Unusual earthquakes strike Colorado and along the eastern seaboard

Two very unusual earthquakes have struck in Colorado and Virginia today. While no injuries or damage have yet been reported, the Virginia quake was felt across a wide area, from New York down to Atlanta. Damage is expected in the Virginia quake. 

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to the US Geological Survey (USGS) The Virginia quake is a 5.9 and the one in Colorado is a magnitude 5.3. 

People in the Washington DC and New York city areas report feeling the quake strongly, especially in high rise buildings. Many first considered that a terrorist strike had occurred, but quickly realized that it was a quake. High rise buildings were evacuated and people milled about outside, unsure if it was safe to return. Thousands of people remian evacuated at this hour.

The USGS recommends caution around brick structures and suggests that water lines be checked for damage. While aftershocks will occur, in all but a few percentage of cases, they diminish in intensity and should not cause any significant disruption. 

In Colorado, the early AM quake shook houses and rattled windows, but harmed nobody. Some rocks were reported on nearby highways, but no significant disruptions were reported. 

Quakes do strike the central and eastern US, but they are very uncommon. It is especially uncommon to see two seismic events occur on the same day, but there is no evidence the two events are linked in any way. Under Colorado, tectonic activity, especially volcanic activity, while not manifest on the surface, does cause quakes throughout the central US.  

About 500 earthquakes above 6.0 occur around the world every year, but Virginia has only experienced 25 such quakes since statehood.

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