Not even an earthquake and a hurricane could stop Longwood from operating this past week. However, the two events were able to rattle the nerves of students and staff on campus. Luckily, no damage was reported by either event from Campus Police.
The rare earthquake, measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale, came as more of a surprise than anything else to students who were either on their way to class or sitting in a classroom waiting for the instructor to arrive. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the event occurred at 1:51 p.m. Tuesday, August 23, the second day of class.The quake was centered in Mineral, Va., located in Louisa County. Stationed only 70 miles away from Longwood, the quake shook buildings, offices and even knocked books off students' desks.
A number of aftershocks, at least 11 as of press time, have occurred since last week. The strongest of which, measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale, struck just after 1:07 a.m. Thursday. Yesterday, the latest aftershock, with a magnitude of 2.7, could also be felt in Louisa.
The quake sent shockwaves up and down the east coast. Reports of shaking came in from as far south as Florida, as far west as Illinois, and as far north as Canada, according to the USGS. Many believed a repeat Sept. 11, 2011 scenario was taking place. Cell phone service clogged as people tried to get in contact with family members.
While only putting students on pins and needles in Farmville and the surrounding area, in Louisa Co., the story was much different where severe damage occurred.
The rare event rivaled the Commonwealth's strongest quake on record, which occurred in May 1897 in Giles Co. in southwestern Virginia. That earthquake measured 5.9 on the Richter scale.
Even though the latest event was rare, smaller earthquakes occur in the Commonwealth each year. Central Virginia lies on two active earthquake zones caused by fractures and faults running parallel to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The plates were formed by a process more than 200 million years old that caused compression and detachment to occur over time. Farmville's nearest fault zone is the Farmville Triassis Basin, centered in nearby Buckingham Co.
The last notable quake that struck Virginia occurred in December 2003, according to USGS data. This 4.5 magnitude event was centered along the border of Powhatan and Cumberland Co., both to the east of Prince Edward Co. Minor damage was reported at Bremo Bluff to the north of Farmville. Distinctive vibrations lasting around a minute were felt in Farmville.
Senior Alyssa Foley was on the second floor of Ruffner when the quake happened. "I didn't realize what it was at first. I thought it was construction close to the building, but when it got stronger, Dr. [William Burger, professor of sociology] said it was an earthquake."
Senior Amy Ellis recalled her account of last Tuesday's quake. "I was actually in Grainger at the time getting ready for class when it happened. We all just thought it was people stomping above us because that tends to happen sometimes until it didn't stop for a few minutes." Students in other buildings reported similar experiences, especially near Ruffner Hall and the Center for Communication Studies & Theatre, both sites of ongoing construction.
Foley said the earthquake may have been a shock to the community, but she was not too surprised the earthquake occurred since the area is close to the fault zone. "They are rare but don't rate as phenomenal."
"By the time all of us had the sense to decide to grab our purses and go (since the class is almost all female), it was over," added Ellis. "Definitely an interesting way to start class."
After the east coast calmed down from the earthquake, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) put some of the nation's most populated cities on notice. Hurricane Irene caused much less damage than forecasted, but it still put a pounding on areas from South Carolina all the way to New England.
One of the hardest hit areas was the Tidewater region of Virginia. Numerous areas were flooded and power was out to over one million customers in the Commonwealth, the highest number without power on state record. Crews are still working to restore power in some areas of the state hardest hit, including metropolitan Richmond.
In the north, mass transit operations halted in New York City to prepare for the possible massive flooding forecasted. The majority of the flooding affected Vermont and upstate New York where over a foot of rain fell. Over 40 deaths have been blamed on the storm, according to CNN.
Here in Farmville, Irene had little impact on the town or university. A few limbs were knocked down thanks to wind gusts in excess of 40 m.p.h. No flooding issues were reported and the university remained open all weekend. The university posted updates on its homepage to keep the public updated on any changes or alerts. The alert siren on campus did sound Saturday morning but it was due to a contractor working on the alert system.
