Tag Archives: Magnitude 4.5 this morning

Virginia earthquakes continue, August 25, 2011, Magnitude 4.5 this morning, Colorado 5.3 quake

Virginia earthquakes continue, August 25, 2011, Magnitude 4.5 this morning, Colorado 5.3 quake

From the USGS website August 25, 2011.

Magnitude 4.5 – VIRGINIA

2011 August 25 05:07:50 UTC

Earthquake Details

  • This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
Magnitude 4.5
Date-Time
Location 37.940°N, 77.896°W
Depth 5 km (3.1 miles)
Region VIRGINIA
Distances 51 km (31 miles) E of Charlottesville, Virginia
53 km (32 miles) SW of Fredericksburg, Virginia
58 km (36 miles) NW of RICHMOND, Virginia
83 km (51 miles) NNE of Farmville, Virginia
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 11.3 km (7.0 miles); depth +/- 3 km (1.9 miles)
Parameters NST= 94, Nph=109, Dmin=52.3 km, Rmss=1.41 sec, Gp= 86°,
M-type=”Nuttli” surface wave magnitude (mbLg), Version=5
Source
  • Magnitude: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
    Location: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc0005jg1

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0005jg1.php

Monday, August 22, 2011, a day before the Virginia 5.9 earthquake, I was sitting in my  home office at approximately 1:30 PM. I felt a small vibration for 1-2 seconds and thought it might be a earthquake tremor. Small tremors in NC and VA are not that rare. However, the 5.9 quake in Virginia was apparently the largest in the area in over a hundred years.

The Charleston earthquake of 1886 estimated to be a 7 magnitude damaged buildings as far away as Greensboro, NC. This photo is from damage to the Charleston, SC area.

The Colorado earthquake that occurred the same day as the Virginia quake was also rare. From the NY Times August 23, 2011.

“The largest natural earthquake in Colorado in more than a century struck Monday night in the state’s southeast corner, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.

The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3, was centered about nine miles from the city of Trinidad and hit at 11:46 p.m. local time. It was felt as far away as Greeley, about 350 miles north, and into Kansas and New Mexico, said Julie Dutton, a geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.”

Read more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/us/24earthquake.html

For real time earthquake reports:

http://www.world-earthquakes.com/