It is estimated that approximately one-third of the U.S. population might have felt the earthquake, more than any other earthquake in U.S. history. People in certain areas of Pennsylvania, however, did not feel the earthquake at all despite being relatively close to the epicenter. About 148,000 people reported their ground-shaking experiences caused by the earthquake on the USGS "Did You Feel It?" website. Tremors from the Virginia earthquake were felt as far south as
Atlanta, Georgia; as far north as
Quebec City, Quebec; as far west as
Illinois and as far east as
Fredericton, New Brunswick, with damage reported as far away as
Brooklyn, New York. Although earthquakes in the central and eastern U.S. are substantially less frequent than in the western U.S., they are typically felt over a much broader region. East of the
Rocky Mountains, an earthquake can be felt over an area as much as ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast. Western rock is relatively young, therefore it absorbs much of the shaking caused by earthquakes. Hence, western earthquakes result in intense shaking close to the epicenter, but fade more quickly the farther the earthquakes travel. In the eastern United States, the rock is much older, and earthquake energy can therefore spread farther and have a greater impact. A magnitude 5.5 eastern U.S. earthquake can usually be felt as far as from its origin, and sometimes causes damage as far away as . The relatively shallow depth of this earthquake also contributed to its widespread effects.
United States Soon after the earthquake, the U.S.
Federal Aviation Administration ordered a
ground stop along the East Coast, causing some flight delays. The air traffic control tower at
John F. Kennedy International Airport was evacuated. Flights were delayed at several airports, including
Charlottesville–Albemarle Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport,
Newark Liberty International Airport,
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport,
Dulles International Airport,
Richmond International Airport, and
Philadelphia International Airport. At Ronald Reagan National Airport, ceiling tiles fell in one terminal, and flights were halted. A huge increase of cell-phone calls immediately after the event congested the
AT&T,
Verizon Wireless,
Sprint Nextel,
T-Mobile USA, and
Frontier Communications networks in the
Mid-Atlantic region, causing disruptions and loss of service for as much as an hour after the earthquake.
Virginia The epicenter of the earthquake was in
Louisa County, Virginia, where damage was greatest and several minor injuries occurred. The town of
Mineral, located north-northeast from the earthquake's epicenter, reported the collapse of two buildings, as well as minor damage to several other structures, including the collapse of the ceiling in its Town Hall. Only minor injuries were reported, including the hospitalization of several people reporting chest pains related to the stress of the experience. Fallen chimneys and other structural damage to buildings was also reported in
Louisa, the county seat. The Gilboa Christian Church, in
Cuckoo, built in 1832, was heavily damaged and rendered unusable; while its cemetery's vertical standing tombstones were toppled and razed to the ground. At
Louisa County High School, cinderblocks fell in classrooms, and cracks were seen in walls. Six students had minor injuries. Louisa County schools were closed on August 24 while engineers assessed damage to school buildings. Inspections revealed that 65 homes sustained major or severe damage and 125 homes experienced mild to moderate damage. On August 25, county officials declared a state of local emergency in order to allow them to request state aid. Multiple reactor sensors at the
North Anna Nuclear Generating Station, located northeast of the epicenter, detected a slight power reduction as a result of vibrations in the reactor or monitoring devices. This caused the two nuclear reactors to shut down automatically seconds before off-site power was lost. Amid public fears that the earthquake could cause a nuclear accident, prompted in part by the
Fukushima disaster which had occurred six months prior, the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission sent additional inspectors to the Virginia plant after preliminary measurements suggested that the ground shook more than the two reactors were designed to handle. The damage was minimal and the NRC advised that further inspections should not be interpreted to mean that the plant was not safe. After a $21 million inspection, engineers stated that they only found cosmetic damage. On November 11, 2011, the NRC gave its approval for restarting the reactors. In
Charlottesville, about west of the epicenter, a gas leak closed several streets, including West Main Street. In
Spotsylvania County, the August 24 opening of
public schools was delayed while damage to buildings was assessed. Several buildings in
Culpeper, about north of the epicenter, sustained structural damage. The brick façade of the Levy Building, built during 1848, collapsed and the building was condemned and demolished. The walls of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, constructed during 1821, buckled and were deemed unstable by town officials. Another church, Culpeper Baptist Church, built during 1894, lost its chimney. Schools in Culpeper County delayed their scheduled August 24 opening to assess damage to buildings. Two minor earthquake injuries were reported by the Culpeper Regional Hospital. Also in Fredericksburg, a gas leak led to the evacuation of homes and businesses in a two-block radius. Most of the water in the lake was released to relieve pressure. The dam will be rehabilitated at a cost of approximately $900,000. In
Arlington County, a burst pipe flooded two corridors at
the Pentagon. Employees, many of whom left the building when the earthquake was felt, were alerted to the flooding by an alarm system that was installed after the
September 11 attacks.
