Residents shocked at epicenter of rare US quake

earthquake that shook much of the eastern United States.
The 5.8-magnitude quake, which struck at 1:51 pm (1751 GMT) on Tuesday, had an epicenter six kilometres under the town of Mineral, the National Earthquake Information Center reported.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in Mineral, located 134 kilometres south-west of the US capital – and while some windows were shattered and a few brick chimneys and walls collapsed, the church bell towers stood and most homes suffered only minor damage.
Residents however, were shocked by the strength of the quake, the most powerful earthquake in Virginia since May 1897, when a 5.9 quake struck near the state’s western edge.
“I thought the end of the world was coming,” Mineral resident Richard Robinson told AFP, who like most residents ran into the street for safety.
Robinson, a security guard, pointed at a shattered business window.
“It happened so fast, so brutal. I thought of a terrorist attack or an airplane crash.
“All of a sudden everything started shaking, everyone started running,” said Dawn Michisk, who was working the station sales counter when the quake struck.
Ceiling tiles fell to the ground, and a female customer panicked, threw a popsicle she had just bought into the air and ran out the door, it was reported.
“I got hit by the Marlboro sign,” she told AFP.
Yellow emergency tape with the words “Do Not Cross” was placed around the city post office. – AFP.