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Short Pump Earthquake - Monday Night
There was an earthquake in Short Pump, did you feel it?
SHORT PUMP -
UPDATE 11:06 am :
CBS6 has confirmed the epicenter location of last night's earthquake . The epicenter was on Hidden Oaks Lane in Henrico County. That is off Church Road one block West of Lauderdale.
The following is a transcript of a telephone interview CBS6 conducted with the Director of Virginia Tech's Seismological Observatory Dr.Martin Chapman:
CBS6: What happened last night?
Dr. Chapman: Well it was a little earthquake. Magnitude 2. 3. Epicenter location was near Short Pump. It occurred about 11:59 pm. Eight seconds before midnight.
CBS6: How unusual or usual is this for Central Virginia?
A: There have been quite a few earthquakes in the last few years right in the Richmond area. They have all been very minor earthquakes. Richmond is sort of on the eastern edge of what we call the Central Virginia Seismic Zone. It has a long history of moderate earthquakes going all the way back to the early 1800's.
CBS6: Has there been a change over the years in the magnitude of these quakes? Are they getting stronger?
Dr. Chapman: They are staying about the same. Our ability to locate them and detect them has improved because we have instruments in the area. In fact the University of Richmond has a station right there on campus. That was the closest station to this earthquake.
We use the arrival times of the seismic waves at the different stations to actually locate the earthquake. We know how fast the waves go through the ground so if we have the times of arrival at different stations we can locate it.
The location (of last night's quake) is at 37. 63.09N And minus 77. 636W.
CBS6: What would people feel in a 2.3 magnitude earthquake?
Dr. Chapman: Probably just a real sharp rattle. Windows would have rattled. Maybe heard a boom or a loud thunder. It would all have been over within just a couple of seconds.
CBS6: Is there a possibility of aftershocks?
Dr. Chapman: Typically a little earthquake like this won't have any kind of aftershock sequence. The thing that could happen in this case though is that we might have a series of these kinds of earthquakes. That's happened in the area before.
CBS6: What causes earthquakes?
Dr. Chapman: Ultimately all the earthquakes we see are caused by stress in the ground. Stress is generated in different ways. The outer part of the earth is in motion. Plates are moving around. Those stresses get released as earthquakes everywhere.
Central Virginia is a unique little area.
It has a lot of these kinds of events.
Update: 10:38 am
CBS 6 got several calls and saw several comments on Twitter about a loud boom that shook part of Central Virginia late Monday night.
According to the Director of Virginia Tech's Seismological Observatory, a 2.3 magnitude earthquake was registered near Short Pump at 11:59:52 pm.
Martin Chapman says the earthquake is considered minor and is usually associated with a loud sound and is enough to get your attention.
Right now, we are not aware of any damage.
Make sure to watch CBS 6 News and check wtvr.com for the latest.
CBS6 has confirmed the epicenter location of last night's earthquake . The epicenter was on Hidden Oaks Lane in Henrico County. That is off Church Road one block West of Lauderdale.
The following is a transcript of a telephone interview CBS6 conducted with the Director of Virginia Tech's Seismological Observatory Dr.Martin Chapman:
CBS6: What happened last night?
Dr. Chapman: Well it was a little earthquake. Magnitude 2. 3. Epicenter location was near Short Pump. It occurred about 11:59 pm. Eight seconds before midnight.
CBS6: How unusual or usual is this for Central Virginia?
A: There have been quite a few earthquakes in the last few years right in the Richmond area. They have all been very minor earthquakes. Richmond is sort of on the eastern edge of what we call the Central Virginia Seismic Zone. It has a long history of moderate earthquakes going all the way back to the early 1800's.
CBS6: Has there been a change over the years in the magnitude of these quakes? Are they getting stronger?
Dr. Chapman: They are staying about the same. Our ability to locate them and detect them has improved because we have instruments in the area. In fact the University of Richmond has a station right there on campus. That was the closest station to this earthquake.
We use the arrival times of the seismic waves at the different stations to actually locate the earthquake. We know how fast the waves go through the ground so if we have the times of arrival at different stations we can locate it.
The location (of last night's quake) is at 37. 63.09N And minus 77. 636W.
CBS6: What would people feel in a 2.3 magnitude earthquake?
Dr. Chapman: Probably just a real sharp rattle. Windows would have rattled. Maybe heard a boom or a loud thunder. It would all have been over within just a couple of seconds.
CBS6: Is there a possibility of aftershocks?
Dr. Chapman: Typically a little earthquake like this won't have any kind of aftershock sequence. The thing that could happen in this case though is that we might have a series of these kinds of earthquakes. That's happened in the area before.
CBS6: What causes earthquakes?
Dr. Chapman: Ultimately all the earthquakes we see are caused by stress in the ground. Stress is generated in different ways. The outer part of the earth is in motion. Plates are moving around. Those stresses get released as earthquakes everywhere.
Central Virginia is a unique little area.
It has a lot of these kinds of events.
Update: 10:38 am
CBS 6 got several calls and saw several comments on Twitter about a loud boom that shook part of Central Virginia late Monday night.
According to the Director of Virginia Tech's Seismological Observatory, a 2.3 magnitude earthquake was registered near Short Pump at 11:59:52 pm.
Martin Chapman says the earthquake is considered minor and is usually associated with a loud sound and is enough to get your attention.
Right now, we are not aware of any damage.
Make sure to watch CBS 6 News and check wtvr.com for the latest.
felt it all the way in florida
jim snead @ 12:04 PM EDT, Jul 8, 2009
Yes - and we're in Ginter Park. House shook - and sounded like there was a huge train or low-flying jet nearby.
CR @ 7:17 AM EDT, Jul 8, 2009
"UH-HUH UHHHHH"
Kim's Friend @ 6:20 PM EDT, Jul 7, 2009
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