Quake Rattles Nerves; No Damage Reported

Other than shaking some nerves, the earthquake which struck much of the East Coast today caused no real damage in Huntington.

That's the news from local officials who reported many precautions and no serious affects from the tremor which jolted the area just before 2 p.m.

Town Supervisor Frank Petrone, inside Town Hall when the tremor struck, ordered the building evacuated for about 30 minutes until the all clear was given.

"He directed the town engineer to inspect the building and another person was on the phone with the county," said A.J. Carter, the town information officer, who confirmed that no damage had been reported to town officials as of late Monday afternoon.

Most Long Island Railroad train service was unaffected by the shaking felt here. But the JFK AirTrain was temporarily suspended while the tracks were being inspected. Control towers at JFK and Newark Liberty airports were evacuated.

In a release, Suffolk County Police asked residents to remain calm as local officials assessed the impact while setting up special phone lines to handle calls.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake was 3.7 miles deep and occurred near Mineral, Va., about 100 miles south of Washington, D.C.

In Huntington, some residents reported feeling little affects during the earthquake while others reported feeling dizzy, confused or surprised.

"I thought it was heavy trucks doing work in the neighborhood," said Jack Pierce of Huntington, who heard his house creek and tick before he realized an earthquake was causing motion to it.

One 17-year-old resident thought her sister was shaking her house by putting clothes in the dryer before she realized it was an earthquake. "But when I looked around, everything was shaking," said Maya Perry, of Huntington.

"I didn't really notice at first and then I thought I was just dizzy," said Charlotte Brohel, at work in a Huntington village candy store when the tremor struck.

From Virginia to New England, the affects of the 5.9 earthquake which was centered in Virginia could be felt in more ways than one.

"I do feel somehow mother nature is catching up with us," said Riddhi Patel, who was in a doctors office in Far Rockaway at the time of the tremor.