Virginia Earthquake felt in Bath Township

Fire Chief Tim Gemind was working outside the main fire station in the township and didn’t feel the earth move this afternoon when rumbles of a 5.9 earthquake in Virginia made its presence felt -- but his firefighters did.

“I was just standing here when the rest of the guys in the building came outside. They said the blinds swayed and computer screens moved.

"Thankfully that’s all that happened,” Gemind said. “We have had no calls whatsoever.”

The United States Geological Survey is reporting that an 5.9 quake hit  Mineral, Va., a town of approximately 474 located about 41 miles northwest of Richmond Va. According to the USGS explanation of magnitude rankings, virtually everyone at the source of a 5.9 quake would feel the movement. Some heavy furniture would likely move and plaster could fall. Damage would be categorized as slight.

Aftershocks were felt in the USGS office in Columbus.

“We just felt it and were trying to confirm it,” said , a hydrologist with the Ohio Water Service Center. 

Koltun said the vibrations were the strongest he has ever felt at the office. “It was noticeable, like you’re on a boat that rocks a little bit,” Koltun said.  “It lasted about 15 seconds."

Koltun and his coworkers felt the movement at about 1:55 p.m. He attributed it to a pressure wave that takes time to move out from the epicenter.

For more information about earthquakes, visit the USGS web site.

An explanation of earthquake magnitudes can be found here

According to the USGS, the first recorded earthquake in Ohio occurred June 18, 1875. It caused damage in western Ohio, and affected a total area estimated at 104,000 square kilometers. Walls were cracked and chimneys thrown down (intensity VII) at Sidney and Urbana. The shock was felt sharply at Jeffersonville, Indiana; the affected area included parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Missouri.