RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – Two earthquakes rattled portions of Central Virginia Tuesday and Wednesday.

A 2.8-magnitude earthquake hit the Glen Allen area Tuesday afternoon, and on Wednesday morning, Wyndham residents woke up to a 2.3-magnitude quake.

While it surprised many residents, Martin Chapman, a geophysics professor at Virginia Tech, said quakes like these happen at least once every year or two.

“That’s an area that we’ve known has had an above-average number of earthquakes along the eastern seaboard,” he said.

That’s why it’s called the Central Virginia Seismic Zone, which stretches from Charlottesville to Richmond.

“And sometimes they get to be fairly big, like the one in 2011,” he said.

In August 2011, a 5.8 earthquake rocked parts of Louisa County.

It left stores in disarray and schools damaged.

Before that, Martin said the largest quake to shake things up in the region was in 1875, with a magnitude of 5.0.

“These earthquakes happen. They’re like once in a lifetime or maybe two lifetimes,” he said.

While there’s no way to predict them, here’s what to remember when the ground shakes.

First, take cover under something sturdy.

“The strongest place in your house is probably under your door frame because of the hitter above the door,” he said.

Second, avoid running outside.

“That’s the worst thing you can do because things come falling off the walls, bricks and things like that. Sometimes chimneys snap off,” Martin said.

Lastly, emergency supplies should be ready.

“The power is going to go off. So you’re going to need some batteries and backup stuff like that on hand,” he said.

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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Geological Survey says a small earthquake rattled parts of Virginia on Tuesday.

Did Virginia have an earthquake?

What we know:

The agency’s website shows that a magnitude 2.8 magnitude earthquake occurred around 5:30 p.m. a little over a half mile northeast of Wyndham. 

The region is about 20 miles northwest of Richmond and around 100 miles south of Washington, D.C.

The agency says the quake occurred at a depth of a little over a half mile (0.1 kilometers).

Was there any damage?

By the numbers:

While there were no reports of damage connected to the earthquake, it was strong enough to be felt by some in northern Virginia.  

More than 1,300 reports regarding the earthquake were made to the USGS.

The agency says smaller earthquakes that cause little or no damage are felt each year or two in the area.

The Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, opening next week, looks more like a tech company than a typical academic building. It’s designed to be a pipeline of tech talent — students earning master’s degrees in computer science and computer engineering. 

“I think we’re incredibly excited to finally be our home,” Virginia Tech Innovation Campus Vice President and Executive Director Lance Collins said. 

“We really wanted to be a campus that is highly integrated, highly collaborative and able to work with all of the companies that are in the region,” Collins said.

More than 400 students stepping through the doors next week will see some traditional classrooms, but what really stand out are the new spaces where they can work collaboratively and get the opportunity to work with outside business to troubleshoot their tech challenges. Areas of focus range from machine learning and artificial intelligence to quantum computing. 

Merna Khamis recently got a sneak peak with a select group of students. She enrolled with the help of a scholarship from Boeing, where she’s also interned. 

“It really has a good plan of being educationally supported but also that you have all those companies around you so you are going to have more networking,” Khamis said. 

The building itself also reflects new technology. Solar panels are embedded in the windows, helping generate power. 

From the upper floors, students can literally get a glimpse of the government or corporate buildings where they might first put their tech talent to work.