A moderate 5.3-magnitude earthquake that rattled southern Colorado early Tuesday morning was the largest to hit the state in more than 40 years, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The quake's epicenter was seven miles southwest of Cokedale, and 180 miles south of Denver. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
A dispatcher at the sheriff's office in Las Animas County, which includes Cokedale, said the quake lasted almost 30 seconds. The office received reports of rocks falling on a highway and of some structure damage.
It was the largest in a series of earthquakes that struck the area. As of 5 a.m. local time (7 a.m. ET), the USGS reported seven quakes centered just south of Cokedale since midnight.
And one this afternoon in Virginia near DC.
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 struck Tuesday near the nation's capital and sent shock waves up and down the East Coast.
"It's one of the largest that we've had there," said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones. Aftershocks were a concern, she said. "People should be expecting (them), especially over the next hour or two," she added.
Near the epicenter -- Mineral, Virginia -- Louisa County Sheriff's Lt. Roy "Snake" McGehee said he had heard of no injuries. "We've had some structural damage," he said. "My wife said the house shook pretty good." He'd felt three aftershocks in the hour after the initial quake.
And yes, yours truly did feel the second one as I was on the second floor of a building near the corner at the time. I thought it was the wind at first until I saw the TV on the way out. Nothing weird, been through them before, but DC is not used to these kinds of things.
A pair of fives, indeed.
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