Virginia Earthquake Felt in South Carolina

South Carolina felt the effects of a 5.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Virgina just before 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The earthquake was 3.7 miles deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Find more details about the earthquake here. 

There are reports of people in states as far away as New Hampshire, Indiana and Florida feeling the effects of the earthquake.

A College of Charleston seismologist said the earthquake magnitude was probably between 2 or 3 by the time South Carolina felt it, according to a report from WLTX. 

Trey Eubanks, city administrator in Mauldin, said some people in the area felt the quake.

"Some folks in city hall felt it, but no interruption in services," Eubanks said. "People have called asking about it."

A medical office building behind Roper St. Francis Hospital in Charleston was evacuated because of the shaking, according to spokeswoman Kim Keelor. "Folks felt enough shaking to make the curtains move and books to rattle on the shelves," Keelor tells Patch.

The evacuation was temporary and employees were back in the building soon after. The hospital was not evacuated.

Amber Wilson, a subcontracts compliance technician, was at work when the quake rumbled through.

"(I was) On the third floor of a Fluor building in Greenville. At first, I thought it was just someone rocking the vending machine again. But it went on for about 45 seconds," Wilson said. "No one in the office really reacted, so I didn't think anything of it. Until I heard about the quake in Virginia."

Meanwhile, Ed McKnight, a professor at Anderson University who lives in Taylors, said he felt the quake at his home. 

"Thought it was the dog rubbing against the back of my wheelchair," McKnight said. "Then I realized the dog was across the room."

The seismic activity was also felt in the western Upstate. Clemson resident April Schwartz said the quake was felt strongly in parts of Pickens County. Attorney Gordon Senerius also said the quake was felt clearly in neighboring Anderson County. 

"I was at work and felt my chair move and then the desk shift and the water in my water bottle starting swinging back and forth," Schwartz said. "It sort of felt like a small amusement park ride."

The experiences in other parts of the state were more mundane, and in some cases non-existent.

For example, while some Lexington residents felt the quake, it seemed just as many did not, oddly enough. Near downtown, several people seem perplexed when asked about the temblor, unaware a quake had even hit, while 20 miles away in Columbia, residents were blowing up Twitter with tales of swaying buildings.

"I didn't feel a thing," said a woman who manages an apartment complex located about a mile east of Lexington's downtown core. "I think they're just pulling our legs," she joked. However, she did say that one man she knows commented that his pickup truck swayed as he drove it during the quake. "And that was it," she said. 

Lexington County Sheriff's Department spokesman Maj. John Allard said neither the county's emergency management coordinator or the sheriff's department had received any reports of damage during the quake. However, Allard, who was attending an emergency management training class in Pineridge when the quake hit, did feel the earth move at least a little bit. "The floor kind of vibrated," he said, "but nothing much else beyond that."

Oby Lyles, communications director for the Greenville Count School District, confirmed some schools did evacuate because of the quake. 

"Schools in all areas of the county have reported 'minor tremors' as a result of the earthquake in Virginia. We have a comprehensive emergency plan that schools follow, including actions in response to an earthquake," Lyles said. "Each school made that determination as the tremors were not felt at all schools.  Some schools were evacuated. We have not received any reports of damage."