Minor earthquake shakes areas near Richmond, Virginia

A minor but “notable” earthquake shook the outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The quake was centered near the 2011 epicenter of the Virginia earthquake that impacted large portions of the East Coast.

The magnitude 2.8 earthquake struck at 5:28 p.m. on Tuesday, with its epicenter less than a mile from Wyndham, Virginia, and 13 miles from Richmond, according to the USGS. The quake had a shallow depth of less than 0.1 miles below the surface.

In a post on X/Twitter, the USGS described the earthquake as “notable,” with over 900 felt reports recorded in the immediate vicinity of the epicenter. Most of the reports indicated weak to light shaking, with no damage been reported so far.

The minor earthquake occurred near the epicenter of the 2011 Virginia earthquake, a magnitude 5.8 event that shook large parts of the East Coast. The 2011 quake caused damage to the Washington Monument in D.C. and was felt as far away as Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; and parts of Canada. It is estimated that nearly a third of the U.S. population may have felt that earthquake.