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CHENGDU, China (AP) - State media has reported that 1,300 rescue and relief troops have arrived at the epicenter of China’s massive earthquake that has killed 10,000 people.
The official Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday that the rescue workers and troops had arrived in Wenchuan county, the epicenter of Monday’s 7.9-magnitude quake.
Wenchuan had been cut off for one day since the earthquake struck and the number of casualties there was not immediately known.
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(Adds response from other automakers)
SHANGHAI/TOKYO, May 12 (Reuters) - Foreign car makers said their China operations were not damaged by a strong earthquake in southwestern China on Monday, although Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and Volkswagen AG (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) said they had no word on two small joint venture facilities in the region.
An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 in Sichuan Province killed five children and injured more than 100 people, while causing buildings to sway as far away as Shanghai and the Thai capital, Bangkok.
Suzuki Motor Corp (7269.T: Quote, Profile, Research), which operates a car factory in Sichuan’s provincial capital of Chongqing, said the earthquake had no impact on its operations.
Staff at a Ford Motor (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) facility in Chongqing were briefly evacuated out of safety concerns but returned to work minutes later, China-based company spokesman Kenneth Hsu said.
“When the earthquake first hit, our staff were ordered to evacuate the plant for roughly 10 minutes, but they have returned to work now,” he said.
Toyota Motor and Volkswagen, which make vehicles in separate tie-ups with China’s FAW Group in Sichuan province, said they were not immediately clear on the situation at their facilities.
“We are still trying to get in touch with our China plants. I don’t have any information yet,” a Toyota spokeswoman in China said.
Neither of the plants is a major production facility for the firms.
General Motors GM.M, Nissan Motor (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and Honda Motor (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said their operations in China were not affected by the quake. (Reporting by Fang Yan in Shanghai, Nobuhiro Kubo and Chang-Ran Kim in Tokyo; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

reuters.com

Note to editors: As more information is received and the data are further analyzed, we may issue updates or clarifications on this event.
A magnitude 1.8 earthquake occurred in northern Virginia at 1:30 pm Eastern Daylight Time. The epicenter was about 1 mile west-southwest of Annandale, VA and 13 miles west-south-west of Washington, DC. The USGS has received no reports of damage at this time.
“This earthquake is just large enough to be felt, but not large enough to cause damage,” said USGS scientist Bill Leith.
The most recent earthquake recorded in the Northern Virginia area was a magnitude 2.5 earthquake near Manassas, Va., on Sept. 29, 1997.
On Feb. 23, 2005, there was a similar type event in the Baltimore metropolitan area, as a 2.1 magnitude earthquake was felt strongly and widely. There was a series of seismic events in March and April 1993, in Columbia, Maryland, ranging from 0.5 to 2.5 in magnitude.
The largest recorded earthquake centered in Virginia occurred on May 31, 1897 near Giles County. The magnitude was 5.9 and extended from Lynchburg, VA west to Bluefield, WV and from Giles County south to Bristol, TN.
Information on the earthquake history of each U.S. state is available on the Earthquake Hazards Program Web site or contact 303-273-8500.
USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information, visit www.usgs.gov.
Subscribe to USGS News Releases via our electronic mailing list or RSS feed.
Links and contacts within this release are valid at the time of publication.

usgs.gov

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Source: Fairfax County Times
At 1:30 p.m. today, Northern Virginia residents felt the rumblings of a 1.8 magnitude earthquake. The quake originated in Annandale and was felt in Washington, D.C., Arlington, Springfield and Mount Vernon.
Fairfax County Police received reports from multiple callers reporting an audible “boom” sound, followed by roughly four seconds of the earth rumbling. There are no reports of damage to property or injuries related to the incident at this time.
The epicenter of the quake was about two miles west of Annandale, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The last earthquake in Northern Virginia was in Manassas on Sept. 29, 1997, registering 2.5 magnitude. That same year, two months earlier, there was a 2.5 magnitude quake in Culpeper.
In 2005, there was a 2.1 magnitude earthquake near Baltimore, Md.
Regarding the loud boom, “That does happen sometimes,” said Don Blakeman, a seismologist with the USGS. “An earthquake sometimes can be heard, the closer to the epicenter you are.”

