“Extract of a letter”
Date
1-24-1812
Newspaper
Norfolk Herald
Page and Column
Page 3, Column 1
Newspaper Location
Norfolk, Virginia
Serial Number
1000
Abstract
Felt report for the January 23, 1812 earthquake at Norfolk, Virginia. Time of the earthquake was 9:30am (local time) Effects were stopping of clocks, swaying of items suspended from ceilings. Noted is felt ‘like the rocking of a ship in boisterous sea” Many people lost their balance and had difficulty in standing. Duration was noted as being the same as the December 16, 1811 earthquake. Good felt report.
Transcript
EARTHQUAKE AGAIN! An Earthquake, the same in its effect and duration as the one of the 16th December last, was felt in this town yesterday at 30 minutes after 9 in the morning. Many persons were inclined to doubt the evidence of sensation, and were willing to ascribe the concussion to any but the true cause; but the same sensations being experienced in every part of the town at the same instant, left no doubt of its being the shock of an Earthquake. Tho' the morning was perfectly calm, yet articles suspended from walls and ceilings were shaken to and fro with a violence that even the wind could not have produced. Persons who were standing or walking, felt a sensation similar to that produced by the rocking of a ship in a boisterous sea; many were thrown off their equipoise, and could with difficulty keep from falling. Every clock in the place was stopped.
Recommended Citation
"“Extract of a letter”" (1812). New Madrid Compendium Far-Field Database. 970.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/cas-ceri-new-madrid-compendium/970
