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Last updated on Wednesday, August 24, 2011
(BLOOMINGTON) - An IU professor says it’s not uncommon for people this far into the Midwest to feel tremors from east coast earthquakes.
Dr. Michael Hamburger, Professor of Geological Studies says he's not surprised we felt the earthquake with its epicenter in Virginia. He says the character of the earth's crust in this area is very efficient at transmitting seismic waves over large distances which means earthquakes are felt and have the capability of producing damage over pretty large areas.
Dr. Hamburger says with magnitude 5.9 earthquakes, damage is usually confined to within 10 miles and since the epicenter was in a fairly rural area, he doesn't expect heavy damage reports.
He says earthquakes in that area are rare but earthquakes are always surprising and there have been worse quakes on the east coast than this one.
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