Boston rattled by earthquake

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake sent shockwaves up and down the East Coast on Tuesday, from its epicenter in northern Virginia to New England and North Carolina.

According to a Boston University emergency alert issued on Tuesday afternoon, “many people in the Boston area, and on campus, have reported tremors resulting from this event.”

The alert also assured students that there were no “reported injuries or damage to buildings on the Boston University Charles River or Medical Center campuses” and that it is not necessary to evacuate buildings.

Officials in other parts of Boston evacuated and checked several buildings, but Boston police said there were no reports of damage at the moment. Bostonians at City Hall felt the earthquake at 1:51 p.m., according to The Boston Globe.

The tremors did not last for any more than 20 seconds, but some buildings experienced cracks in plaster and cement.

Earthquakes are not a common phenomenon in the Northeast region of the U.S. The last earthquake that was felt in Massachusetts of a similar magnitude was the Cape Ann Earthquake of November, 1755, according to the U.S. Geological Society.

The USGS’s intensity map indicates that while the earthquake measured as a 5.9 in Virginia, the intensity of the trembling was only a 2 – 3 in Mass., meaning that it was “weak”.

Residents along the Eastern Seaboard could feel the quake from North Carolina to Massachusetts, although the epicenter was located in Mineral, Va., about 83 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.

A U.S. Geological Survey seismologist said that people can expect aftershocks for about two hours after the initial quake.