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A magnitude 2.8 earthquake rattled the Short Pump area northwest of Richmond on Tuesday evening, with people as far away as Fairfax County reporting they felt it, too, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake occurred at 5:28 p.m. in Henrico County’s Wyndham/Short Pump area.
A USGS “shake map” for the event showed the temblor was widely felt in the Richmond area, with regional responses from as far away as Oakton, Culpeper and Front Royal.
The earthquake occurred along the Central Virginia Seismic Zone, the same fault line that produced one of the strongest quakes to ever hit the East Coast. The magnitude 5.8 quake in central Virginia in August 2011 produced aftershocks for years.
USGS earthquake experts say temblors on the East Coast are much more widely felt than those west of the Rockies, due to an “older and colder” Earth crust and more mature fault lines.
There were no reports of damage or injuries Tuesday night. In a social media post, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said state officials were in contact with local authorities to assess any impacts.