Following a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Virginia yesterday, tremors were felt across the entire East Coast from Rhode Island down to Georgia. The shakes left no major damage or injury but left East Coast residents shook up. Not to mention, it also let residents realize the reality that earthquakes can actually happen here on Long Island.
Earthquakes on the East Coast are rare but do occur– as we all witnessed yesterday– and in fact, California and Alaska aren’t the only ones with potential significant seismic activity, almost 40 states are in moderate to high risk for seismic activity.
Of course, what the East Coast has experienced as far as quakes are concerned is nothing compared to Japan’s earthquake that struck earlier this year. In March, a 9.0 magnitude quake lead to a subsequent tsunami and left Japan a the death toll upwards of 20,000. According to the USGS, throughout history of humanity, earthquakes as strong as Japan’s have been known to rock certain regions. Here are the top 5 earthquakes since 1900.