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, in
Arlington National Cemetery experienced significant damage when the quake shifted the structure's back wall by a quarter of an inch, producing large cracks in the
plaster and requiring the closure of the House's back hallway and second floor. The county's
Thomas Jefferson Theater—home to a middle school auditorium and several community theatre groups—closed for several months due to damage to its stage area, including a shift of the
masonry bearing walls and supports for its
fly gallery and
gridiron deck. The nearby
City of Alexandria experienced damage to chimneys and/or other brickwork in
Gadsby's Tavern, the
Alexandria City Hall and other historic buildings. Two spare replacement panels of the
Vietnam Veterans memorial that were stored at Quantico Marine Base were knocked down and shattered.
Washington, D.C. during the earthquake. The earthquake occurs at the 1:44 mark. due to damage caused by the earthquake The
White House, the
Capitol, and various other buildings were evacuated. The afternoon traffic rush hour was affected, with some traffic lights inoperative, and the
Washington Metro system's trains operated at reduced speeds while tracks and tunnels were inspected.
District of Columbia Public Schools were shut down the day after while inspections of the schools were conducted. A
National Park Service spokesperson reported that surveys revealed cracks near the top of the
Washington Monument, the world's tallest stone structure, which remained closed for repairs until May 2014. The earthquake severely damaged three of the four
pinnacles (corner spires) on the central tower of the
Washington National Cathedral, cracked some of its
flying buttresses, and caused additional damage. As the cathedral's insurance policy did not cover earthquake damage, cathedral officials stated that they would need to raise millions of dollars to fully evaluate the damage and to stabilize and repair its
limestone exterior. The
Embassy of Ecuador suffered structural damage, including three collapsed
chimneys and cracked internal walls. The
Treasury Building suffered minor damage to exterior railings, some of which fell to the ground and caused closure of a sidewalk. Fire department officials in Washington reported numerous minor injuries as a result of the earthquake.
Other parts of the Mid-Atlantic region In
Wilmington, Delaware, blocks fell to the street from the steeple of St. Thomas the Apostle Church, and the New Castle County Courthouse was evacuated, as was the air traffic control tower of the
New Castle County Airport in nearby
Wilmington Manor. Fire marshals and building inspectors were called to assess structures throughout
Dover, the capital city, where the city hall was evacuated. Numerous buildings in
Georgetown, the Sussex County seat was evacuated while crews checked for damage; the Emergency Operations Center there reported 200 calls to
9-1-1.
