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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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On Twitter
in 2001 two earthquakes hit my country El Salvador, I said, why this happen to us, but now I know in El Salvador there are many bad people and that is abomination to God, now the North East of USA allow gay marry, then the sin is provoking this
i remember those earthquakes i was there too...
Idiot.
felt in altoona, pa
Felt it in Ohio!
Felt in Brookyn, NY...
I'm working on the computer, the twins are in the living room, and then I felt the shaking, thinking it was just something else. As I watch the TV go back and forth, I second guess, is this an earthquake? Cornelius, NC- just a few miles north of Charlotte, NC
Felt it here in Framingham, MA, just about 30 seconds long.
I think it had something to do with the fact that Tino had mexican food last night.
felt it here in Salisbury, NC, too...
Was wondering why some things were shaking ever so slightly in the house? Im probably 5 miles from you.
I was sitting at my desk in The Borough of Woodbine Nj in Cape May County and all of a sudden the building was swaying side ways and I thought I was about to have a stroke until someone came into the office and said what was that,I eplied I don't know but I think the building is coming down we must vacate,My thing that I would like to know is this going to effect the ocean which surrounds my home from all angles bay ocean ectWill this cause a tsumia?
we felt it at work in pikeville, ky! are chairs and tables were shaking horrible!
We felt it in Harrisburg, Hershey, PA.
felt it here in southwestern pennsylvania......30 miles south of pittsburgh.thought it was a dumptruck drivin' by.
i think its very strange that an earthquake of that size give the location has caused no damage and no injuries. its great that no ones hurt, just doesnt seem right to me. can we say consiracy?
I don't know. Can you spell conspiracy??
Wake me up when they have a real earthquake...
not as easily as we can say "conspiracy"
It looks like you can't say "conspiracy". lol.
Nope. We can't.
Darn it! Everyone beat me to it!
Danny,
I'm sure we can say it as well as you can spell it.
Watch out it is likely to get even more racy when Irene slams the east coast!
You really are an idiot arent you?
I can say 'consiracy"
I FELT IT IN UPSTATE NY.
You have an earthquake near or on a mountain. The mountain is going to absorb most of the shockwaves. Just be glad nothing was damaged or hurt.
Phones lines are busy through out Maryland.
Conspiracy after an earthquake? Your really weird. Seek counseling please.
You cant just conjure up an earthquake get real.
Yes, I also feel this is a consiracy. For realz...
I felt the same in Atlanta, GA. I was working and my table and chair were shaking for about 10 secs.
Made it to mountains of North Carolina
In Ambler Pa, western suburbs of Philadelphia we felt the shaking and swaying in our two story office building.
Felt it here in Southwestern PA also.
wonder what the aftershock will feel like, and we felt it in tyrone pa
That wasn't an Earthquake..... That was the US Government dropping the Ball again on doing the right thing for our country!!
Excellant!
I wonder how long it will take the right to say this is a sign from god against sitting what they (the right) call a communist, socialist, Nazi emperor as POTUS. Lets watch FOX news for the next 30 minutes?
I wonder how long it will take the right to say this is a sign from god against sitting what they (the right) call a communist, socialist, Nazi emperor as POTUS. Lets watch FOX news for the next 30 minutes ?
you have the right name, dumping on the government makes you sound like your full of your name...
Booo!
Here in Hamden, CT (near New Haven), it felt more like I was taking HULA lessons as the house and the blinds swayed.
Felt in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, evacuated everyone. We really need a better coordinated system for disasters.
We have one – it's called Facebook.
What disaster? Do you expect to be notified in advance? For a little rattle? What are you gonna do when Irene gets here, sue the government for not stopping it? Good luck to you, darlin'.
24th floor empire state buildig def. felt it
I felt an earthquake in NJ while I was driving n was stopped at the red light n my car was shaking 😦 left to right... At first I thought it was the wind or my ac but my car wudnt stop shaking n now Im not feeling so good.. I feel dizzy n shaky n feel like throwing up 😦
RELAX YOULL BE FINE
Felt in NYC on the 21st floor. The glass building shook like a roller coaster and I'm still dizzy. Lord Jesus, I want to be ready when you come.
Felt 2 consecutive tremors. !st one was bigger. In Charlotte, NC