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Earthquake Shakes Long Island

Tremors felt from 5.8 magnitude quake in Virginia. Locals share their stories.

No, you're not going crazy. You did just experience an earthquake on Long Island.

A 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit Virginia Tuesday shortly before 2 p.m. and was felt in Washington D.C., Ohio and New York.

In Malverne and West Hempstead, the intensity of the tremor was enough to rattle nerves and furniture in residents' homes and spark numerous people to rush to their computers to update their Facebook statuses.

"Earthquake?! Seriously?! That was crazy..." one Malvernite wrote.

Another Malverne resident, Heather Doyle, admitted she first thought the shaking was from a "huge train" passing through the village until she realized it was something much more.

"Well, surviving an earthquake...can check that off the bucket list," she added.

The situation was even more unsettling for Long Islanders who were working in high-rise buildings in Manhattan, where the tremors were also felt and some workers were forced to evacuate.

"At work on the 13th floor in NYC and building is shaking," Merrick resident Keith Wilcha wrote.

Wilcha was walking around his office when he started to feel "spacey" as if he was about to pass out.

He quickly realized he wasn't getting sick but rather had just experienced the aftermath of an earthquake when his colleagues said they too felt the shaking.

Malvernite Elizabeth Fisher was also shocked to learn that her seventh floor New York City office was shaking because of the aftershock of an earthquake since her building is located next to a blast site.

"We were thinking it was something from the blast site, but we didn't hear an explosion," she told Patch. "My desk was moving, and some lights were swaying."

After many people started to jump out of their offices and cubicles, Fisher said the staff decided to evacuate.

Once they reached the stairwell, they quickly discovered they were not the only ones who felt the tremors.

"All the floors were evacuating," she said. "Finally, we realized that it wasn't the blast site once we saw all the surrounding buildings around had been evacuated too.

"Crazy stuff in NYC," she added.

The Long Island Rail Road said train service was unaffected by the shaking felt here. Control towers at JFK and Newark Liberty airports were evacuated.

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Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
christine May 19, 2013 at 10:28 pm
there are eagles in the Mastic area.
Kathleen May 19, 2013 at 10:24 pm
We had a Red-tailed hawk in our back yard about 6 years ago. There was a noted silence in the air asRead More all the other birds didn't want their presence to be known. It was pretty awesome.
Douglas Mashkow May 19, 2013 at 10:16 pm
We have a family of Great Blue Herons in my neighbor's tree near the Westwood Station. They are big,Read More but that guy looks menacing!