Earthquake of 4.5 magnitude rumbles across Virginia (HamptonRoads.com/Pilot Online)

Earthquake of 4.5 magnitude rumbles across Virginia (HamptonRoads.com/Pilot Online): "Earthquake of 4.5 magnitude rumbles across Virginia
By MATTHEW ROY, The Virginian-Pilot
© December 9, 2003 | Last updated 7:11 PM Dec. 9

RICHMOND — Virginia and surrounding states was shaken by an earthquake today that sent office workers out of their trembling towers but apparently caused no damage, officials said.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that a 4.5 magnitude quake struck 30 miles west of Richmond at 3:59 p.m. It was shallow, about 3 miles below the Earth's surface.
The National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado confirmed the report and was attempting to determine its extent.
Residents in Lynchburg, Harrisonburg, northern Virginia and central Virginia reported feeling tremors.
The quake could be felt as far as Norfolk, where some buildings trembled slightly. There were numerous reports from people who felt it in Maryland, North Carolina and the District of Columbia.

Virginia's Department of Emergency Management was collecting reports from jurisdictions around the state. It had no reports of damages or injuries.
At the state Capitol in Richmond, officials and reporters scrambled from the building after about 10 seconds of rumbling so pronounced that the walls and windows could be seen shaking.
The rumbling was barely audible at first, but progressed to almost a mild roar and the shaking could be felt through the floors."

Some workers thought the boilers in their old office buildings had erupted. They walked outside to see if there had been damage.

Others packed up their belongings and quickly went home.

Tom Dodson, who lives in a downtown apartment, said he was leaving home to walk his dog when he felt the rumbles. His dog whimpered.

“An earthquake in Richmond?” Dodson said. “No way. Has that ever happened?”

Rose Johnston, 45, was visiting City Hall when she felt the earthquake. Her cell phone began to ring immediately. It was her mother, who also lives in Richmond and was worried about her.

“No snow, but earthquakes for Christmas,” Johnston said.

While quakes are more common in the West they do occur in Eastern states from time to time. This one occurred in the central Virginia seismic zone, a region where quakes have occurred in the past.

The largest quake in Virginia history took place in Giles County in 1897. It was felt from Georgia to Pennsylvania, some older brick houses were cracked and bricks were thrown from chimneys in the area from Pulaski to Roanoke.

On Feb. 21, 1774, a strong earthquake was felt over much of Virginia and southward into North Carolina. Many houses were moved partly off their foundations at Petersburg and Blandford.

More recently, parts of southwestern Virginia were shaken in 1959.