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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 a bit in Atlanta,GA
We are in Windsor Ontario and we felt it for sure
Felt in Glasgow DE
Felt it Charlotte NC and surrounding areas.......
Does anyone know if the offices are callign it a day? I'm waiting for someone in an office in Baltimore...
Downtown New York City: we were evacked for 20 mins but are back in.
Most of the high rise office building were evacuated as a safety precaution.
We were rocked in Salisbury N.C.......amazing
We're in state offices downtown Baltimore – we were evacuated for an hour, but are back in our offices now.
We felt it in Clarksburg, WV at around 2:00 PM Eastern Time
We're still working in Baltimore.
if there's no damage to the buildings (which I doubt there is) there is no reason not to send everyone right back in
Felt in Philly. First earthquake I ever felt 😛
The earthquake was felt in Westmoreland County, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. My house shook.
We felt the earthquake all the way here in Pawtucket R.I. My husband and i were sitting in our chairs and we asked each other if the chair was moving and than we heard about the earthquake in Verginia
Ignored the shaking for the first 2 mins or so bc I thought I was either dizzy, imagining it, or my legs went knumb. But after several mins I heard all in the same time 2 pictures falling from my walls, book cases rattling, and the bldg squeaking and rattling, enough for me to dodge underneath my table for a minute. I dont know, seems quite serious for these park of the woods.
West Chester PA
Here too in Pittsburgh! Got that dizzy, swaying feeling!
5.9 is not that big and depending on the depth of the epicenter, it's not surprising that there was no real damage.
Wrong. For an earthquake in a stable zone that's VERY large. And why are you assuming there's little damage? Communications are out. I bet there was a lot of damage. You'll see. It's Seismology 101. An east coast earthquake of 5.9 is very, very large. Keep watching the news... you'll see.
This quake was extremly shallow, reported as 1Km.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html
5.9 and the entire east coast shuts down , unbelievable. lol grow up
Just like 2 inches of snow anywhere in the south or west coast. Same thing.
The whole east coast is not shut down.....Idiot
WOW NEVER THOUGHT WE WOULD HAVE A EARTHQUAKE IN FREDERICK MD.
Well, no – not really in a panic or going home, but if one has never felt anything like that before, it is rather disconcerting. So yeah, you are a little "unbelievable".
Well, no – not really in a panic or going home, but if one has never felt anything like that before, it is rather disconcerting. So yeah, you are a little "unbelievable".
Yes, a tad ridiculous BUT.. we NEVER get earthquakes here so it's a bit strange.
5.9 in the northeast is totally different than on the west coast. The bedrock here lets the effects be felt much more than the sandy soil in California, for instance. So magnitude is just one factor.
What do you mean grow up? Are you from California? I am sending SNOW your way... and we'll see how you handle that one...
Lived in California for a good part of my youth, including for the quake in southern California in late 70/early 71. This was certainly not a large quake statistically or damage-wise (thankfully) by West Coast standards, but my building (in central Maryland) felt like it was moving more noticeably (swayed a little like a tree in a strong wind) than the shaking I experienced during similar sized quakes when I lived there.
THIS IS NOT LIKE SNOW. WHAT IF IT HAD BEEN STRONGER YOU WOULD NOT BE POSTING STUPD COMMENTS. YOU BETTER WAKE UP THESE THINGS JUST DO NOT HAPPEN AROUND HERE. I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD BE CAREFUL, DO YOU WANT MORE DEATHS IN THE UNITED STATES. I THINK WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH.
Was not felt in Dallas
Felt it in Charlotte......
We felt the earthquake in Logan West Virginia.
We felt it in New Castle, PA. The lamp was wobbling and I could feel the couch moving under me. I thought I was imagining it at first!
felt it for sure here in nj. sittin at my desk may chair swayed side to side
We felt the tremor here at the law firm in White Plains NY. I'm on the 4th floor & the doors rattled, & my plant was shaking. Having been through a larger quake than this many years ago, I was a little nervous.
pretty close by in Yonkers , AC's were falling out of windows but i personally didn't feel anything