The 2011 Virginia earthquake was felt by more people than any recorded U.S. earthquake and prompted revision of ground-shaking prediction models for the East Coast.
Key Facts
- Magnitude
- 5.8 Mw
- Epicenter
- Louisa County, Virginia
- Estimated property damage
- $200–$300 million USD
- Max Mercalli intensity
- VIII (Severe)
- Farthest landslide from epicenter
- 150 miles (240 km)
- Deaths
- 0
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The earthquake originated as an intraplate event within the ancient crystalline basement rocks of the Piedmont region of Virginia. Unlike the western United States, the eastern seaboard's older, colder, and denser crust transmits seismic waves more efficiently over long distances, amplifying the quake's reach far beyond what its magnitude alone would suggest.
On August 23, 2011, at 1:51 p.m. EDT, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 5 miles south-southwest of Mineral in Louisa County, Virginia. With a maximum perceived intensity of VIII on the Mercalli scale, it was felt across more than a dozen U.S. states and several Canadian provinces, making it the most widely felt earthquake in U.S. recorded history. Several aftershocks up to 4.5 Mw followed.
The earthquake caused no fatalities and only minor injuries, but produced widespread minor to moderate building damage estimated at $200–$300 million. Notably, researchers found landslides occurred as far as 150 miles from the epicenter—far exceeding the previously documented maximum of 36 miles for a quake of similar magnitude—suggesting that existing equations predicting East Coast ground shaking require revision.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 0 (earthquake)