Governor's Office Says No Injuries or Serious Damage From Va., Quake Tremors

Residents across the state felt the earth move today as an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter Scale struck in Virginia, about 90 miles south of Washington, D.C., around 2 p.m, sending tremors up the Northeast corridor as far away as Boston.

Following the earthquake, which originated in Virginia this afternoon but was felt throughout Connecticut, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy convened a conference call with key commissioners, as well as Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection staff at the Emergency Operations Center this afternoon to review any injuries or damage. At this point there are no reports of injuries or serious damage, officials in the governor's office said.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a 5.9 magnitude earthquake was registered in Virginia just before 2 p.m.

In Portland, First Selectwoman Susan Bransfield said she fielded a couple of calls from residents who said they felt their homes shaking. Bransfield said those were the only local reports she heard about the tremors, adding that she and other Town Hall workers didn't feel them at all. 

"We're in a pretty solid building here in Portland," she said. 

In East Hampton an official in Town Hall said there were no reports of tremors in town or at the Town Hall.

Malloy released the following statement about the earthquake:

"The movement people in Connecticut felt was associated with the earthquake which originated in Virginia," Malloy stated. "Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection staff is at the Emergency Operations Center as a precaution, but at this point, there have been no reports of injury or damage.”

The incident happened around 1:50 p.m. Details are scarce at the moment, but Twitter is lighting up with reports of tremors in Fredericksburg, King George, and Manassas, Va., among others.

The tremors sent people scurrying into the streets near the home offices of Fredericksburg Patch on Forbes Street.

Hector Correra, a painter working at 1314 Caroline Street was on top of a ladder scraping paint when the quake struck.

"It was weird." said the shaken Correra. He said he's never felt an earthquake in Virginia before.

Emergency officials in the region are still investigating to determine the extent of damages.

In response to the quake and the resulting tremors the American Red Cross has released a fact-sheet about preparing for and responding to earthquakes. A PDF of both an English and Spanish version of the fact sheet is available above.