earthquake in maryland

3.6 Magnitude Earthquake in Maryland, July 16

Residents of Maryland were alerted today after a 3.6 magnitude Earthquake hit the area near Gaithesburg. According to the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, the earthquake took place shortly after 5 am, and had its center 20 miles northwest of Washington.

Although the magnitude is way lower than the magnitude of recent earthquakes around the World, it is still a major event in the area. Since 1974 there hasn’t been a stronger and largest earthquake. The maximum magnitude reached since that year was 3.0.

The earth movement was felt in Maryland, Washington, and other states such as West Virginia, Delaware and Virginia.

Residents in the area report hearing a loud nose, sign of the earthquake.

“Occasionally these things do happen even east of the Rockies, even though it’s not really on a plate boundary where we expect earthquakes… Faults do exist from when the continent was forming. There are small faults that do exist within this area,” said Amy Vaughan, a USGS geophysicist.

Luckily there are zero reports on injured people and damaged buildings. Given the magnitude of the quake, it would be pretty rare to hear about damages.