5 year anniversary of the Virginia earthquake
Published 4:15 PM EDT Aug 23, 2016
Five years ago today was the
5.8 earthquake in Virginia about 40 miles northwest of Richmond. This
quake was felt by more people than any other quake in U.S. history.
Two reasons for that…..
1) More people are living in the U.S. now than in the past.
2) The quake was felt in the eastern part of the U.S. which has the highest population density in the country.
.
It tied for the strongest earthquake east of the Rockies since 1897.
The quake was felt in the Louisville area.
Despite the strength of the quake and the amount of damage (over $300 million)…. there were no fatalities. There were numerous reports of minor injuries. Most of these were in Washington, DC.
The most famous damage was to the Washington Monument. Reports had the monument swaying over a foot during the quake. Cracks formed and repairs lasted over 30 months. The monument was closed to the public for the rest of 2011, all of 2012 and 2013 into part of 2014.
.
Water has seeped through the cracks for the last 5 years and officials say this may be related to the recent elevator issues at the Washington Monument.
The National Cathedral in Washington, DC suffered a lot of damage.
Repairs are still ongoing with about $10 million of the $34 million in restoration complete.
At the Pentagon, a water line broke from the quake flooding 2 corridors.
Part of the wall of the Treasury building fell to the ground.
At Union Station, pieces of the decorative plaster fell to the ground. Repairs took almost a year.
The Smithsonian Castle had damage to some of the turrets on top of the building.
The Equador Embassy had 3 chimneys collapse and walls cracked inside the building.
5 of the 6 spires of the Latter Day Saints Temple in Washington, DC had some damage.
.
Damage was fairly widespread across Virginia. Most of this was cracked walls and chimneys falling, but there were some cases of more substantial damage.
The earthquake resulted in evacuations for a short time in Philadelphia and New York City.
Cracked walls were reported as far away as Charleston, West Virginia.
Two reasons for that…..
1) More people are living in the U.S. now than in the past.
2) The quake was felt in the eastern part of the U.S. which has the highest population density in the country.
.It tied for the strongest earthquake east of the Rockies since 1897.
The quake was felt in the Louisville area.
Despite the strength of the quake and the amount of damage (over $300 million)…. there were no fatalities. There were numerous reports of minor injuries. Most of these were in Washington, DC.
The most famous damage was to the Washington Monument. Reports had the monument swaying over a foot during the quake. Cracks formed and repairs lasted over 30 months. The monument was closed to the public for the rest of 2011, all of 2012 and 2013 into part of 2014.
.Water has seeped through the cracks for the last 5 years and officials say this may be related to the recent elevator issues at the Washington Monument.
The National Cathedral in Washington, DC suffered a lot of damage.
Repairs are still ongoing with about $10 million of the $34 million in restoration complete.
At the Pentagon, a water line broke from the quake flooding 2 corridors.
Part of the wall of the Treasury building fell to the ground.
At Union Station, pieces of the decorative plaster fell to the ground. Repairs took almost a year.
The Smithsonian Castle had damage to some of the turrets on top of the building.
The Equador Embassy had 3 chimneys collapse and walls cracked inside the building.
5 of the 6 spires of the Latter Day Saints Temple in Washington, DC had some damage.
.
Damage was fairly widespread across Virginia. Most of this was cracked walls and chimneys falling, but there were some cases of more substantial damage.
The earthquake resulted in evacuations for a short time in Philadelphia and New York City.
Cracked walls were reported as far away as Charleston, West Virginia.