fairfaxtimes.com

KALAMAZOO — Tremors shook Kalamazoo and surrounding areas this morning as a result of an earthquake in Illinois that could be felt from Detroit to Cincinnati to Des Moines, Iowa.
The earthquake’s 5.2 magnitude shook people awake this morning at 5:37 a.m. and had several calling their local police agencies to find out what was happening.
The Van Buren Sheriff’s Department fielded calls from five to 10 people who were trying to find out what was going on.
“You’re not crazy. We did feel something,” dispatcher Tim McGee said he told callers this morning.
McGee was in the basement of the sheriff’s office when he felt the quake. He said he thought it was big trucks driving by and didn’t think much of it.
Palisades Power Plant in Covert Township declared unusual activity at 6:03 a.m. and auxiliary operators were instructed to check all areas of the facility for damage, Communications Manager Mark Savage said. No damage was reported, and the plant continues to run at full power, he said.
For some, the quake was an early alarm clock. “I got woke up by it this morning,” said Jason Assink, a dispatcher for South Haven Police Department. “I wasn’t sure if it was a ceiling fan going awry.”
Assink said he only received one phone call, but 10 to 12 people called the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department.
“I felt movement,” Kalamazoo County dispatcher Rita Morrison said. “I thought, What was the matter with me?”
Morrison said she was getting ready for work this morning when she felt the tremors.
Her dog also detected the earthquake and barked when it felt movement, she said.
The quake, just before 4:37 a.m. Central Daylight Time, was centered six miles of West Salem, Ill., and 66 miles from Evansville, Ind.
It was felt in cities as far away as Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Chicago, Cincinnati, Milwaukee and Des Moines, Iowa, which is 450 miles northwest of the epicenter.

blog.mlive.com

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - A moderate earthquake shook many residents in their beds this morning in northeastern Indiana.
According to the United States Geological Survey, Earthquake Information Center, the earthquake occurred at 5:37 am Indiana time this morning and was a magnitude 5.4.
The epicenter for this earthquake was 7 miles from west Salem Illinois and 61 miles north northwest of Evansville Indiana.
The Associated Press reports that tall buildings were swaying in Indianapolis. According the USGS a quake of the same magnitude was recorded with an epicenter in west Salem, Illinois in 1968. The 1968 quake was felt across 23 states.
The most famous quake along the New Madrid fault happened in New Madrid, MO in 1812 when it was reported that the Mississippi flowed the opposite direction or 'backwards'.
Friday's earthquake comes on the anniversary of the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake that ranks as one of the most significant of all time.
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wane.com

Word of Nevada's earthquake brings back memories for one Mackay native who lived through the largest earthquake ever recorded in Idaho.
Gene Gabert, who was the water master for the Lost River Valley in October 1983, was at the gate house of the Mackay Reservoir checking on the dam.
” I got to the top and noticed the rocks coming down close to me,” said Gabert.
Just as he was climbing the ladder to leave, the hills started sliding all around him.
“I looked up and a big rock was coming off the top of the mountain. I could see it bouncing. I went to the bottom of the ladder and rocks landed at the top of the ladder, and then it was over in about a minute,” said Gabert.
Within that minute, the Lost River Valley changed forever.
“I went back to town and things were a mess,” he said.
The town of Mackay was in shambles, bricks had crumbled off the sides of buildings, city hall and several schools were destroyed.
One woman suffered a leg injury after bricks came crashing down on her car.
Sink holes covered the ground and water bubbled up from previously non existent springs.
The ground was shattered by the quake, creating a permanent rift at the base of Mt. Borah.
“I thought about it a lot, it still bothers me right now looking at this book,” said Connie Gabert.
Connie says Gene could have easily been killed that day.
“I feel the Lord saved him for me,” she said.
The Gaberts have a bit of advice from Idaho for those in Nevada.
“If you're riding out an earthquake, dig in your spurs and hang on,” they said.
The Borah Peak Quake caused an estimated $12.5 million in damage in the Challis-Mackay area. Within the region most affected by the quake, 11 commercial buildings and 39 private houses sustained major damage, and 200 houses sustained minor to moderate damage.

localnews8.com