Virginia Earthquake 2011: Latest Facts, News, Photos & Maps

2011 Virginia Earthquake

The United States Geological Survey reported a M 5.8 earthquake struck 4 miles southeast of Louisa, Virginia near Mineral, Virginia at 1:51 pm on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 (17:51:03 UTC). ¹ Buildings throughout major metropolitan centers in the northeast were evacuated after the earthquake, and tremors were felt as far north as Concord, NH, and as far south as Hampstead, NC. The epicenter was just miles from a nuclear power plant, the North Anna, operated by Dominion Power in Richmond, where two reactors were taken offline.² The temblor knocked out power to the facility, but the utility manually shut down both nuclear units without incident and no damage was apparent. Authorities report no known significant damage or injuries in the counties of Amelia, Charles, Cumberland, Goochland, King and Queen, New Kent and Powhatan and the cities of Petersburg, Colonial Heights and Hopewell.³

Contents

Latest News, Photos & Videos

(3-14-12) – Huffington Post: Did Washington Monument Sink or Tilt From Quake?
(2-23-12) – CNN: National Cathedral Earthquake Repairs to Top $20 Million
(12-27-11) – Los Angeles Times: Washington Monument has Extensive Cracks from Quake
(11-14-11) – Richmond Times-Dispatch: North Anna Nuclear Reactors Coming Back Online
(11-7-11) – Richmond Times-Dispatch: Memo Says Utility, NRC Covered Up Fault Line's Existence
(11-2-11) – Washington Post: Nuclear Power Plant Remains Offline After August Earthquake
(10-20-11) – Richmond Times-Dispatch: Dominion Virginia Power to Review Earthquake Resistance
(10-4-11) – Virginia Business: NRC Inspectors Say Earthquake Did Not Cause Significant Damage
(9-27-11) – Washington Post: Washington Monument Closed Indefinitely
(9-23-11) – Richmond Times: Group Asks Regulators Not to Permit Third Reactor
(9-19-11) – USA Today: Weeks After Quake, Town Near Nuclear Plant Remains Rattled
(9-19-11) – Richmond Times-Dispatch: Louisa Quake Shaping Debate on Future of Nuclear Power
(9-15-11) – Bloomberg: Old Equipment May Skew Dominion's Quake Data
(9-15-11) – Washington Post: Quake Gets Attention of DC Area Officials
(9-14-11) – Washington Post: Damage at the National Cathedral Will Take Years to Repair
(9-13-11) – New York Times: Geoscientists Get to Work as Quake Memories Fade
(9-9-11) – Reuters: NRC Rejects Quick Restart at Virginia Nuclear Plant
(9-9-11) – Washington Post: Virginia Nuclear Plant Experienced 'Strong' Shaking
(9-9-11) – Richmond Times-Dispatch: Inspectors Check Damage from Louisa County Earthquake
(9-8-11) – USA Today: Quake's Jolts Were Double Nuke Plant's Design
(9-7-11) – Richmond Times-Dispatch: NRC and Dominion Virginia Power to Meet on Quake's Effects
(9-6-11) – Washington Post: At North Anna, Reassurances But No Final Data on Earthquake
(9-1-11) – Washington Post: Quake Shifted Nuclear Storage Containers at North Anna Plant
(9-1-11) – Richmond Times-Dispatch: Quake Caused Massive Nuclear Storage Casks to Move
(8-31-11) – Washington Post: Inspectors Check Virginia Nucler Plant for Earthquake Damage
(8-30-11) – Los Angeles Times: Virginia Quake's Motion May Have Exceeded Nuclear Plant's Design
(8-30-11) – New York Times: Nuclear Panel Expanding Team to Check for Quake Damage
(8-26-11) – New York Times: 13 Plants Felt Earthquake, But Reactors Were Spared
(8-26-11) – Richmond Times-Dispatch: Few Carry Earthquake Insurance
(8-25-11) – New York Times: Rare Bustle in the Lab as Seismometers Quiver
(8-25-11) – Roanoke Times: Officials Tour Earthquake Epicenter in Mineral
(8-25-11) – New York Times: Quake Leaves Cracks in Washington Monument
(8-24-11) – Washington Post: Inspectors Search for Damage
(8-24-11) – Christian Science Monitor: How Does a 5.8 Temblor Happen in Virginia
(8-24-11) – Wall Street Journal: Rare Earthquake Stuns East Coast
(8-24-11) – Slate: Is Washington as Earthquake-Proof as Los Angeles?
(8-24-11) – Washington Post: For Central Virginia's Seismic Zone, an Event of Rare Magnitude
(8-24-11) – NPR: Why a Quake in Virginia Isn't as Rare as it Sounds
(8-24-11) – Christian Science Monitor: What the Numbers Say and What You Experience
(8-24-11) – CBS News: Earthquake Damages Washington Monument
(8-24-11) – Charlottesville Daily Progress: A Look at Historic Quakes in Central Virginia
(8-24-11) – Lynchburg News & Advance: Video: Damage Near Epicenter
(8-24-11) – Lynchburg News & Advance: 5.8 Earthquake Leaves Central Virginia Shaken
(8-24-11) – Richmond Times-Dispatch: North Anna No Longer Relying on Backup Generators
(8-24-11) – Washington Post: Earthquake Damage in DC Will Take Time to Assess
(8-24-11) – Washington Post: Tiny Mineral, VA, is Put on the Map
(8-24-11) – Washington Post: 5.8 Virginia Earthquake Shakes East Coast, Rattles Residents
(8-24-11) – New York Times: In Mineral, VA, Sudden Fame at Earthquake's Epicenter
(8-24-11) – Buffalo News: Western New York Feels Effects of Earthquake
(8-24-11) – UB News: East Coast Earthquake was Moderate but Significant
(8-23-11) – BBC: Earthquake Strikes US East Coast
(8-23-11) – New York Times: 5.9-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes East Coast
(8-23-11) – Richmond Times-Dispatch: 5.9 Earthquake Rocks Virginia
(8-23-11) – Washington Post: Earthquake Rattles Washington Area
(8-23-11) – USA Today: Earthquake Rocks East Coast
(8-23-11) – Reuters: Quake Felt in New York City Office Buildings
(8-23-11) – Lynchburg News & Advance: 5.9 Earthquake Rumbles Through Much of East Coast

