Readers Mistake Earthquake for Car Crash, Door Slam, Fireworks

Bowie residents tell Patch they were among those who heard a boom and felt the ground shake Saturday night when a magnitude 2.2 earthquake shook the region.

The earthquake was centered in the Crownsville area, and occurred just after 10 p.m., reports the U.S. Geological Survey.

»Did you feel anything? Tell us in the comments!

Bowie readers said they felt it in H, N and S sections of town. One Bowie Patch Facebook friend said she thought it was a neighbor slamming a door in her apartment building. Another thought the cause was an accident on the highway.

Chris Whelehan commented on our story: “Rockledge section of Bowie... I heard a boom something after or around ten p.m. and remember thinking it was too late for Baysox fireworks! Didn’t feel anything and didn’t associate a boom with an earthquake.”

Sharon Hampton told Bowie Patch: “Definitely felt it on Shadow Lane!!”

Oke Zúñiga-Hernandez said on Facebook: “I didn’t feel it! Can we have another one?”

More than 90 people who felt the quake sent reports to USGS, says The Washington Post. Most of the reports were in Anne Arundel County, with 21 from Annapolis, but reports of the tremor also came in from Bowie and Columbia.

Earthquakes happen when there is movement below the Earth’s surface on fault lines. They can occur anywhere in the U.S. and usually last less than a minute, according to FEMA.