A low magnitude earthquake in Maryland that would make California residents laugh scared the daylights out of Washington D.C.. The trains ran on time despite the D.C. earthquake, and there was no property damage or traffic delays. But thousands of individuals called emergency switchboards following the ground rumbled and buildings wriggled for about 10 seconds. {There was no word of fighter jets scrambling or members of the executive branch being hustled to an undisclosed location|Apparently there was no need for fighter jets to scramble or to send the President to his bunker|No reports surfaced of fighter jets scrambling or politicians running for their bunkers.
Media freaks out at mild earthquake in Maryland
The magnitude of the earthquake in Maryland was considered mild but because it affected Washington D.C., the earthquakes effects were magnified a hundredfold by the media. MSNBC reports the D.C. earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, hit at 5:05 a.m. with a3.6 Richter scale magnitude. The epicenter was near Rockville, Md. Residents in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia Pennsylvania and also the D.C. area reported rumbling, the USGS said.
D.C. earthquake risk negligible
A geophysicist with the USGS who wasn’t shocked by the D.C. earthquake told the Washington post that the temblor was not “something out of the ordinary”. But she added that it was rare for a quake measuring above 3 to hit the area. According to USGS earthquake data, the quake was the largest recorded within about 45 miles of Germantown since a database was created to track such activity in 1974. Before Friday’s jiggle, Vaughn said a 1993 2.7 Richter scale temblor was the largest. USGS earthquake data shows there was also a 2.6 magnitude tremor in 1990 and quakes barely nudged the Richter scale at 2.5 in 1997, 1993 and 1974.
The earthquake was mistaken as a jet crash
More than 6,700 people had reported the quake on the USGS Web site within about two hours of the earthquake in Maryland. CNN reports the quake sounded like a jet flying right outside his bedroom window. Judy Rudolph, 64, told CNN she thought the noise was an explosion. The USGS said it was possible that smaller aftershocks might hit the area but they will die out in a couple of days.
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