Surveillance Videos Show Extent Of Damage From The Quake
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Twelve million people felt it. The unexpected earthquake shattered nerves from Georgia to Canada.
Wednesday, engineers are scouring buildings, bridges and American landmarks for unseen problems.
Plenty of visible damage lingers around Maryland.
Mike Hellgren has more on the damage.
In all, the quake caused $100 million in damage. At the former Sons of Italy Lodge, they are still cleaning up the building that has been condemned. It is one of many across Maryland, and many people caught the images on tape.
1:51 p.m. The moment the quake struck, a camera shows the destruction at a grocery store near the epicenter.
"It was like a bomb going off around you," said one person.
In Parkville, a security camera shook violently. At this home office, papers fell to the floor. The bottles of wine clattered at a liquor store in Maryland. Some fell from shelves.
At a Goodwill, televisions toppled. This was the strongest quake to hit the area in almost a generation.
"It was like somebody was taking the building and pulling it and pushing it around three times," said one person.
And many ran for cover.
"Five seconds, 10 seconds in, you really knew. People started saying, 'Let's get out of the building,'" said another.
The elephants at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore may have felt the earthquake before any of us.
The four huddled together, trunks touching for protection.
"Their experience of the world is different from ours. And part of that is they can hear infrasonic sounds. They sense sounds that are way below our frequency," said Kevin Murphy, assistant curator at the Maryland Zoo.
It's not just elephants: A cat ran through a home in Severna Park. Twenty seconds later, the worst of the quake sent the family scrambling, too.
All of it rattled more than a few nerves:
"I was on this little thingy, and it started shaking. I got scared."
"I felt the floor do a wave a little bit."
"I was sitting in church, and the building just started rumbling. Must have been a higher power."
It was powerful-- and rare-- from the White House to your house, a frightening minutes few will forget.
There have been four aftershocks reported throughout the region. In Prince George's County, several apartment buildings were condemned, leaving hundreds homeless. There were no major injuries reported in our area.
