 "Photo: With QUAKE, McClatchy Washington Bureau by Kevin G. Hall and Adam Sege")
When the trembling began, Bruce dePyssler, an associate professor of mass communication, went to the door to see who was trying to enter the classroom. But there wasn't a soul to be seen. "It must be the construction," he said, while the students looked on puzzled. A few seconds later he checked the door. Still no one.
In fact N.C. Central University was the recipient of tremors from a 5.8 magnitude earthquake which rattled the East coast Tuesday afternoon.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey at 1:51 p.m., the earthquake's epicenter was 38 miles northwest of Richmond, Va. The tremors were felt as far north as Canada and as far south as Georgia.
"I thought it was construction then realized it was an earthquake because of some things moving near me," said Andrew Williams, Director of the MSA degree program in the English and Mass Communication department.
Williams was not the only person on campus to feel the rumbles. "I was typing and felt my keyboard shake. I wasn't sure what was going on until my tower fan fell on the floor," said Theatre department Administrative Support Associate Martha McAlister.
Immediately following the earthquake, cell phone towers were buzzing with calls which caused lines to be locked down for at least 20 minutes. "I called my mom to see how she was doing but could not get through, the line just rang busy," said athletic training junior DeAmber Miller. Luckily, the Washington, D.C. native's mother did contact her reporting to be ok.
Moments after the earthquake passed, social media sites were busy. Like clockwork, the east coast and campus began tweeting and Facebooking what they felt. On Twitter, #Earthquake became a trending topic which caused people everywhere to ask what was going on. This was a way some students learned about what had transpired.
This is not the first earthquake to occur in Virginia. In a Tectonic Summary, the USGS reported that the earthquake occurred due to "reverse faulting on a north or northeast-striking plane within a previously recognized seismic zone, the Central Virginia Seismic Zone. The Central Virginia Seismic Zone has produced small and moderate earthquakes since at least the 18th century."
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