By Paul Tuthill
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-983142.mp3
Springfield,MA – Today's east coast earthquake shook up people working in office buildings in downtown Springfield Massachusetts, but it caused no damage in the city that is still recovering from a natural disaster 84 days ago.. WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports
Heather Tourigny was at work in a call center on the tenth floor of the One Financial Place office building in downtown Springfield when she and three co-workers felt swaying and heard the door knobs rattling. She kicked off her shoes and hustled won ten flights of stairs..
After evacuation orders were given hundreds of people left their office buildings. There were no signs of panic. People milled about for the next hour talking about what they'd just experienced.
A Springfield Fire Department official said emergency phones were jammed for a time with calls from nervous people, but there were no reports of injuries. Steven Desilets, the city of Springfield's Building Commissioner said no structure damage had been detected. He urged property owners to keep an eye out
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, who had just concluded a news conference in city hall, when the wood panels in the city council chambers started to vibrate, said he was thankful his city had escaped damage from this act of nature.