August 2011.
News regarding emergency management.
From: “5.9-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes East Coast”, New York Times, Katharine Q. Seelye
Fire alarms sounded throughout the downtown business district in Washington on an otherwise bright and sunny afternoon. Pennsylvania Avenue, from Capitol Hill to the White House, was filled with evacuated workers and tourists on Tuesday afternoon. There was no panic — or obvious reason to — as people recounted the trembling moment shortly before 2 p.m.
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from office buildings… In earthquake-prone areas, people usually are instructed to stay inside to avoid falling debris, but in places where earthquakes are unfamiliar — and in a post-Sept. 11 environment — few argued with evacuation commands.
In Washington, the quake led to quick evacuations of the White House, the Capitol and monuments across the Mall.
Thousands of people in Midtown Manhattan were evacuated from their offices… Farther downtown, police officers ordered the evacuation of City Hall, sending Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and his staff scurrying out of the building.
From: “Once-a-century earthquake rattles East Coast”, Reuters, Lily Kuo and Malathi Nayak
In New York, the tremors prompted evacuations of courthouses, City Hall and halted work at the World Trade Center construction site.
While the area seems to have fared relatively well, Tuesday’s earthquake packed a punch… displacing more than 500 residents of two Prince George’s County apartment buildings…
In Prince George’s, a shelter was being set up for hundreds of residents of badly damaged apartment buildings in Temple Hills and Hillcrest Heights, officials said.
From: “5.8 quake hits Va.; Felt along U.S. East Coast” , AP
At the Pentagon in northern Virginia, a low rumbling built and built to the point that the building was shaking. People ran into the corridors of the government’s biggest building and as the shaking continued there were shouts of “Evacuate! Evacuate!”In New York, the 26-story federal courthouse in lower Manhattan began swaying and hundreds of people were seen leaving the building.
Court officers weren’t letting people back in.In Charleston, W.Va., hundreds of workers left the state Capitol building and employees at other downtown office buildings were asked to leave temporarily.
In Ohio, where office buildings swayed in Columbus and Cincinnati and the press box at the Cleveland Indians’ Progressive Field shook. At least one building near the Statehouse was evacuated in downtown Columbus.
In downtown Baltimore, the quake sent office workers into the streets, where lamp posts swayed slightly as they called family and friends to check in.
From: “Earthquake reported along the East Coast”, Washington Post
From: “Building inspectors urge caution in quake’s wake”, The Baltimore Sun, Tricia Bishop and Liz F. KayMany offices and businesses throughout the Washington region were being evacuated, including the Pentagon, the U.S.Capitol and the Maryland State House. There are some initial reports of minor damage.
The most serious [damage] appeared to have occurred in northern Howard County, officials said, where a six-unit apartment building shifted and had to be evacuated. A shelter was set up at a local high school to accommodate the displaced.
