Contributed photo
Workers outside the Temple Street Garage.
Tremors from an earthquake led to the evacuation of downtown buildings, where workers said they watched lights swinging and walls trembling.
The ripples of a D.C. earthquake hit New Haven around 2 p.m.
In the immediate aftermath city workers were deployed to check for damage to buildings and utilities. “So far there is no effect on New Haven that we can see,” Mayor John DeStefano said at 3:15 p.m.
At 2 p.m., workers streamed out of the FBI building on Orange Street, the office buildings on Audubon Street, the housing authority tower at the corner, and other buildings downtown. The AT&T building on Orange was evacuated as Gov. Dannel Malloy was leaving from a visit.
Workers filled sidewalks sharing tales of their brush with an uncommon sensation for this part of the country.
Amy Drake Krzeminski was in the Knights of Columbus tower. He described what happened in a posting on the Independent’s Facebook page: “Our building was evacuated—Knights of Columbus. 10th floor. We were having a team meeting and I was standing and talking—thought I was dizzy. Then someone said what is that and then we all felt the “sway” and then next thing you knew the alarms and sirens were going telling us to evacuate. I’m glad I only had 10 flights to walk down stairs!”
Workers from the 19th floor of Century Tower reported seeing walls shaking and one of them cracking.
Brian Clark, who’s in the housing authority’s intake department, said he thought the woman working in the next cubicle was messing around.
“We looked up. We saw the lights swinging around,” he said as he milled with the evacuated crowd in the parking lot.
Thomas MacMillan Photo
In the EOC
City safety officials gathered in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), an underground bunker at 200 Orange St. to respond to the incident,
If you have concerns about the structural integrity of buildings or utility issues, call the city Emergency Operations Center at (203) 946‑8221. For life-threatening emergencies, call 911.
At 3 p.m., Mayor DeStefano held a brief press conference in the EOC. He faced three TV cameras while city department heads manned phones and laptops in banks of desks behind him.
The city has received “not direct reports of damage,” DeStefano said.
“Virtually every high-rise downtown was vacated,” he said.
Among the evacuated buildings was the tennis stadium in Westville, where the New Haven Open is underway. The city’s two hospitals were not evacuated and are functioning fully, DeStefano said. Union Station and Tweed airport are both open. All the city’s parking garages have been checked out, he said.
The city is now “prioritizing review of all buildings,” DeStefano said. Workers will be checking for structural damage and damage to utilities, particularly gas line damage.
A reverse-911 call went out to all city residents.
The day shifts for police officers were held over. A police radio broadcast at 3:17 p.m. called off the extended day shift.
All movable bridges are fully functioning; all fixed bridges are being inspected, DeStefano said.
Building Official Andy Rizzo said his staff will be working with building managers around town to check out any possible damage to buildings. He said a section of George Street underneath the new Gateway Community College walkway was closed temporarily.
DeStefano (center) with Assistant Police Chief John Velleca (right)
DeStefano said the EOC would stay open as long as necessary, depending on the volume of calls.
The governor’s office released a statement that “Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection staff is at the Emergency Operations Center as a precaution, but at this point, there have been no reports of injury or damage.”
The tremors triggered a wave of fire alarms throughout the city, said police spokesman Officer Joe Avery. As of 2:30 p.m., there were no reports of injuries or accidents, he said. Avery said the Board of Education building and the police headquarters were both evacuated.
The police department building “swayed” from the impact, Avery said. “The curtains moved and the door closed — it was something.”
George Street was closed near the construction site of Gateway Community College.
United Illuminating spokeswoman Anita Steeves said there are no reports of power outages due to the tremors. UI did evacuate its headquarters at the CT Financial Center at 157 Church St.
Tell us if you felt the tremors, below.
Melissa Bailey and Paul Bass contributed reporting.
Sitting at home in Branford... though it was a dizzy spell coming on! Then, a daughter who works in News Haven called and said she thought it was a coworker fooling around, then my parents in New Jersey called me when their hanging plants started swaying. Scary feeling!