Special Reports & Blogs

NPR: Assessing the National Cathedral's Quake Damage
EERI: Virginia Earthquake Clearinghouse
University at Buffalo: (Video) Earthquake Engineering Expert Discusses East Coast Quake
Virginia Tech: (Podcast) Virginia Tech Professor Discusses Virginia Quake
Stanford University: Geophysicist Offers Insight into the Virginia Earthquake
Washington Post: Earthquake Reported Along East Coast
Dominion Virginia Power: North Anna Power Station Restores Offsite Power
Washington Post: What All East Coast Schools Should Do Now
Smithsonian National Zoological Park: National Zoo Animals React to the Earthquake

Satellite, Aerial Imagery & Maps

USGS: Community Internet Intensity Map
USGS: ShakeMap

Disaster Education Resources

MCEER: Earthquake Education Resources
MCEER: Natural Disaster Lesson Plans & Activities
MCEER: How Earthquakes Affect Buildings
MCEER: Advanced Earthquake Resistant Design Techniques
MCEER: Designing Structures to Perform Well During an Earthquake
MCEER: Connecte²d Teaching: Extreme Event Design
MCEER: Frequently Asked Questions
MCEER: Soils & Earthquakes
MCEER: Building a Shake Table
IRIS: Teachable Moments - Magnitude 5.8 Virginia

Quakeline® Literature Searches

Virginia Seismicity

Background Information & Resources on Virginia

Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory: Earthquakes Recorded in Virginia: Overview
Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory: Virginia's Largest Earthquakes
Southeastern United States Seismic Networks: Epicenters: July 1977-December 1995
Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals & Energy: Seismicity in Virginia
Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals & Energy: Major Earthquakes in Virginia
William & Mary: Geology of Virginia
USGS: Virginia: Earthquake History
USGS: Virginia: Seismic Hazard Map