U.S. East Coast earthquake created a ‘new normal’

August 23, 2012 – VIRGINIA - When the “Big One” rocked the East Coast one year ago, the earthquake centered on this rural Virginia town cracked ceiling tiles and damaged two local school buildings so badly that they had to be shuttered for good. In Virginia, the North Anna Power Station became the first operating U.S. nuclear power plant shut down because of an earthquake. Was it a once-in-a-century anomaly, or are there more quakes to come? Scientists are trying to answer that question as they pore over the data and survey the epicenter from the air. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, much of central Virginia has been labeled for decades as an area of elevated seismic hazard. But last year’s quake was the largest known to occur in that seismic zone. “Scientists would like to know if this earthquake was Virginia’s Big One,” said J. Wright Horton of the USGS. Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia are revising their emergency planning documents to include earthquakes. The response of many East Coast residents — many of whom fled high-rise buildings — went counter to the behavior recommended by experts during a quake. Meanwhile, the quake prompted several jurisdictions to revise their emergency response plans. “We learned a lot, that’s for sure,” said Laura Southard, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. One lesson, she said: the need to conduct post-quake assessments to size up damage. Ultimately, 6,400 homeowners and renters in nine Virginia localities received $16.5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The quake was centered 3 to 4 miles beneath Mineral, a town of fewer than 500 people about 50 miles northwest of Richmond. Yet, it was believed to have been felt by more people than any other in U.S. history. –Seattle PI

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