SALEM, Va. – The United States Geological Survey confirms that a 2.6M earthquake hit four kilometers north of Lafayette in southwest Virginia Monday morning around 9:37 a.m.
People in parts of Salem reported the ground shaking between 9:30 and 9:40 Monday morning.
The National Earthquake Information Center called 10 News to confirm the quake despite initial reports that it may have been a mining blast.
It was detected on the Virginia Tech seismic network, with another report sent to us via Twitter.
My wife who was home said she felt the whole house shake and ran outside to see if something hit it
— Chris Hansen (@Kolyachol) September 27, 2021
Jeremy Howard was working from home in Salem and said his morning was interrupted by the shaking.
“A little after 9:30 in the morning, there was a really loud bang and my head shot up and my dog’s head shot up,” Howard said. “We thought something may have hit the house. We walked outside and saw other neighbors looking around and we all understood that we felt a very short earthquake.”
Earthquakes in the 2.5 to 5.4 magnitude range on the Richter Scale are typically felt, but don’t record much damage.
Doug Griggs in Salem emailed 10 News and mentioned some small cracks in his driveway and a depression on his street that may have been caused by the earthquake.
For perspective, the earthquake in Sparta, North Carolina last year came in at 5.1 magnitude.