Community Corner

Shocks from Virginia Quake Felt in Par-Troy

So far, no injuries and little damage have been reported in northern New Jersey.

Just before 2:00 p.m., some people in northern New Jersey felt the earth move under their feet.

The culprit: a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in northern Virginia that hit at around 1:50 p.m. Social media shows reports of tremors being felt throughout that state, and also as far north as Parsippany and even Boston. You can see some local responses on Parsippany Patch's Facebook page.

One emailed response came from Parsippany-Troy Hills Planning Board President Casey Parikh, who was at his job in Fairfield.

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"I was at work on my computer. Suddenly things started shaking. At first I thought people on the upper floor are moving something heavy or a Big truck hit the building. My office door started swinging. Pictures on the wall tilted and my chair kept shaking," he wrote. "I started feeling dizzy. I looked outside and all the big trees were swinging with the wind guest. It was all over in 10 seconds but felt like a long time. Everyone in the office was confused and scared. No one had any clue what had happened."

Ptlm. Earl Kinsey, Parsippany Police spokesperson, reported that a couple of buildings on Sylvan Way and Campus Drive, as well as "at least one on New Road" held evacuations. The only reported damage within Parsippany so far, he added, was broken glass at a storage facility on Littleton Road.

Find out what's happening in Parsippanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

PSE&G spokesperson Karen Johnson reported "no operational or safety issues as a result of the earthquake."

Johnson said workers dispatched to assess potential damage to electric transmission lines and switching stations, natural gas facilities such as metering and regulating station, and gas transmission lines and mains found no problems. She added that there are no customer outages as a result of the quake.

The Morris County Office of Emergency Management said that at presstime, no damage has been reported within the county. There have also been unconfirmed reports of cell phone and Internet service disruptions.

The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management is monitoring the earthquake's effects in the Garden State. It reports very little damage to roadways, bridges and tunnels.  Deptford Township in Gloucester County reportedly suffered a gas leak on one street, which led to several home evacuations. The quake also triggered an "Unusual Event" at Hope Creek and Salem Nuclear plants, but the OEM said that is a normal response.  There have been no reports of any damage at either of the plants. 

According to the Federal Emergency Management Association, New Jersey ranks low on the list of states at risk for experiencing an earthquake.

"Earthquake hazards are measured as the likelihood of experiencing earthquake shaking of various intensities," according to FEMA's website.

Northern New Jersey is put in a category that's described as "having a hazard shaking of moderate intensity," which could be felt by all and could lead to slight damage.

Southern New Jersey is in a category described as having "a small probability of experiencing damaging earth­quake effects."


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