A 5.9 magnitude earthquake rocked the U.S. Atlantic coast at 1:51 p.m. Eastern Standard Time today and caused a seismic stir on Facebook, as well, with several posts per second mentioning the quake right after it happened.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter of the earthquake was in Virginia, 83 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., and 3.7 miles deep.
The quake was felt as far north as Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., where President Barack Obama is vacationing. Some buildings were evacuated in New York and Washington, including Capitol Hill and the Pentagon, and mobile-phone service was briefly interrupted in several areas.
Posts on Facebook ran the gamut from shock and disbelief, to confusion over whether there really was an earthquake, to humor, including users of the social network expressing dismay at missing the quake.
Those who felt the effects of the quake shared their experiences, and news links related to the event were shared.
As of this posting, the pace of earthquake-related Facebook posts had slowed a bit, but they were still coming in at a handful per second.
Facebook Washington D.C. chimed in with a post of its own:
Facebook D.C. experienced a 5.9 magnitude earthquake. We’re happy to report everyone in the office is fine, and we urge anyone who may have loved ones affected by the Virginia-based earthquake to stay tuned to the American Red Cross and FEMA.
Readers, how many of you learned about Tuesday’s earthquake via Facebook?
Screenshot courtesy of CNN.com.
Some of the more light-hearted earthquake-related posts:
http://www.facebook.com/search.php?q=earthquake&a...
Comment by Alon — August 23, 2011 @ 3:14 pm
Earthquake was felt in Lancaster SC
Comment by charlotte — August 23, 2011 @ 3:16 pm
I live in Lorton, Virgina and I felt the earthquake. I felt the ground shaking under me and everything swaying. My first earthquake. Wow, amazing.
Comment by Mahlet — August 23, 2011 @ 3:23 pm
Learned via AP mobile first..
Comment by Anne Thomas — August 23, 2011 @ 4:17 pm
[...] Nearly one in five people in the U.S. use Facebook to obtain information during a disaster — like what happened during yesterday’s Atlantic coast earthquake. [...]
Pingback by STUDY: 1 in 5 Use Facebook For Emergencies — August 24, 2011 @ 12:09 pm
I learnt it through Facebook!
Comment by Henry Louis — August 25, 2011 @ 2:46 am