Becky Robinette Wright
Special To Firehouse.Com News
At approximately 4 p.m. Dec. 9, an earthquake rocked Virginia and surrounding states. Emergency 911 lines were jammed statewide.
Damage reports are just starting to come in but no building collapses have been reported. Reports said it registered a preliminary magnitude of 4.5.
Colonial Heights rescue crews are on the scene of reported gas leaks. It has not been confirmed if the leaks are results of the earthquake.
"The whole building was vibrating, shaking. It felt like we were in a wooden building with heavy equipment moving across the floor," said Lt. Earl Newton of Albemarle County Police Department. "But the building is concrete. We left the building. People were milling around outside, stunned, just staring up at the building."
"Our phones immediately lit up and 9-1-1 became jammed. It was an eerie feeling to experience such a solid building shaking like that," Newton said.
The quake was felt as far south as North Carolina and as far north as Dover, Delaware. The epicenter of the quake has been established as Powhatan County, Virginia. Powhatan is about 28 miles west of Richmond.
Virginia had a 3.9 earthquake on May 5, 2003. Residents have been cautioned that there may be aftershocks.
