A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck Virginia Tuesday afternoon, prompting the evacuation of Georgetown University buildings and the U.S. Capitol.
The quake, the largest in Virginia in more than a century, was felt as far north as New Hampshire and as far south as North Carolina, according to the New York Times.
Some students thought the emergency procedures were overkill for the size of the shock.
“I was in my room in Village C. I think the reaction was overrated. I don’t think we should still be out here. I think it’s been, what, an hour now?” Elias Tsikhlakis (MSB ’14) said.
Members of the Georgetown community were notified of the earthquake by a Hoya Alert email sent at 2:32 p.m., 40 minutes after the quake first struck. According to a university broadcast email sent at 3:42 p.m., the university is now closed.
A mild shake lasting around 30 seconds could be felt in buildings throughout the district.
Kathryn Kay, director of New Student Orientation in Center for Student Programs, was in the middle of staff training when the quake happened.
“As of right now, we don’t anticipate that this will impact the new student [move-in]. The only thing that this is impacting is our staff training, but we know that our staff are really great and really prepared, so we’re just kind of making do with the situation and we know they’ll be prepared,” she said.
–Hoya Staff Writers Kavya Devorakonda and CarolynShanahan contributed to this report.