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Earthquake shuts down Virginia nuclear plant
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 struck Tuesday afternoon near Washington, D.C., the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The epicenter was in Mineral, Virginia. The quake was four miles deep, according to the USGS. Did you feel it? Send CNN an iReport.
To get complete coverage and all the latest updates, click on CNN's main story here. View a CNN Open Story about the quake. CNN Open Story combines iReports with reports from CNNers across the globe on a map and timeline.
Update 3:36 p.m. ET: Terminal A at Washington Reagan National Airport has been evacuated because of an odor of gas, airport spokeswoman Courtney Mickalonis said. Initial sweeps of the building showed no major damage from the earthquake.
Light structural damage has been reported in Culpepper and Orange counties in Virginia, said Laura Southard of the state Emergency Operations Center. She said there have been no reports of injuries in Virginia.
Update 3:28 p.m. ET: The White House and adjacent buildings evacuated as a precaution following the earthquake have been given the all-clear, the U.S. Secret Service said. The FBI and Justice Department have also reopened evacuated buildings.
Update 3:25 p.m. ET: East Coast residents should be prepared to feel aftershocks from Tuesday's earthquake, a U.S. Geological Survey official said.
Update 3:22 p.m. ET: The North Anna nuclear power plant, located 20 miles from the epicenter, is shut down and in a safe condition, a company official and the Louisa County public information office report. There has been no release of nuclear material, Louisa County spokeswoman Amanda Reidelbach said.
Update 3:04 p.m. ET: All national monuments and parks in Washington are "stable but closed" following Tuesday's earthquake, a United States Park Police spokesman Sgt. David Schlosser said. A couple of minor injuries and some minor structural damage have been reported in Washington, following Tuesday's earthquake, according to Schlosser.
Part of the central tower of the National Cathedral, the highest point in Washington, was damaged, according to spokesman Richard Weinberg. "It looks like three of the pinnacles have broken off the central tower," Weinberg told CNN.
Update 3:02 p.m. ET: Amtrak is reporting service disruptions between Washington and Baltimore because of the earthquake, the company reported on Twitter.
Aftershocks are a concern, U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones told CNN. "People should be expecting (them), especially over the next hour or two," she said.
The quake was felt in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New York City and on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, where President Barack Obama is vacationing. It's unknown if the president felt the quake.
The Pentagon has been evacuated, CNN's Barbara Starr reports. "When the building began shaking rather violently, hundreds of people began streaming out," she said, because many people thought that the building was under attack. Starr was standing in the Pentagon's press office when the roof started to shake.
Cell phone service has been disrupted in New York City, CNN learned within minutes of the quake.
Updated 2:47 p.m. ET: A "considerable amount" of water from a water pipe has flooded two corridors of the Pentagon, according to an announcement in the building. People who work in those areas are being asked to stay in their offices while workers try to repair the damage.
The National Cathedral in Washington is damaged, CNN has confirmed.
And Dominion Generation, which operates the North Anna nuclear power station in central Virginia a few miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, is trying to reach operational staff at the plant, according to a company spokesman. Landlines to the plant appear to be down.
Shortly after the quake struck, traders in the New York Stock Exchange also felt the quake and shouted to each other, "Keep trading!" CNN's business correspondent Alison Kosik reported from the floor at 2:20 p.m. E.T.
Twitter traffic suggests the quake was felt all over the East Coast.
In Philadelphia, HunterPence3 tweeted, "Wow Earthquake just shook the entire locker room!"
In Cleveland, "tribeinsider" wrote "I'm no expert but i think we just had an earthquake here."
And even in Toronto, Canada, tweets said that the shaking could be felt for minutes.
Pete Krech, who works at a business in Fredericksburg, Virginia, likened the sensation to being on a jolting amusement ride. "I was receiving a supply truck," said Krech, store manager at Mattress Warehouse of Fredericksburg, south of Washington. "I felt a vibration under my feet."
Brendan Wein, a sales representative at Hoffman Nursery in Roxboro, North Carolina, said he thought there was a helicopter flying above his work building. "I was literally shaking in my chair," he said.
CNN iReporter Jeff Yapalater said he was in his backyard in New York's Long Island when the earthquake hit. "Suddenly I felt this light swaying of the Earth. I'd never felt that before, so I thought maybe I was experiencing vertigo for a moment, and it lasted maybe 30 seconds ... We're feeling this really far away!" he wrote.
soundoff (12,567 Responses)
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Harold Camping, take me with you!!!!
We felt in Chapel Hill, nc. That was weird
Felt it in Westminster MD
OH NOES JEBUS IS COMING BACK YOU GUYS!!
my sister agrees with you Dio
Who is Jebus?
Glad to see there are others who feel the same way. Although, you accidentally typed a b instead of an s. Funny thing is, I think I know how you are, and trolls probably have a hard time seeing cuz they have a small thought process. (1 for the JESUS FREAKS! I LOVE YOU, JESUS, WITH ALL MY HEART. COME FOR YOUR CHILDREN WHEN YOU'RE READY!!!!! I'M WAITING FOR YOU!!!!! <3)
We're the Last In Line!
Jesus already came back and died... His name was Harry Houdini!!!!!
That one must have flown way over your head Allison... likely it was not a mistake to replace the s with a b
Felt it in Baltimore
Felt it by BWI airport!
Felt it big time in Glen Arm, MD. Lasted for 20 seconds. The dog went absolutely nuts a few minutes before it happened!!! Plates fell off the rack in kitchen and smashed to pieces. The floor "moved" beneath our feet.
also felt in Nashua, NH
Definitely was not felt in Nashua, NH. I'm in a multistory office building and no sign of it.
Kelli is right – it was indeed felt in NH. I felt it too. Crystal is wrong, just because she did not feel it doesn't mean others didn't.
As a matter of fact, the entire crew here in my office felt it. Keene, NH
I also am in Nashua, Nh and felt it.
Others here in my area didn't feel it either but others did feel it
I live near Athens, Ga. I felt the earthquake very well, but my mother at work across the street didnt notice anything. It was felt all over the east coast. But my mom was working, I was sitting still on the couch. My stepdad at the police station said everything in the office rattled and shook. Very scary for these parts.
Danbury Ct – felt it
it was felt in RTP, NC as well
Felt this one in Ottawa Canada.
Yeah, I've heard of people as far south as NC & as far north as Quebec feeling it.
Felt it in Roswell,GA as well
Felt it in Duluth, Georgia
In Augusta GA as well
We felt it here in Cleveland, OH. Was pretty strong here.
Yep, quakes emit the energy very directionally. You could feel one strongly 200 miles away while someone 20 miles away in the other direction may barely feel a thing.
@pittsburgh,
funny you should mention that. I also find it weird the duration of the event. I was at a dr's appt. and it seemed to last only about 4 seconds, but other people in the same general area say they felt it longer. Some people in some state say it lasted for up to 30 seconds, while others in other states mention it lasted shorter or longer.
felt it in NC too
I'm just glad our Lord waited until President Obama was on vacation.
I know right!!! Now the Republicans CAN"T blame this one on him!!!
jWhat's that remark supposed to mean??
I'm just hoping he's waiting for Obama to return and maybe Al Gore to show up for some Global Warming meeting before he unleashes the really big one that real America has been waiting for, for the longest time.
felt in Piedmont of NC too
Felt in Greensboro, NC as well. Lasted about 15 seconds or so.
Quake was felt in Raleigh, NC.