2 earthquakes in 3 days rattle … Baltimore

By Jay Croft, CNN

When we think about earthquakes in the US, they’re usually somewhere around Los Angeles, or maybe Alaska, right?

But Baltimore?

The Maryland city has had two earthquakes in just three days — both as small as they are rare. Affiliate WBAL reported that officials said there were no initial calls about major damage or injuries.

The first quake registered 2.6-magnitude on the Richter scale on Friday afternoon near Woodlawn, just over the Baltimore City/Baltimore County line, the US Geological Survey reported.

“It scared me to death,” said Wanda Binns, of Woodlawn, on WBAL. “Certainly, you would expect to see it on the West Coast. Who would think of something like this happening here?”

“It was a little scary,” said Kim Dixon of Woodlawn. “There was shaking of the house that I never experienced before.”

Then early Sunday, another tremor of 1.7-magnitude occurred in West Baltimore, the USGS said.

The USGS says a moderate earthquake might measure 5.3, and a strong earthquake might be 6.3.

According to Merriam-Webster, 1.5 is the smallest earthquake that can be felt. At 4.5, an earthquake can cause slight damage, and an 8.5 quake can be “very devastating.”

WBAL said a 5.8-magnitude earthquake was felt in Maryland in 2011 but was centered in Virginia. Damage was strewn throughout the Baltimore area from fallen trees and bricks from buildings. That quake released 63,000 times more energy and shook the ground 1,500 times harder than Friday’s earthquake.

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