By Charles Layton and Mary Walton
Ocean Grove experienced tremors from an earthquake on Tuesday.
The quake was centered in southern Virginia, but many people in our town felt their houses shake. Some went out onto the sidewalks and streets to see what was happening.
The tremors, felt all along the East Coast, began at approximately 2 p.m. and lasted only a minute or two.
Blogfinger’s Yvette Blackman reported that people spilled out of Ocean Grove’s Main Avenue hotels and out of the Catholic home across from the Majestic.
Leanne Hoffman, director of engineering and planning at Neptune Township, said everyone at city hall felt it. She said the tremors came in two waves. “We felt the building move,” she said, “and the pendant lights from the ceiling were swaying. And then maybe about five minutes after, it happened again. No damage, but it was a little unprecedented for us.”
The Neptune Police Department said it had received “no reports of any structural damage as a result of the earthquake.” It asked residents with concerns or with reports of damage to notify the department by calling 911.
Callers into WNYC radio in New York said groceries fell off shelves and cell phone service was lost in certain areas. Thousands of people were evacuated from high-rise buildings in New York after the buildings started to sway. Some businesses in Philadelphia closed early and sent workers home. In Washington, national monuments were closed and the White House and adjacent buildings were evacuated for a short time.
The effects were less dramatic in the Ocean Grove/Neptune area.
A cyclist who gave his name as Paul pulled up in front of the Post Office. He said he was at home in Asbury Park when “everything started shaking. The shelves started shaking.” As a teenager he had been through many earthquakes in Guam, where his stepfather was in the military. Today’s event left him unsettled. “Something’s going on. Something doesn’t feel right. Today is a perfect day. Maybe it’s a sign God is trying to tell us something.”
The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the quake was approximately 40 miles northwest of Richmond and that it registered 5.8 on the Richter scale.
EARTHQUAKE MUSIC by Carole King:
People from four houses on Broadway came out of their houses asking were we just shook by an earthquake. .
Location: Nagles, Ocean Grove
California Girl to New Jersey Husband: “Earthquake.”
Husband: “You’re crazy.”
CA Girl: “May I have my lunch to go please?”
Evacuated from American Express at 3WFC, 37th floor – building actually started swaying. My coworker and I, who worked together during 9/11, grabbed our laptops and purses and left. Trains are running but there’s no land line phone service in most large buildings, texting going through, cell service returning.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley evacuated but some people returned to their building. Many people, like myself, headed home. Bank of NY is having engineers check their building. People in the street everywhere by the World Trade Center. Work was still stopped at the WTC when I got on PATH.
Rick Cuttrell’s final evaluation: upgraded to 5.9, centered 41 miles northwest of Richmond, VA.
Felt from Toronto, Canada to Atlanta, Georgia.
Looking forward to my first Valium and cocktail when I get home!
On Heck Avenue we felt tremor at approx 1:55 which resulted from quake of 5.8 or 5.9 in Virginia. Neighbors rushed into street wondering what was going on.
I did, the dog did, the cats did. Charlotte was working in the garden, looked at me like I was nuts when I told her. Thank you for the verification.
Strange but I’m up in Basking Ridge and I felt it here. I felt my chair rock back and forth ever so slightly and I thought I was just feeling a little dizzy. The TV news said it was felt all the way from Virginia up to Boston.