Duke Feels Virginia Earthquake

A 5.9 earthquake centered 40 miles NW of Richmond, Va.,
shook buildings on the Duke campus Tuesday just prior to 2 p.m.

Tremors lasted for about 20 seconds in multiple campus
buildings.  Jack Burgess, director of
maintenance services, said he had received no immediate reports of damage
across the university but was monitoring the situation.

"We are not aware of any damage to the campus and will continue to monitor the situation," said Kyle Cavanaugh, Duke's emergency coordinator and vice president for administration.

However, there were reports that Duke staff were unable to
make phone calls to individuals off-campus. 
A spokesman for the Office of Information Technology said the issue was "intermittent" and possibly caused by high numbers of people calling others off-campus about
the earthquake.

The earthquake set social media networks afire with reports
of tremors across the east coast, a region not known for earthquake
activity.  Initial reports came in as far
north as Connecticut and as far west as Ann Arbor, Mich.

Did you feel the earthquake? 
Join the conversation on the
Working@Duke Facebook page.

More information about the earthquake can be found on the U.S.
Geological Service website.

What to do in an earthquake

Things You Should Do:

In MOST situations, you will reduce your chance of injury if you:

• DROP down onto your hands and knees (before the earthquakes knocks you down). This position protects you from falling but allows you to still move if necessary.
• COVER your head and neck (and your entire body if possible) under a sturdy table or desk. If there is no shelter nearby, only then should you get down near an interior wall (or next to low-lying furniture that won't fall on you), and cover your head and neck with your arms and hands.
• HOLD ON to your shelter (or to your head and neck) until the shaking stops.Be prepared to move with your shelter if the shaking shifts it around.

Things You Should Not Do:

• DO NOT run outside or to other rooms during shaking: The area near the exterior walls of a building is the most dangerous place to be. Windows, facades and architectural details are often the first parts of the buildingto collapse. To stay away from this danger zone, stay inside if you are insideand outside if you are outside. Also, shaking can be so strong that you will not be able to move far without falling down, and objects may fall or be thrown at you that you do not expect. Injuries can be avoided if you drop to the ground before the earthquake drops you.
• DO NOT stand in a doorway: An enduring earthquake image of California is a collapsed adobe home with the door frame as the only standing part. From this came our belief that a doorway is the safest place to be during an earthquake. True- if you live in an old, unreinforced adobe house or some older woodframe houses. In modern houses, doorways are no stronger than any other part of the house, and the doorway does not protect you from the most likely source of injury- falling or flying objects. You also may not be able to brace yourself in the door during strong shaking. You are safer under a table.

Other Helpful Reminders:

• Trying to move during shaking puts you at risk: earthquakes occur without any warning and may be so violent that you cannot run or crawl; you therefore will most likely be knocked to the ground where you happen to be. So it is best to drop before the earthquake drops you, and find nearby shelter or use your arms and hands to protect your head and neck. "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" gives you the best overall chance of quickly protecting yourself during an earthquake... even during quakes that cause furniture to move about rooms, and even in buildings that might ultimately collapse.
• The greatest danger is from falling and flying objects: studies of injuriesand deaths caused by earthquakes over the last several decades show that you are much more likely to be injured by falling or flying objects (TVs, lamps, glass, bookcases, etc.) than to die in a collapsed building. "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" (as described above) will protect you from most of these injuries.
• If there is no furniture nearby, you can still reduce the chance of injury from falling objects by getting down next to an interior wall and covering your head and neck with your arms (exterior walls are more likely to collapse and have windows that may break). If you are in bed, the best thing to do is to stay there and cover your head with a pillow. Studies of injuries in earthquakes show that people who moved from their beds would not have been injured if they had remained in bed.
• You can also prevent injuries by proactively securing objects that are likely to fall in the case of an earthquake, and by not stacking items that could topple should a tremor occur.

(from http://www.earthquakecountry.info)