LOUISA, Va. (AP) – The U.S. Geological Survey says there was a small earthquake in central Virginia.
The agency’s website shows that a magnitude 1.7 earthquake occurred around 3:42 a.m. Thursday about 5 miles (8 kilometers) southeast of Louisa, at a depth of nearly 2 miles (3.1 kilometers).
Paul Caruso, a National Earthquake Information Center geophysicist, says there haven’t been any reports of people feeling the earthquake and such a small earthquake isn’t likely to cause any damage. Dominion Energy spokesman Richard Zuercher says there was no impact on the North Anna nuclear power station.
It occurred near the epicenter of a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked the East Coast in 2011. Caruso says it’s possible that Thursday’s quake was an aftershock from that larger quake.
