Magnitude 5.8 Earthquake Strikes Virginia and Rattles the Eastern United States

According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, the largest earthquake to strike Virginia in more than a century rattled buildings in downtown Richmond and caused evacuations across the east coast today. A strong earthquake struck at 17:51 UTC (1:51 p.m. local time) near Mineral, Virginia, a town with a population of about 500. The epicenter was about 40 miles northwest of the state capital, Richmond, and about 83 miles southwest of Washington, DC. The USGS issued a preliminary magnitude estimate of 5.8, revised it upward to 5.9, and subsequently downward…

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