Community Corner

Cranberry Patch Poll: Did You Feel the Earth Shake?

This isn't the first time effects from an earthquake have been felt in Pennsylvania.

As she checked out of the on Tuesday, Mary McCullough, of Zelienople, was shocked when she learned tremors from a 5.8 magnitude centered in Virginia were .

“No way,” she said.

She wasn’t the only one in disbelief.  The U.S. Geological Survey reported the earthquake occurred around 2 p.m. about 3.7 miles below the surface of the earth. Its impact could be felt from North Carolina to New York.

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And while many readers commented on the Cranberry Patch Facebook page that they felt the earth tremble, a whole host of others said they had no idea anything unusual had occurred.

Dave Botyko, an engineer from Frederick, MD, who is working temporarily at the Westinghouse Electric Company headquarters in Cranberry, said he realized there had been an earthquake only after hearing news reports.

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“I didn’t feel a thing,” he said.

New Sewickley resident Carrie Tuszynski said she was watching her daughter’s gymnastics class at in Cranberry when the earthquake shook the area -- not that she felt it. Tuszynski said she learned of the quake when a fellow mom at the class received a tweet from a relative in Washington D.C. informing her of it.

“We didn’t know anything,” she said.

Similarly, Mars resident Lori Young, who nannies in Gibsonia, said she and her charges weren’t aware of quake until long after it happened. It was a different story for her boss, whom Young said works at a building in downtown Pittsburgh.

“He was in his office and he felt it sway back and forth,” she said.

Regionally, Moon’s Fire Marshal Charlie Belgie said the  on Cherrington Parkway evacuated the top floors of its building as a safety precaution, but no damage or injuries were reported.

At the , also located in Moon, meteorologist Brad Rehak said the quake wasn't felt at the service's Shafer Road office.

"Actually, no, not really," Rehak said. "Maybe one guy here said he felt it."

This isn’t the first time an earthquake has been reported in Pennsylvania.

Although the USGS said Pennsylvania is relatively safe from earthquake risk, the state may have experienced aftershocks from earthquakes in 1663 and 1727, but the historical records are not definitive.

In 1934, an earthquake caused buildings to shake and dishes to crash from shelves in and around Erie, and another caused minor damage four years later in southern Blair County, according to the USGS. Most of the earthquakes or aftershocks felt since then in the state have been in Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley and other areas of eastern Pennsylvania and did not cause catastrophic damage. The last earthquake recorded in Pennsylvania before Tuesday's earthquake was a relatively puny 0.4 magnitude event on July 6 near Philadelphia.

In Eastern Pennsylvania, today's earthquake prompted authorities to declare emergencies at three Exelon nuclear power plants in Peach Bottom, Three Mile Island and Limerick and at a fourth plant in New Jersey.  No one was injured and no plant operations were affected, according to. The earthquake did not affect operations at the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station in Shippingport, Beaver County.

If you tried to make a call around 2 p.m. and weren’t able to connect, you weren’t the only one. The earthquake caused some cell phone service disruptions around this area as well as in other states.

Although early reports indicate that earthquake damage in Western Pennsylvania has been minimal, the state Public Utility Commission reminds residents who may smell or hear natural gas leaking to leave the affected building immediately and call 911.

The PUC is working with natural gas utilities throughout the state to monitor their systems while crews use special equipment to check for pressure changes and earthquake-related leaks, spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher said.

A chemical added to natural gas causes it to smell like rotten eggs. People who smell natural gas or hear hissing or blowing sounds should leave the building without turning lights on or off or using a telephone until they are out of the building.


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