Cleveland Shaken, Rattled in Unlikely Earthquake

A 5.9 earthquake hit Mineral, Va., Tuesday and by around 1:53 p.m. Eastern time Clevelanders were feeling the shake. The shakes and rattles lasted for about 60 seconds and were jarring enough to send downtown workers fleeing from their buildings. Many folks attending the Indians' double-header decided to leave the stadium.

"The Avengers" is currently filming in downtown Cleveland, so a few explosions and a little rocking has been the norm for a few weeks. However, Clevelanders quickly realized that this was different. Tim Hammond was attending the Cleveland Indians' double header yesterday at Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland with his family. They were just trying to celebrate his son's 10th birthday until the earth started moving.

"My first thought was, that's weird, I can't move this seat," Tim Hammond said, according to The Associated Press. "I thought it was the wind. I know the stadium is made to move, but I didn't know what was moving it. I was thinking maybe they blew something up on that movie set. A lot of people got up and were like, 'We're out of here.'"

No injuries were reported in Cleveland and no official evacuation orders were issued. Downtown Cleveland has since returned to business as usual.

Earthquakes are not commonplace in Cleveland, but they are not unheard of either. On June 23, 2010, a 5.0 earthquake rocked an area about 33 miles north of Ottawa, Canada. Within minutes of this earthquake, Cleveland felt a shock of about 2.0. No major building damage or injuries were reported with this quake.

As of the June 2010 earthquake, the coordinator for the Ohio Seismic Network, Michael Hansen, said, "this is the seventh earthquake to be felt in the state this year. More than 50 earthquakes have been recorded in Ohio in the last decade," according to The Plain Dealer.

Cleveland is certainly known for harsh winters due to lake effect snow but not for earthquakes, so why so many in the last decade? It is believed that the St. Lawrence fault system may have something to do with it. Lake Erie, which is where Cleveland lies, is thought to lie on an extension of this fault system.

Further research is necessary to determine this and intra-plate tectonics, a new science, is doing just this. How long we have to wait for the answers is unknown, but scientists are actively gathering data and working tirelessly to try to determine why the Great Lakes are being rocked with seismic activity.

For now, Clevelanders will go back to our stable ground, but we are always aware that another quake could rock us at any moment.