Hello all,
With less than a month to go, the great Delaware earthquake of 2017 is certain to emerge as the year’s most over-hyped story.
The quake east of the capital city was perfectly timed for the evening news cycle and the TV meteorologists went into overdrive on an otherwise unremarkable day. The shaking even made the national TV news.
For one brief moment, Delaware was the earthquake center of the country as Facebook blew up with reports of shaking houses and “Did you feel it?” questions.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s earthquake and volcano trackers were quick to post information and the media (including this website) added our two cents, based on the USGS posts that the weathercasters had already hacked.
One crafty PR agency later in the evening pitched the virtues of a piece of luggage that is designed for quick exits from earthquakes, fires, hurricanes and North Korean missiles.
Overall, the coverage did have its pluses.
We learned a lot about earthquakes in the state, how tremors travel long distances, due to the nature of geological formations, and saw the spotlight briefly shine on a little-known state geological survey based out of the University of Delaware.
It also brought back memories of the 2011 earthquake centered around Richmond, VA. That quake caused damage at our home when a Swarovski glass giraffe lost its legs.
The crippled beast remains in the display case as a reminder of a real earthquake.
Enjoy your day and here’s to hoping we don’t have any aftershocks. – Doug Rainey, publisher
