4.7-magnitude earthquake reported off Ocean City coast

(Screenshot via Google Maps)

WASHINGTON — An earthquake was recorded Tuesday night roughly 136 miles off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The 4.7-magnitude quake occurred around 6:30 p.m. in the Atlantic, at a depth of 10 kilometers, or just over 6 miles. No tsunami warning has been issued.

In a Facebook post just before 8:30 p.m., Ocean City officials said they were aware of the earthquake, adding, “Although we have seen no effects here, our emergency services department has been in contact with our state partners and will be monitoring as needed.”

Storm Team 4 meteorologist Steve Prinzivalli told WTOP, “The USGS reports about 30 people, mostly in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, actually felt the earthquake, so that’s very interesting. But this likely did not do a lot of significant damage, but folks could feel it certainly if they were in their rooms, if they were in their homes; there could’ve been some rattling taking place.”

Tuesday evening’s tremor marked one of the more significant geological events since the 5.8-magnitude quake that occurred in Mineral, Virginia, in 2011. That quake damaged the Washington National Cathedral in D.C., as well as the Washington Monument.

Prinzivalli added that another earthquake was recorded in the Delmarva Peninsula on Nov. 30, 2017; it was a 4.1-magnitude quake that struck near Dover, Delaware.

WTOP’s Andrea Cambron contributed to this report.

Teta Alim

Teta Alim is a Digital Editor at WTOP. Teta's interest in journalism started in music and moved to digital media.

Jack Pointer

Jack contributes to WTOP.com when he's not working as the afternoon/evening radio writer.

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