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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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felt it for a good 30 seconds in mountains of PA
felt it in long island
Felt it in Kalamazoo, Michigan...whole building shook.
Felt it in Indianapolis, IN
was felt in pikeville, ky
As a former Los Angeles resident, I knew instantly what was happening. I was sitting in my office in Roxboro, NC. It's an unforgettable experience.
We felt it in Colchester, VT!
Mmmmmm who wants to "feel it"?
Quake felt here in Midlothian, VA a town outside of Richmond. Shaking for 1 – 2 min.
I felt the bed shake under me in Atlanta GA. I live in a 14 story high rise.
Was at my desk on the 3rd floor started shaking in Woodbridge, NJ.
I felt it in Columbus, OH at about 1:53.
We felt it here in Phoenixville, PA
Obama was on the golf course, who would have thought?
He's on vacation, duh. Should he stop his vacation for a 5.9 earthquake?
the comment about Obama being on a golf course is irrelavent to the matter so that was most definetly uncalled for NO ONE can prevent what just happened so get a life.
And someone like you will probably try and pin the earthquake on him. Who would have though?
Damn who gave the president the day off. The nerve of those people.
The amount of tax dollars we write off on links around the nation on a daily basis as "business expense" would stagger most people.
He is on vacation, why wouldnt he be doing what something he likes?
because he's on vacation. Everyone even the president gets a vacation
don't be stupid. if you had to clean up a huge mess the size of america your predecessor left behind for you than yeah i am sure that you would want to take a break from time to time. especially if you constantly had money hungry conservatives who want to set this country back 70 years harassing you and blaming you for the things that those very conservatives caused. our country is doomed and obama has not had enough time to clean up the mess let alone cause it. i expect the tea party to blame the earthquake on him too... how about that whole global warming fact that they call a hoax or made up by liberals. how about care about the planet that you live on? morons.
We definitely felt it here in Cary NC. Everyone went into our hallways because we were all at our desks on computers and when our hands started shaking on our mouses and our feet were shaking as well, we knew something wasn't quite right! Really an unnerving feeling to say the least.
Um.. what are you saying... God put His foot down? No, don't answer that...
Felt it Gettysburg, PA.
Pikeville Kentucky felt it a few minutes ago.
Felt in Whitehall, PA, house was swaying, everything in the house was shaking back and forth...
Empire State building, 24th floor felt it