This year seems to be off to a “rocky” start as an earthquake, registered as a 2.3 on the Richter scale, has hit the suburb of Rockville, MD, one of the many small DMV-area towns just outside of Washington D.C.
The earthquake took place just before 1 am on January 2nd, with an epicenter that was just about 2 miles outside of Rockville so at a time when most residents were asleep. While the earthquake has been considered to be minor and quite weak, it’s still a phenomenon that caught many locals and residents off-guard, with over 1,000 people in the area reporting the tremor to the U.S. Geological Survey, a majority of which described the earthquake as minor. While a majority of the reports came from Montgomery County, there were a few from Northern Virginia and D.C. as well that experienced the quake as well. However, based on the reports many of those further from the center of the earthquake were less confident in what they experienced, unsure if it were an earthquake at all.
The noise of the earthquake was referred to as a deep rumble or growl similar to that of a big truck driving by or that of a train passing through a railroad crossing. The actual shaking caused by the quake was reportedly less significant than its rumbling noise, which reportedly continued for only a few seconds before it stopped.
Fortunately, no damages or injuries have been reported following the quake, so while a few houses were shaken and a couple of people may have been frightened by the tremor, there’s not really anything to be concerned about.