Today’s magnitude 5.8-earthquake may have been centered in Virginia, but it was felt across the Keystone State.  That includes the state capitol complex in Harrisburg.  Minutes before 2pm, fire alarms sounded in several buildings, prompting an evacuation.  “All of a sudden we just heard a big boom, it sounded like someone had dropped something off of a crane,” says Kathy Hale, who was working at the State Library circulation desk. 

Hale did not feel any shaking, but over in the Finance building Auditor General Jack Wagner did.  “I immediately felt a shaking of the room, visually seeing the walls vibrate, and actually the table that I was sitting at,” recalls Wagner.  This was the Auditor General’s first earthquake experience.  While parts of the capitol complex were evacuated, state workers were given the all clear after about 40-minutes outside.