A 3.6 magnitude earthquake jolted the Gaithersburg, Maryland area around 5 am Eastern Time. According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake was centered at about 20 miles away from Washington in the northwest direction.
According to the details, the residents of the Maryland woke up to a 3.6 magnitude earthquake on Friday. Amy Vaughan of USGS says that the today’s earthquake was the first earthquake in Maryland since 1974 which was measured above 3.0 on Richter scale.
The area in which the earthquake jolts were felt was also the largest in this region since 1974. Amy Vaughan called it a ‘significant event’ for Maryland. Reportedly, more than 5,000 residents of neighboring states have also reported the jolts of earthquake an hour after the first jolt was felt in Maryland.
The USGS department has received phone calls from the locals of Washington, Virginia, and Delaware reporting the department that they’ve felt earthquake.
A resident of Gaithersburg, Maryland, tells that earthquake was loud and it felt like a plane flying very low and close. Another local from Maryland State told that she was writing emails when her home started shaking and she thought it was an explosion. Judy, 64, says that she had never felt anything like that in last 30 years.
Before the Friday’s earthquake in Maryland, the largest earthquake recorded was a 2.7 magnitude and covered a radius of 75 km from its center. UGS say that earthquakes of 3.6 magnitudes were not expected in Maryland because of geographical location.
No major structural damage has been reported yet but USGS has warned that the locals of Maryland may experience some aftershocks on Saturday or a week after the earthquake. No injuries or property damage have been reported yet.
Earthquake-Maryland
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Ed was here.