South Shore reacts to Virginia earthquake's tremors

An earthquake in Virginia of as yet undetermined magnitude has shaken buildings in Nassau County. Unconfirmed reports indicate a 5.9 EQ hit near Richmond, VA, a half-mile deep.

Matthew Ryley of Baldwin reports that he was in his room watching TV "when I felt the whole room shaking. 'What in the name of Heaven is going on?' I thought the house was going to collapse. Of course, it didn't. This felt very weird."

Jennifer Conklin Camacho, of Franklin Square, was driving at the time of the tremors. "My daughter and I were in our car, stopped at a red light on Stewart Ave in Garden City. The car started shaking back and forth and I thought maybe there was some construction close by, and was comforted when it passed quickly. As we headed into Sears to continue our school shopping, I overheard a salesperson talking about how his chair was shaking moments ago and I turned back around and shared my story ... an that is when he told me that there was an earthquake."

Salvatore Arena from the MTA reports that there were no delays or stops on the main line, which includes Mineola. He said that the 1:35 p.m. train from Penn Station to Babylon was due by 2:50 p.m. but was 15 minutes late, but he is unsure if that lateness was due to the earthquake. He said there was a delay to a train or two in Jamaica due to the quake, and that could have caused the 15-minute delay to Babylon.

A spokeswoman for the Nassau University Medial Center issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon: "An earthquake registering 5.9 on the Richter scale hit with an epicenter 87 miles south of Washington, DC. Shocks were felt as far north as New England. The NuHealth facilities were impacted, experiencing minor shaking. NUMC's Incident Command team was in contact with Nassau County Office of Emergency Management and the North Shore-LIJ Health System. The hospital’s facilities team is performing a building assessment at NUMC and the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility. There are no indications that the hospital or the nursing home sustained any damage. The staff on various patient floors remained attentive to their patients. There are no evacuation advisories."

Virginia, of course, and the Washington, D.C. area have been affected most directly, as well as all the way up the coast to NY and NJ.

One Merrick woman asks on Facebook: "Earthquake - Did anyone else here in Merrick, New York notice the Earthquake around 1:55 today, August 23, 2011? My coffee maker started shaking, and at first I thought it was because of construction nextdoor!"

Karin wrote: "I evacuated my building...it lasted a while...."

MaryEllen Mittler Tripp: "I work in hempstead in a 6 story bldg. It was rocking & rolling."

Governor Cuomo's office released the following statement at 2:43 p.m.: The State Office of Emergency Management continues to monitor effects in New York State from the earthquake that originated in Virginia this afternoon. Currently, there have been no reports of damage to buildings, bridges, roads, power grids, the Indian Point nuclear power plant, or other infrastructure.

Pat G. Rowe 2:42pm Aug 23: Nuclear reactors in North Carolina were taken offline as a precaution.

Port Authority: No flights are departing or arriving from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Patricia Zambuto Servidio 2:31pm Aug 23: We were in Woodbury in an SUV-we kept telling our girls to stop shaking the car lol - then my husband called to tell me his building was evacuated due to horrible swaying in Jericho. Is everyone ok?

Ann wrote: "Yes, my coffee machine started shaking around 1:55 PM"

Another person in East Rockaway reports: definitely in East Rockaway. Was in a parking lot, all the cars started to wobble.

A Roslyn resident: my whole house was shaking. It was really scary.

Phyllis Lohman Lazzaro: Chandelier swaying, end table shaking, dining room table vibrating.

Karin wrote: "That was crazy!"

JoAnn Mirabella Quinn: We felt it in Bellmore for 2 minutes.

In Washington, D.C., the Pentagon was evacuated, according to unconfirmed reports.

Maureen O'Driscoll: she felt it in Brooklyn.

John Denton says it was experienced "up and down the east coast."