Upper Macungie Unscathed After Earthquake

Upper Macungie Township emerged largely unscathed from with township officials reported no damage or injuries.

Township Fire Commissioner Grant Grim said he didn't even feel the quake while out on a call on the Route 222 bypass.

"We haven't heard of any damages or received any calls," he said.

All utilities in the township were working, he said.

Township officials in the building, which was not evacuated, said about six calls were received from concerned township residents wondering if there had been an explosion in the area.

Stef Weaver, a township employee, said she was shaken out of her seat.

"We were evacuated out of our chairs," she quipped. "Those people who were standing didn't really feel it, but those of us in our chairs did. And my chair is on wheels."

At 1:51 this afternoon an earthquake rumbled under Richmond Virgina or 87 miles southwest of Washington DC. It was felt throughout the Lehigh Valley.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a preliminary magnitude 5.9 earthquake was felt across much of the Mid-Atlantic region.

Elsewhere, a PennDOT release said the agency is starting to perform precautionary inspections on all of the state's bridges as a result of the earthquake.

“We have no reason to believe the Virginia earthquake caused major damage to any state roadways or bridges,” said Scott Christie, PennDOT’s Deputy Secretary for Highway Administration, in a prepared release. “But to err on the side of caution, we are assessing those bridges that could be susceptible to quake damage.”

PennDOT will first inspect bridges that are at least 200 feet long or longer and at least 60-feet high. The inspections will continue through at least Wednesday.