Community Corner

Tremors From Quake Hit Harrison

People in Harrison feel the affects of a 5.8 magnitude earthquake reported in Virginia Tuesday afternoon.

The blinds started shaking in Diane Cantrell's fifth floor apartment on Calvert Street just before 2 p.m. today, bringing back memories of the area's last major earthquake in the mid-'80s.

Although not nearly as powerful as that quake, parts of Harrison certainly felt the affects of Tuesday afternoon's 5.8 magnitude earthquake that sent tremors from Virginia up the East Coast.

Cantrell said she was taking her lunch break when her windows started to rattle. They continued to move, she said, for about 30 seconds before stopping.

Find out what's happening in Harrisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I thought I was feeling dizzy, I thought I was feeling sick," she said. "The mini-blinds started moving and the string blinds started moving, and I thought 'oh my God, I've got to get back to work'."

Once the tremors stopped, she said she returned to her job and nothing was damaged.

Find out what's happening in Harrisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

John Varamo, 17, was home reading a book when he noticed his cell phone fall from a counter top. He said he felt the room shake for about 30 seconds after he stood up.

"I kind of felt a little pull or sway, nothing major," he said, adding that he went on Facebook and saw that all of his friends began talking about the earthquake almost immediately.

"Some people said they really felt it, some said they didn't feel it at all," he said. "I guess is kind of just depended on where you were."

On Halstead Avenue Stephanie Pan, 28, said was at work at Carvel when she started to feel dizzy.

"I thought it was construction," she said, referring to work being done near the store on Purdy Street. "I didn't realize it was an earthquake until I got a call from a relative."

Others working in stores in downtown Harrison said they didn't feel a thing, but that customers were buzzing about who felt—and didn't feel—the ground shake.

Over in White Plains, some reported a more serious experience. Ray Price thought he was having some sort of medical problem when items in his office began to shake at 1:55 p.m.

“I thought I was going through a medical seizure,” said Price, a financial advisor for Prudential, a life insurance and financial service firm. “I’m saying, ‘Why is the chair shaking, why am I shaking?’ I’m sitting here on my laptop working, and all of a sudden I’m looking around, and I feel stuff moving.”

Price, a White Plains resident, realized there wasn’t anything wrong with him when the rest of his co-workers on the ninth floor of 360 Hamilton Ave. in White Plains came out of their offices asking if they felt the same vibrations.

Harrison Police said they received a few calls from residents wondering what had happened, but reported no damage. No town buildings were closed and only one person even reported feeling the earthquake in town hall, according to Mayor/Supervisor Joan Walsh.

The quake did not cause any disruptions to public transportation. Metro-North reports that commuter trains and subways are unaffected. Indian Point is reporting no damage and is operating at full power, said Jerry Nappi, Indian Point Energy Center spokesperson

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has released a statement saying that the "state is initiating comprehensive reviews of critical and sensitive infrastructure including the state’s hydroelectric plants, nuclear power plants, key bridges and tunnels, and other assets."

Cuomo said he is "getting regular reports from agencies all over the state and at this time there are no reports of damage or power outages."


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