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Earthquake Maryland

July 16, 2010 by · Comments Off on Earthquake Maryland 

Earthquake Maryland:(Los Angeles Times) — An earthquake of magnitude 3.6 occurred near the Gaithersburg, Md., area just after 5 am ET Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Maryland-An earthquake of magnitude 3.6 occurred near the Gaithersburg, Md., area just after 5 am ET Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The center of the quake was about 20 miles northwest of Washington, said the USGS.

The earthquake was the largest in the area since 1974 – and the first record above 3.0 on the Richter scale in that period of time, said Amy Vaughan, a geophysicist at the USGS Earthquake Information Center.

“This is a significant event for the region,” he said.

About an hour after the quake, Vaughan said more than 5,500 people had reported feeling that through Maryland, near Washington, and in states like West Virginia, Virginia, Delaware.

“It was very loud, like a plane flying very low. I had never felt anything like it,” said Anne Ngunjiri, 30, of Gaithersburg. “I jumped out of bed. All my neighbors woke up. After that happened, I thought it might be an earthquake, and was lying in bed waiting for no reply.”

Judy Rudolph, 64, said she was writing e-mails in bed in Rockville, Maryland, when his house began to tremble.

“My first reaction was the noise?. I thought it was an explosion,” he said.

She said she never felt anything like it in his 31 years living there.

Until Friday, the largest earthquake recorded within a 75-kilometer (about 47 miles) radius of Gaithersberg since 1974 was an earthquake of magnitude 2.7 in 1993, Vaughan said.

However, geologically speaking, she said she “was not entirely unexpected” for an earthquake of 3.6 magnitude to hit there.

“From time to time these things happen, even east of the Rockies, although it’s not really a plate boundary where we expect earthquakes? Fallas there since the continent was being formed. There are minor flaws that exist within this area, “he said.

Vaughan said the major structural damage was unlikely, but people may experience replicas for the next day or even a week or two after the earthquake.

Washington National Security and Emergency Management said there were no injuries or property damage were reported.

The last earthquake occurred in Maryland on 08 October 2007, according to the USGS website. It was an earthquake of magnitude 1.7 to about 5 miles northwest of Baltimore.

Copyright 2010 CNN.com

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