Photo by Maria Helena Carey
Hello Capitol Hill! Will we have, years from now, crystal-clear memories of where we were at 1:51 pm on August 23rd, 2011, as Mineral, Virginia, and the rest of the Eastern seaboard got a crash course on P-waves and S-waves? Perhaps, but you should know that all District of Columbia Public Schools are closed today, as Chancellor Kaya Henderson and Mayor Vince Gray decided that it would be best to inspect thoroughly all 126 school buildings for structural damage. They endeavored to be done overnight, and schools were slated to be open as late as 10 pm last night. However, at around 6 am the press release was issued to parents and caretakers in the area.
Not to worry, everything else is pretty much open and working normally. The DC Public Library and DC Parks and Recreation have both tweeted that they’ll be open as normal. (Yes! The pools are open!) DC Water is offering liberal leave to all its employees with children, but is operating as normal. Also, you should know that the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian Castle, and the National Cathedral are closed, so cross those off your ‘Quake Day list.
We will keep updating this post as we know more, but expect this to be another normal, beautiful day on our Nation’s Capital — except for the part where parents are really annoyed and inconvenienced, yet reminding themselves that this is most likely for the safety of our children. Carry on, folks! As they definitely don’t say, apocalyptic snow and heat may come and go, but earthquakes are forever! And if you want to help out the USGS catalog the, um, devastation, you can tell them whether you felt the earthquake or not, using this link!