What was the magnitude of the last earthquake to hit the East Coast?
2011 Virginia earthquake
On August 23, 2011, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, at 1:51:04p.m. local time. The epicenter, in Louisa County, was 38mi (61km) northwest of Richmond and 5mi (8km) south-southwest of the town of Mineral. It was an intraplate earthquake with a maximum perceived intensity of VII (Very strong) on the Mercalli intensity scale. Several aftershocks, ranging up to 4.5 Mw in magnitude, occurred after the main tremor.
1896 East Coast hurricane
The 1896 East Coast hurricane was a slow-moving tropical cyclone that battered the East Coast of the United States from Florida to New England in mid-October 1896. The fifth tropical cyclone of the 1896 Atlantic hurricane season, it formed on October 7 in the southern Gulf of Mexico, and caused minor damage in Florida while crossing the state two days later. From October 10 through 13, the hurricane drifted northeastward along the coast, reaching its peak intensity as the equivalence of a Category 2 hurricane on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson scale. The hurricane subjected many areas along the East Coast to days of high seas and damaging northeasterly winds, which halted shipping operations. 