An earthquake hit more than 440 miles away, near Mineral, Virginia, at 1:51 p.m. and it's a preliminary magnitude 5.8, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and people in Connecticut felt it here.
There are no reports of damage. but 911 calls are flooding in with reports of tremors. The state Department of Transportation is checking the state's bridges. They don't expect there to be problems because they are designed to handle heavy loads. There are more than 5,000 bridges in the state.
The quake was felt at Bradley Airport, but it is not impacting flights, according to airport spokesman John Wallace. The airport is accepting diversions from JFK in New York.
“The movement people in Connecticut felt was associated with the earthquake which originated in Virginia," Gov. Dannel Malloy said in a news release.
Staff of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection was at the Emergency Operations Center just before 2:30 p.m. as a precaution and the center will close at 4:30 p.m. There have been no reports of injury or damage.
The Department of Motor Vehicles branch in Wethersfield is closed. The Hartford in Windsor was evacuated but employees were allowed back in.
The city of New Haven has evacuated high-rises and activated the emergency operations center in the basement of 200 Orange St. because of the seismic activity.
New Haven residents who are concerned about the structural integrity of buildings or utility issues should call the Emergency Operations Center at 203-946-8221.
"I yelled at the kids to stop doing whatever they were doing to make the whole house shake," Terry Petersen, of Somers, wrote in an e-mail.
"It was pretty intense. Not something you expect to happen here!!" Rosemary Bisaillon said in an e-mail.
"At 1:54 p.m., my wife, Leslie was in the dining room and the china cabinets started shaking," Tony Cyrulik wrote in an e-mail.
"My agency has seven floors and only the top two floors were swaying," Marilyn Gonzalez, of CW Resources, Inc., in New Britain, wrote in an e-mail.
Kathleen Riley, of Windsor, called and she said her recliner moved. Her sister lives in the same house and was working at the desk when it struck and the desk was rocking.
“That was wild,” Riley said.
Edward Hart, of Enfield, said his chair was shaking.
"I was vacuuming and felt my house shaking," Donna Edwards, of New Milford, wrote in an e-mail. "I thought it was my washer spinning out, but it shook my glassware and the house was rumbling."
Alyssa, of Avon, e-mailed: "We felt it - vases were swaying back and forth and felt it sitting on chair."
Between 1668 and 2007, there have been 137 quakes in Connecticut, according to the Northeast States Emergency Consortium.
Viewers have reported feeling the quake in:
- Avon
- Berlin
- Bethel
- Bloomfield
- Bridgeport
- Bristol
- Broad Brook
- Brooklyn
- Canton
- Cheshire
- Clinton
- Colchester
- Collinsville
- Cromwell
- Danbury
- Deep River
- East Haddam
- East Hampton
- East Hartford
- East Windsor
- Enfield
- Fairfield
- Farmington
- Glastonbury
- Granby
- Groton
- Haddam
- Hamden
- Hartford
- Hebron
- Kent
- Lyme
- Manchester
- Mansfield Center
- Meriden
- Middletown
- Milford
- New Britain
- New Fairfield
- New Haven
- Newington
- New Milford
- North Haven
- Norwalk
- Norwich
- Oxford
- Pawcatuck
- Plainville
- Rocky Hill
- Seymour
- Shelton
- Simsbury
- Somers
- Southbury
- South Windsor
- Southington
- Stratford
- Suffield
- Tolland
- Torrington
- Vernon
- Waterbury
- Waterford
- Watertown
- West Hartford
- West Haven
- Wethersfield
- Willimantic
- Wilton
- Windham
- Windsor
- Winsted
- Woodbridge
- Woodbury
There are also reports from Springfield, Massachusetts.
Here is the list of places, by Zip Code, where people reported to USGS feeling the quake.
Did you feel it? Send us an e-mail
