Back زلزال فرجينيا 2011 Arabic Землетрасенне ў Вірджыніі (2011) Byelorussian Erdbeben in Virginia 2011 German Terremoto de Virginia de 2011 Spanish زمین‌لرزه ۲۰۱۱ ویرجینیا Persian Séisme de 2011 en Virginie French Terremoto de Virxinia de 2011 Galician רעידת האדמה בווירג'יניה (2011) HE २०११ वर्जीनिया भूकम्प Hindi 2011-es virginiai földrengés Hungarian

2011 Virginia earthquake

2011 Virginia earthquake
Shake map showing the epicenter of the earthquake in Virginia
2011 Virginia earthquake is located in Virginia
2011 Virginia earthquake
2011 Virginia earthquake is located in the United States
2011 Virginia earthquake
UTC time2011-08-23 17:51:04
ISC event17331323
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local dateAugust 23, 2011, Tuesday[1]
Local time1:51:04 pm EDT
Magnitude5.8 Mw[1]
Depth6 km (4 mi)[1]
Epicenter37°56′10″N 77°55′59″W / 37.936°N 77.933°W / 37.936; -77.933
TypeDip-slip (reverse)
Areas affectedCanada, United States
Max. intensityMMI VIII (Severe)[2][3]
Peak acceleration0.26 g[4]
CasualtiesSeveral injured

On August 23, 2011, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of Virginia at 1:51:04 p.m. EDT. The epicenter, in Louisa County, was 38 mi (61 km) northwest of Richmond and 5 mi (8 km) south-southwest of the town of Mineral. It was an intraplate earthquake with a maximum perceived intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale.[2] Several aftershocks, ranging up to 4.5 Mw in magnitude, occurred after the main tremor.

The quake was felt across more than a dozen U.S. states and in several Canadian provinces, and was felt by more people than any other quake in U.S. history.[5] No deaths and only minor injuries were reported. Minor and moderate damage to buildings was widespread and was estimated by one risk-modeling company at $200 million to $300 million, of which about $100 million was insured.[6][7]

The earthquake prompted research that revealed that the farthest landslide from the epicenter was 150 miles (240 km), by far the greatest landslide distance recorded from any other earthquake of similar magnitude. Previous studies of worldwide earthquakes indicated that landslides occurred no farther than 36 miles (58 km) from the epicenter of a magnitude 5.8 earthquake. The Virginia earthquake study suggested that the added information about East Coast earthquakes may prompt a revision of equations that predict ground shaking.

  1. ^ a b c "Magnitude 5.8 – Virginia". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  2. ^ a b "M 5.8 – 11 km SSW of Mineral, Virginia". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Pager– M 5.8– Virginia". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jibson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Ruane, Michael E.; Aratani, Lori (August 23, 2012). "Earthquake damage to Washington Monument was very rare occurrence". The Washington Post.
  6. ^ Morello, Carol; Wiggins, Ovetta (August 24, 2011). "Region tallies earthquake damage, mostly uninsured". Washington Post.
  7. ^ Estimate by the Oakland, California-based catastrophe modeling and risk assessment company EQECAT, which estimated further that only 5 percent of East Coast property owners have earthquake coverage.
    Hofmann, Mark A. (August 24, 2011). "Insured losses in East Coast earthquake less than $100M: EQECAT". Business Insurance.

Developed by StudentB