A Better Pipe Smoking Community

A mild earthquake in Maryland that jiggled the nation's capital triggered widespread panic that probably has California residents chuckling. There were no reports of property damage or traffic delays, and despite the D.C. earthquake, trains were on time. But thousands of people called emergency switchboards following the ground rumbled and buildings wriggled for about 10 seconds. There was no word of fighter jets scrambling or members of the executive branch being hustled to an undisclosed location.

Media hype fixates on D.C. earthquake

Because it affected Washington D.C., the media magnified the effects of the earthquake exponentially, although it was considered mild. MSNBC reports the D.C. earthquake hit at 5:04 a.m. ET with a magnitude of 3.6 on the Richter scale, as outlined by the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was near Rockville, Md. As outlined by the USGS, rumbling was reported in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia Pennsylvania and the D.C. area.

Washington D.C. earthquake risk is low

A geophysicist with the USGS who was not shocked by the D.C. earthquake told the Washington post that the temblor was not "something out of the ordinary". But she added that it was rare for a quake measuring above 3 to hit the area. Since a database was created in 1974 to track seismic activity, the quake was the largest measures. Before Friday's jiggle, Vaughn said a 1993 2.7 Richter scale temblor was the largest. There was also a 2.6 tremor in 1990 and 2.5 shivers in 1997, 1993 and 1974, according to USGS earthquake data.

The earthquake was mistaken as a jet crash

Within two hours following the 10 second earthquake in Maryland, more than 6,700 people weighed in on the USGS website. CNN reports that some residents in and around Washington D.C. awoke Friday to what one witness said sounded like a jet about to crash outside his bedroom window. CNN also interviewed a woman named Judy Rudolf who said the quake sounded like an explosion. Smaller aftershocks might hit the area, the USGS said, however they will peter out quickly.

Discover more information

msnbc.msn.com

washingtonpost.com

cnn.com