at 1:51 p.m. on august 23, 2011, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake was centered 5 miles (8 kilometers) south-southwest of mineral, at a depth of 3.7 miles (6 kilometers). according to the associated press, it "forced evacuations of all the monuments on the national mall in washington and rattled nerves from florida to canada". the roof of mineral's town hall collapsed, and three of the six schools in the county's school system suffered heavy damage. no one died, and some people had only minor injuries.