Earthquake!
People waiting outside the Smith Building in Albany after the earthquake. Twitter was full of reports of people leaving office buildings after the quake. Near the Capitol, State Police were going around telling people it was OK to return to their offices.
Updated at 3:04 pm
At about 1:54 this afternoon there was an earthquake felt in the Capital Region. Reports all over Twitter -- from people both here in Albany (@ElizabethEss at the Smith Building in downtown Albany), to Brooklyn (@MimsieSky), to DC (@jdb820).
The USGS is reporting a 5.8 magnitude quake with an epicenter in central Virginia (apparently a rare event for that area). The epicenter is about 395 miles from Albany. [USGS] [Washington Post]
We felt it shake for a good 30 seconds in Albany. Floor lamps were swaying noticeably. Our wheeled office chair rolled back and forth a bit. Did you feel it? Where?
After the jump, a bunch of reports, reactions -- and jokes -- from people on Twitter.
The one you didn't feel: There was also an earthquake near Altamont -- magnitude 2.2 -- at 6:35 am Tuesday morning.
Tweet
Say Something!
We'd really like you to take part in the conversation here at All Over Albany. But we do have a few rules here. Don't worry, they're easy. The first: be kind. The second: treat everyone else with the same respect you'd like to see in return. Cool? Great, post away. Comments are moderated so it might take a little while for your comment to show up. Thanks for being patient.
Comments
Yup! Guilderland. My monitor was moving. I thought the children were pretending to be elephants. Where are we, California??
... said abby on Aug 23, 2011 at 1:58 PM | link
Sitting here filling out job applications. Thought my cat was clawing the chair I was sitting on. Chandelier started rockin. Crazy!
... said Arielle on Aug 23, 2011 at 1:59 PM | link
I felt it here in my office building in Rensselaer.
... said Lisa on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:00 PM | link
Our large old stone building on Washington Park shook and rumbled noticeably for almost a minute. About a third of the staff bolted for the out-of-doors.
... said ajw93 on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:03 PM | link
Looks like a decently big one (5.8) in Virginia, from my Twitter feed felt all the way up the east coast (into Maine) and Canada (Ottowa and Toronto). I felt it here in Loudonville, but other people in the house with me didn't.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Quakes/at00lqe6x3.php
... said pjm on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:04 PM | link
Yep, we felt it at the GE plant in Schenectady!
... said Jessica R on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:05 PM | link
A building full of geologists and none of us felt it...
... said Slacker on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:09 PM | link
Earthquake easily felt here in Albany (Westland Hills). The house swayed gently for about 30 seconds starting at about 1:54 pm. Dishes rattled and doors moved back and forth. No damage.
... said Bill Leue on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:12 PM | link
Yes we felt the earthquake in Hudson, NY. Lasted about a minute
... said Daniel Gregory on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:14 PM | link
They evacuated my building on Central Ave. Crazy! It was the weirdest feeling...sort of like how Crossgates shakes, but stronger.
... said Summer on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:15 PM | link
Felt it at the State Capitol Building
... said anonymous on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:15 PM | link
Wasn't that bad in downtown Albany... the building rumbled a little but nothing out of the ordinary.
... said Chuck Miller on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:20 PM | link
Hey, I felt it!
I'm on the 15th floor at 90 State St. Albany, NY
I'm visiting from Texas.
... said bricor on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:21 PM | link
At first I thought it was just me about to pass out, but then I saw the door swinging in my basement office here in Albany and knew it wasn't me! Everyone else down here felt it too. Very strange feeling!
... said AnotherAmanda on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:22 PM | link
I felt it in my third floor apartment for a solid minute. I first thought it was the work being done on the floor above me. My second thought was, I'm glad this isn't an earthquake because this building is really shaky!
... said KatherineSass on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:25 PM | link
Just felt it during a movie in the Regal Theater @ Colonie. We were watching a movie at a funny point when everybody started laughing and we all noticed our chairs shaking uncontrollably! At first we thought it was the laughter or someone kicking our chairs... but when we looked behind us and no one was there kicking us - so we figured it may be an earthquake and left the movie early. Other people were coming out of different theaters as well, saying "I'm not staying in this building! No way!" - Pretty scary seeing all of those movie chairs swaying back and forth even the unoccupied ones.
... said Rita on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:26 PM | link
Turns out earthquakes can be tricky when you are sitting on a ball (how's that for mental picture BTW?)
... said -S on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:29 PM | link
Yep...felt it in Delmar. Walking back toward my bedroom and felt queesy and lightheaded like I was about to faint. My son yelled from the other room asking if we were having an earthquake. Once I stood still I realize we were cause it wasn't just my eyes shaking it was the whole house. Very odd feeling. My son said he felt sick too.
... said Laura on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:38 PM | link
Oh, it was definitely felt here in downtown Albany, but I'm on an 11th floor. Apparently folks on lower floors didn't notice. Physics!
... said B on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:40 PM | link
I was standing in the second-floor bay window in Center Square (pretty close to Madison and Lark) and felt a strong trembling under my feet. For a moment, I thought it was a heavy truck passing, but there was no traffic and the trembling didn't stop. And I saw everything in the room...a mirror, plants, fan, even a very heavy antique bed was shaking with that odd side-to-side swaying like you see in videos of earthquakes. It's not the first I've felt here, but it was the first one that scared me a bit. Friends as far away as Glens Falls and Greensboro down south felt it, too. It also too me some forty minutes to send a text to a friend in Orange County. I guess the network was overloaded with everyone calling and texting about the quake.
... said Paula on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:42 PM | link
I felt it at the Military Museum in Saratoga Springs- my chair shook and the doors rattled. They've been excavating next to the foundation and I thought it might have shifted.
... said Eric Stott on Aug 23, 2011 at 2:57 PM | link
5.9? We used to sleep through those when I lived out in California.
... said Tim on Aug 23, 2011 at 3:07 PM | link
I think the entire east coast needs to stop embarrassing itself in front of oh, I don't know, THE PACIFIC RIM...
I did appreciate the chair massage, but it wasn't long enough to really relax me. Maybe next time. :)
... said Andy on Aug 23, 2011 at 3:20 PM | link
I'm a geologist by training and I didn't feel it either. I think the earth know exactly whom it needs to fear.
... said Paul C. on Aug 23, 2011 at 3:29 PM | link
A co-worker asked "Should we evacuate?" I responded "No way! I gotta tweet this"
and to think there was a time I rejected all things twitter....
... said daleyplanit on Aug 23, 2011 at 3:31 PM | link
hurricane next week.
... said miles on Aug 23, 2011 at 3:49 PM | link
Earth quack? Obviously my hands were still shaking, ha.
... said Shannon on Aug 23, 2011 at 3:50 PM | link
I felt the earth move under my feet and the sky tumblin' down, tumblin' down! Actually, my son's poster fell off the wall, but I think the tacky gum just lost it's grip. But it was a Weezer poster, and they're pretty good, so that was a big deal here. But no rumblings really.
... said Charlotte on Aug 23, 2011 at 8:35 PM | link
Why was the East Coast earthquake felt so far from the epicenter?
... said -S on Aug 24, 2011 at 1:47 AM | link
8/23/11: Never Forget.
http://i.imgur.com/7kDXs.jpg
... said James at 44 on Aug 24, 2011 at 9:31 AM | link