State Officials Reveal More Details on Quake's Effects, Locals Share Their Stories

Just before 2 p.m. Tuesday, locals felt a 5.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred near Mineral, Va., according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). 

The quake was felt as south as North Carolina and as north as Ontario, the AP reported. In a press release, Gov. Dannel Malloy said “there have been no reports of injury or damages” in Connecticut.

The State's Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Deputy Commissioner Peter Boynton gave more details of the quake's effects in Connecticut in a 3:30 p.m. conference call.

Boynton said based on USGS reports, Connecticut "likely experienced a 2.7 on intensity scale." Different from the Richter Scale, the intensity scale (which is recorded on a 1-10 scale) records the shaking and damages as a result of an earthquake, he explained. A 2.7 means "weak shaking with little to no damage expected."

While Boynton said no injuries or damages were reported at the time of the conference, state officials are checking bridges and dams as precautionary matter. He also reported no delays or damages on the railways and that Connecticut Light & Power has reported 391 outages.

Across the region, the locals shared their stories of feeling the earthquake. 

man Victor Malindretos was working in Southport and said he felt the quake at five to 10 minutes after 2 p.m.

"I thought that someone in the office upstairs was moving furniture," Malindretos said. "It was like a rumble and a slight moving sensation. When I looked down at my screen, my co-workers were messaging me, asking if I felt something. Then I went on Google and saw there was a 5.8 earthquake in Virginia. Our data center in New Jersey was evacuated." 

Karen Hill of said she thought she was having a dizzy spell when her ceiling fans started shaking inside her house.

She said the tremors lasted about a minute, and she walked around her house moving trinkets and other items on shelves that had moved after the ground stopped shaking.

“That was after I freaked out and called my husband,” she said. “I didn’t know what to think at first. I thought maybe it was a large plane overhead but then realized it must have been an earthquake.”

In , Sue Wolf in University Hall at Western Connecticut State University, said, "The whole building wobbled for like 15 seconds. It didn't want to stop."

was briefly evacuated after town employees felt the quake.

First Selectman Matthew Knickerbocker confirmed that the building was being evacuated and was checked by the building manager as a "precaution," but that everything appeared to "be okay."

"Employees said they felt the shake, some chairs and bookcases shook, but there's no damage," he said just after 2 p.m. Employees were allowed to go back to work about 20 minutes after the evacuation.

Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter were buzzing with comments and reports of feeling the quake or feeling nothing at all.

Rebekah Harriman said, "Definitely felt it here in Newtown. North of the flagpole."

But Sarah Geckle Findley, also of Newtown said: "I did not feel a thing...center of town!”