Earthquake rattles Tri-State

Published 5:26 am Sunday, November 11, 2012

 

The Tri-State was shaking Saturday afternoon after an earthquake measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale was felt at approximately 12:08 p.m.

The epicenter was at Whitesburg, Ky., — near the Virginia and Tennessee border — about 110 miles southwest of Charleston, W.Va., according to the United States Geological Survey.

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Residents across southern Ohio and the entire Tri-State took to Facebook and other social media Saturday afternoon to talk about it.

According to the USGS, earthquakes like this are fairly common. A magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake typically can be felt at as far away as 60 miles or more from where it occurred, and it infrequently causes damage near its source.

A magnitude 5.5 eastern U.S. earthquake usually can be felt as far as 300 miles from where it occurred, and sometimes causes damage as far away as 25 miles.

Saturday’s quake was felt by people in Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, Ohio and Georgia.

National Weather Service spokesman Jeff Carico says employees at the office in Jackson, which is about 60 miles northwest of Whitesburg, felt the ground shake for about 15 seconds. He says the office has gotten numerous calls, but so far no one has reported any serious damage.

USGS geophysicist John Bellini says the quake is considered “light” and isn’t expected to cause major damage.