Shake, Rattle & Roll

Things got a little interesting around here yesterday afternoon. At about 1:50pm I went outside to check the mail, and as I was coming back up the driveway I heard a low, but deep, rumbling. I didn't really think anything of it since there's a rock quarry just across the river and we get the occasional rumble. Though, as I kept walking, I realized the rumbling was getting louder (which never happens), and I could feel the ground shaking beneath me. I quickly realized we were having an earthquake and got inside and under the kitchen table with my brother and the family dog. The shaking and rumbling continued for a little longer (nothing more than about 20-30 seconds), and then we just sat there in shock. Earthquakes are RARE out here.

After the initial shock of it, we got online and figured out that it had been a 5.9 quake epicentered about 75 miles southwest of us...

We're pretty much in between Burke & Fredricksburg. The yellow square is the 5.9, and the smaller blue squares are two of the 4 aftershocks.

It took a while to get a hold of Darren (cell reception was next to impossible to find for an hour or two after), and I guess traffic was horrible, but he made it home safely. Rumors were swirling that this was a precursor to a much bigger quake to come. I wasn't so sure about that.

We checked the US Geological Survey site periodically through the afternoon and learned that two smaller aftershocks had already happened. One an hour after the first, and a second about 30 minutes later. Both were in the 2 range on the Richter scale, so I figured we were in the clear. Well, that was until about 8:05pm when we were all gathered on the couch watching the Nationals' ball game and another little rumble came through. This one was smaller, about a 4.2 at the epicenter, but it was enough that we could feel it.

Needless to say, it made our Tuesday very exciting! We have no damage, and there was very minimal damage in the area. Quite the day!