake in Maryland
Because it affected Washington D.C., the media magnified the effects of the earthquake exponentially, even though it was considered mild. MSNBC reports that the D.C. earthquake, as outlined by the U.S. Geological Survey, hit at 5:05 a.m. with a3.6 Richter scale magnitude. The epicenter was near Rockville, Md. Residents in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia Pennsylvania and the D.C. area reported rumbling, the USGS said.
D.C. earthquake risk negligible
A geophysicist with the USGS was not shocked by the earthquake in Maryland. Amy Vaughn told the Washington Post that the D.C. earthquake wasn’t “something completely out of the ordinary”. However she did say that quakes measuring above 3 are extremely rare in this area. The quake was the largest measured in the area since 1974, when the database was created to track seismic activity. Before Friday’s jiggle, Vaughn said a 1993 2.7 Richter scale temblor was the largest. There was also a 2.6 tremor in 1990 and 2.5 shivers in 1997, 1993 and 1974, as outlined by USGS earthquake data.
D.C. earthquake mistaken for jets, explosions
Within two hours after the 10 second earthquake in Maryland, more than 6,700 people weighed in on the USGS website. CNN reports that the quake sounded like a jet flying right outside his bedroom window. The quake sounded like an explosion Judy Rudolf told CNN. The USGS said it was possible that smaller aftershocks might hit the area however they will die out in a few days.
Discover more information
msnbc.msn.com
washingtonpost.com
cnn.com