Delaware Department of Transportation crews were dispatched statewide to inspect interstate highways, the under-construction replacement
Indian River Inlet Bridge, the
Delaware Memorial Bridge on
I-295, and other bridges and roads. In
Temple Hills, Maryland, residents were evacuated from two damaged apartment buildings. In
Kensington, the tops of four spires on the
Washington D.C. Temple of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fell to the ground along with several pieces of marble from the façade. Near
Brunswick, the earthquake caused "significant discoloration and a reduction in the quality of the water" of a spring, leading officials to warn against using the water until further notice. In the
Fells Point neighborhood of
Baltimore, St. Patrick Catholic Church was deemed unsafe and was scheduled to be closed for weeks for repairs. In
Salisbury, the City Police station endured damage above doorways and in concrete block walls, and there was also minor cracking in classroom walls at
Salisbury University. In
Annapolis, several buildings at the
United States Naval Academy were damaged. In
Suitland, eight jars of preserved fish specimens fell from shelves at a
Smithsonian Institution storage facility. In
Martinsburg, West Virginia, several government buildings were evacuated, and multiple citizens reported feeling their homes shaking violently enough to rattle picture frames off the walls. In
Charleston, the
Kanawha County Courthouse, the
West Virginia State Capitol campus, and several other downtown buildings were evacuated;
Kanawha County dispatchers received more than 350 telephone calls in 45 minutes, but there were not any reports of damage to buildings and infrastructure other than minor
plaster cracking in the old courthouse. In
Philippi, part of a chimney collapsed at the
Barbour County courthouse. The West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training stated that West Virginia
coal mines were safe following the tremors. A roof collapse in
Patriot Coal Company's Big Mountain Complex forced the closure of the mine. Trembling was felt in buildings in
Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh,
Altoona,
Hollidaysburg,
York,
State College,
Erie,
Allentown,
Reading,
Harrisburg and elsewhere in
Pennsylvania. Just before 2:00 p.m., in the midst of an opening game between New England and Europe in the
Little League Baseball World Series, many people in
South Williamsport experienced a ground shaking LLBWS first. Staffers at the
Altoona Mirror evacuated their building after it shook for about 10 seconds from the tremor. They returned about 2:25 p.m. The third floor of the
Blair County Courthouse in
Hollidaysburg was evacuated but court sessions continued on the second floor. A house reportedly was moved off its foundation and its roof buckled in the
Three Springs area,
Huntingdon County Emergency Management Director Adam Miller said. A minor
rockslide occurred on
Route 453 near
The Grier School in
Birmingham. Workers at the
PPL Corporation in
Allentown evacuated the building. The
Bucks County Courthouse in
Doylestown was evacuated after the earthquake. In Philadelphia,
SEPTA Regional Rail trains were restricted to a speed of while tracks were inspected for damage, and
PATCO Speedline trains were briefly suspended, with no damage reported. The
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation inspected bridges across the state for damage. The
Delaware River Port Authority reported no damage to its four bridges across the
Delaware River. Minor damage was also reported in the
Pittsburgh area. In March 2013, a landfill in
Williams Township, south of
Easton, experienced a mudslide, closing a road for over nine months. The mudslide was caused by a cap slip, determined to be the result of the 2011 earthquake. Damage in
New Jersey was minor. The state Emergency Management office reported two gas leaks in
Gloucester County. but instead it was renovated to provide housing for senior citizens. No other infrastructure damage was reported in the state. in New York City after the earthquake Tremors were felt to varying degrees throughout
New York State, including by people in some buildings in
Manhattan. Physical damage occurred in
Brooklyn, where a chimney in
Red Hook was toppled.
New England The earthquake was felt throughout much of the six
New England states. In
Boston, Massachusetts, the
Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reported tremors and swaying buildings but no damage. The
U.S. District Court in
South Boston was evacuated and the
University of Massachusetts Boston closed early. In
Maine, the earthquake was felt as far north as
Augusta and
Portland, but no damage was reported in the state.
Midwestern states In
Columbus, Ohio, the
Huntington Center was briefly evacuated, and occupants on the upper floors of the
Rhodes State Office Tower and the
Vern Riffe State Office Tower reported feeling strong shaking. Evacuations also occurred in
Canton and
Akron. In
Cleveland, the
press box at
Progressive Field shook during the third inning of a
Cleveland Indians baseball game. Tremors from the earthquake were felt as far north as
Saginaw, Michigan, and as far west as communities on
Lake Michigan. There were no reports of damage.
Canada Tremors from the earthquake were also felt in eastern Canada, mostly in
Southern Ontario, as well as in parts of southern
Quebec and the
Maritime provinces. In Ontario, a few buildings in Toronto were evacuated, and roads were closed as a precautionary measure in case of building collapse in
Sudbury and
Windsor. 2011 was the second consecutive year in which an earthquake was widely felt in Southern Ontario and Quebec, the previous being the
June 2010 Central Canada earthquake that also affected that region. ==Internet activity and social media==