By Linda Cicoira — A 4.6-magnitude earthquake at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night, at a depth of 5.6 km (about 3.5 miles), went unnoticed by most Eastern Shore folks. Others felt and heard the vibration.
The United States Geological Survey pinpointed the quake at 219 kilometers, or about 135 miles east of the Shore.
“I was giving my dogs fresh water,” said Sandra Williams Wharton, of Tasley. “I ended up spilling some water on the floor.”
“Felt nothing,” said Connie Louise Cummings of Chincoteague. “But I did hear a rumble that I thought was a truck right outside my door.”
“I felt nothing in Wachapreague,” said Bonnie Munn. “Didn’t know about it until someone posted it on Facebook later.”
“We were home in Exmore,” said Shayna S. Jordan. “My son asked, ‘What was that?’ But I just figured it was a tractor-trailer. We live along the highway. Guess now I’ve got to tell him it was an earthquake!”
“Here in Quinby, we heard a loud rumble,” reported Sheryl Reeves Williamson.
People reporting from Onley, Jamesville, Hack’s Neck, Wardtown, Painter, Belle Haven, Cherrystone, Texacotown, Greenbush, Parksley, Bloxom, and Accomac were not aware there had been an earthquake. Most residents in Onancock said the same thing. A few knew something had happened but didn’t know what it was.
“Heard a rumble in Onancock but didn’t feel anything like we did a few years ago,” said Brandon Pruitt. Polly Milliner Ransone said her dog “was acting weirder than usual.”
“We felt like the side of the house was shaking apart,” Bonnie Ellen Hilton, of Accomac, wrote on the Eastern Shore Post’s Facebook page.
“We looked at each other and said, ‘That was weird.’”