(From the Beltsville News issue of October 2011)
Beltsville Rocked by Three Natural Disasters
By Carissa Schorback
The end of August and beginning of September 2011 brought an interesting experience for Beltsville residents: a 5.9 earthquake on Aug. 23, hurricane Irene, and flooding, some of which caused the loss of power for many residents.
Many residents of Beltsville and surrounding areas could tell you exactly what they were
doing during the earthquake, a rare occurrence and touted as the strongest in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area since 1897.
Four days later, hurricane Irene struck the Beltsville area causing wind damage to homes, trees, and power lines, as well as flooding and debris. Many residents lost power.
The week after hurricane Irene, Beltsville was under flood warnings because hurricane Lee came up the east coast dumping several inches of rain in the area throughout several days.