Early morning earthquake shakes part of Virginia
A 2.7 magnitude earthquake shook parts of Virginia before dawn Monday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake occurred just after 5 a.m. near Louisa, and people reported feeling shaking as far away as Charlottesville and Richmond, the USGS said. The center of the earthquake was about 40 miles northeast of Richmond.
There were no reports of damage or injuries from the temblor, which was was 2.5 miles deep, according to geologists.
“Since at least 1774, people in central Virginia have felt small earthquakes and suffered damage from infrequent larger ones,” the USGS said.
“The largest damaging earthquake (magnitude 5.8) in the seismic zone occurred in 2011. Smaller earthquakes that cause little or no damage are felt each year or two,” according to the USGS.
Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey says. It replaces the old Richter scale.
Quakes between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude are often felt but rarely cause much damage, according to Michigan Tech.
This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 7:55 AM with the headline "Early morning earthquake shakes part of Virginia."
