The Seismicity of the East Coast of the US
The East Coast of the U.S. does experience earthquakes, although they are generally less frequent and less severe compared to regions like California. Over the last 100 years, there have been numerous earthquakes recorded along the East Coast, but most of them have been relatively small in magnitude and have caused minimal damage. Major earthquakes, such as the one in August 2011, are relatively rare but do occur periodically.
Before the recent earthquake in New Jersey, like others in the region, that could have originated from the Ramapo Fault or one of the smaller fault lines under Manhattan, there was another earthquake that occurred on August 23, 2011. That earthquake was one of the most significant seismic events to affect the East Coast in decades.
With a magnitude 5.8 , the earthquake hit the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of Virginia at 1:51:04 p.m. EDT. The epicenter, in Louisa County, was 38 mi (61 km) northwest of Richmond and 5 mi (8 km) south-southwest of the town of Mineral. It was an intraplate earthquake with a maximum perceived intensity of VIII (Severe) on the #Mercalli_intensity_scale. Several aftershocks, ranging up to 4.5 Mw in magnitude, occurred after the main tremor.
While earthquakes are not uncommon in other parts of the United States, they are relatively rare along the East Coast, making the event particularly noteworthy. Many people in the affected areas were surprised by the strength and duration of the shaking.
The quake was felt across more than a dozen U.S. states and in several Canadian provinces, and was felt by more people than any other quake in U.S. history. No deaths and only minor injuries were reported. Minor and moderate damage to buildings was widespread and was estimated by one risk-modeling company at $200 million to $300 million, of which about $100 million was insured.
The earthquake prompted research that revealed that, the farthest landslide from the epicenter was 150 miles (240 km), by far the greatest landslide distance recorded from any other earthquake of similar magnitude.
Previous studies of worldwide earthquakes indicated that landslides occurred no farther than 36 miles (58 km) from the #epicenter of a magnitude 5.8 earthquake.
The Virginia earthquake prompted discussions about #emergency_preparedness and the need for residents, workers, and visitors in the region to be better informed and served as a reminder that #earthquakes can occur anywhere, not just in traditional #seismic_zones, and underscored the importance of being prepared for such #natural_disasters.
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Chief Scientist, Seismology Research Centre
3moEarthquake swarms pop up almost every year in the Dalton-Gunning-Oolong area in NSW, with records dating back as far as 1888. The gridded appearance is due to historical records assigning locations to 2 decimal places. The last M3.2 is what I heard whilst inside a dam 150km away.