Moon Embassy Suites Evacuated After Earthquake Shakes Region

Moon Township Manager Jeanne Creese said no damage has been reported to roadways, utilities or other structures in Moon following a magnitude 5.9 earthquake felt across much of the Mid-Atlantic region. 

An earthquake centered around Fredericksburg, VA, slightly shook the residents of Moon and Crescent townships as well as much of the East Coast shortly before 2 p.m. today but no serious damage has been reported.

Moon Fire Marshal Charlie Belgie said officials at the  on Cherrington Parkway evacauated the top floors of the building as a safety precaution, but no damage or injuries were reported. 

Belgie said he didn't feel the quake himself because he was in his car. 

The quake was reported at 1:51 p.m. EDT, according to the National Weather Service website.

"Some people [at the ] did feel it," he said. "They said it was about five seconds of just sort of shifting. Like someone was shaking the table they were at." 

Creese said she, too, was on the road when the quake hit, but "it was felt by several employees at the township building." 

A manager at the Embassy Suites declined to comment on the evacuation. 

Throughout Moon and Western Pennsylvania, the earthquake prompted countless inquiries to police, fire departments, government offices and Allegheny County's 911 center from people who were initially puzzled by the impact. 

Brad Rehak, a meterologist with the in Moon, said he and others at the service's Shafer Road office didn't feel the quake.

"Actually, no, not really," Rehak said. "Maybe one guy here said he felt it." 

Hours later, police and emergency crews around the region continued to respond to requests to check buildings that were shaken by the impact.

At , manager Jennifer Postello said no one in the eatery felt the shaking when the quake occurred, but televisions in the bar remained tuned to cable news networks broadcasting coverage.

"Oh, it's all anyone can talk about," she said. "My brother just called me and asked about."

Librarian Suzi Ruskin said no patrons at the y seemed to notice the quake, though she felt it while she was sitting at her desk. 

"It just felt like a little rumbling," she said. "Almost like someone was shaking my chair.

"Nobody was that worked up about it. It was just a little shake," Ruskin said. 

Pittsburgh International Airport is reporting that it continued to operate normally after the quake. Duquesne Light Co. spokesman Joseph H. Vallarian also said the utility experienced no problems as a result of the earthquake.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman James B. Struzzi II said he knew of no damage to roads or bridges around the region.

"Not that we're aware of. Nothing at this time," Struzzi said. 

The state Public Utility Commission is working with natural gas utilities throughout the state to monitor their systems while crews check for pressure changes and earthquake-related leaks, spokewoman Jennifer Kocher said.

The PUC reminds residents who may smell or hear natural gas leaking to leave the affected building immediately and call 911. A chemical added to natural gas causes it to smell like rotten eggs.

People who smell natural gas or hear hissing or blowing sounds should leave the building without turning lights on or off or using a telephone until they are out of the building, Kocher said.

The earthquake did not affect operations at the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station in Shippingport, Beaver County.

In Eastern Pennsylvania, the earthquake prompted authorities to declare emergencies at three Exelon nuclear power plants in Peach Bottom, Three Mile Island and Limerick and at a fourth plant in New Jersey.  No one was injured and no plant operations were affected, according to.

The earthquake followed by hours the strongest earthquake to hit Colorado in more than 40 years, according to The Huffington Post.  Aftershocks continued there and in northern New Mexico through the day today,  The Huffington Post reported.

Although Pennsylvania is not immune to earthquakes, it is relatively safe from earthquake risk, according to the USGS.  Pennsylvania may have experienced aftershocks from earthquakes in 1663 and 1727, but historical records are not definitive, the USGS said. 

In 1934, an earthquake caused buildings to shake and dishes to crash from shelves in and around Erie, and another caused minor damage four years later in southern Blair County, according to the USGS.

Most of the earthquakes or aftershocks felt since then in the state have been in Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley and other areas of eastern Pennsylvania and did not cause catastrophic damage.

The last earthquake recorded in Pennsylvania before Tuesday's earthquake was a relatively puny 0.4 magnitude event on July 6 near Philadelphia.

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