A magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the East Coast of the U.S. yesterday, causing minor damage and shocking many who are not used to such seismic events.
Office workers flooded streets in downtown Washington, D.C. after the shaking, which was felt by people as far away as New York City and Toronto, Canada. Many people said they feared a terrorist attack or an explosion but quickly realized what had actually happened.
Seismologists say there is a fault line that runs near the Appalachian Mountains that causes minor seismic events, but this earthquake is the largest in more than a century and a rare occurrence. It caused cracks in some buildings and monuments as well as minor interior damage, which engineers are inspecting in the aftermath.
Note: The first 4 minutes and 30 seconds of this video is a summary of the events surrounding the earthquake, and the rest is a discussion with a seismologist.
Quotes
"I didn't make the connection between 9/11 being just a few weeks away and today. But my first thought was that it was potentially a terror attack. My building just shook too violently for it to be anything normal." - Bystander in Washington, D.C.
"In this general region, this Central Virginia Seismic Zone, which is the area of this particular quake, we have seen a number of different types of motion. And that reflects the fact that what you're looking at are very, very ancient faults for the most part." - Dr. David Applegate, U.S. Geological Survey
Warm Up Questions
1. What is an earthquake? What causes it?
2. What types of natural disasters can occur where you live? How do you prepare and react to them?
3. What should you do if an earthquake hits?
Discussion Questions
1. Why do you think people reacted the way they did to this earthquake? If you felt it, how did you react?
2. How does the aftermath of this earthquake compare to other earthquakes that have been in the news recently?
3. According to the video, where was the epicenter of this earthquake? What is an epicenter? Why is shaking stronger closer to it?
Additional Resources
Lesson Plan: Aftershocks: Preparing For The Ongoing Impact of Earthquakes
