Earthquake hits north of Dillwyn

Published 1:51 pm Thursday, November 5, 2015

A 2.6-magnitude earthquake centered in Buckingham County shook Central Virginia Wednesday morning.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter of the earthquake was about one mile northeast of Dillwyn and was 4.7 miles deep. The USGS says it occurred at 6 a.m.

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A USGS map depicts the epicenter along U.S. Route 15 southwest of Thomas Road near Rocky Mount Road.

No damage was reported in the county Wednesday morning, according to Emergency Services Coordinator Kevin Flippen.

“Using our ‘Did You Feel It?’ tool, which records citizen responses to

the earthquake, we received 74 responses in 33 zip codes, most reporting weak shaking if anything at all,” said USGS spokesman Alex Demas regarding the earthquake.

“We were awakened by the shaking, and we heard a rumble,” said Todd Fortune, who lives near the epicenter. “Checked the house before I left for work, no signs of damage.”

“I heard a boom and the house shook. We had no apparent damage, however,” said Dawn Hinds, an English teacher at Buckingham High School.

Tammy Huddleston, who lives near the Cumberland County line in Buckingham, said she heard a loud rumbling and felt shaking. “My dogs alerted us just as it began,” she said.

Jo Elaine Jones Justis, who lives in New Canton, said she heard a deep rumble for about 16 seconds. “No vibration felt — only sound,” she said.

Numerous people outside of Buckingham in Cumberland, Prince Edward and the surrounding area took to social media to share their experience.

Renee Gilliam said she felt the shaking in the Darlington Heights/Prospect area.

“I’m pretty sure I heard a rumble and felt a small vibration right around 6 a.m, on First Avenue in Farmville,” said Josh Blakely.

Bonnie Baldwin said she felt it on Davenport Road in Cumberland.

According to Demas, the last significant earthquake in the area was in 2011 near Mineral. In Central Virginia, he said there’s a well-established seismic zone.

According to the USGS, people in Central Virginia have felt small earthquakes and suffered damage from infrequent larger ones since 1774. “The largest damaging earthquake (magnitude 5.8) in the seismic zone occurred in 2011. Smaller earthquakes that cause little or no damage are felt each year or two.”