August 23rd, 2011
04:06 PM ET

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.

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Filed under: District of Columbia • Earthquake • Natural Disasters • Virginia
soundoff (12,567 Responses)
  1. Mr California

    Felt it in San Diego, CA

    August 23, 2011 at 3:20 pm | Report abuse |
  2. brown

    Kill the focking humans!

    August 23, 2011 at 3:20 pm | Report abuse |
  3. Chan

    Felt in Somerset, NJ

    August 23, 2011 at 3:20 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Kari

    I really don't mean to be disrespectful, but OF COURSE we would freak out and not know what to do in this situation. We don't live in an area where we are taught or grow up learning how to react in this because it is not a common occurrence.

    August 23, 2011 at 3:20 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Sharon

    Naval Station Norfolk felt it. My friend from California is laughing at me......I thought I was having a seizure or something.

    August 23, 2011 at 3:20 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Kent

    Nothing here in Seattle.........

    August 23, 2011 at 3:20 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Maria

    I was at home, (Queens, NY) and As I was giving my daughter a bath, I was thinking what to do first, run with my daughter in a towel or do I have time to dress her up quickly! It was pretty scary to us!

    August 23, 2011 at 3:20 pm | Report abuse |
  8. Heron3333

    In case you are unaware, sorrows have been visited upon humans since Adam and Eve. This is nothing new and nothing to get all wigged out about.

    August 23, 2011 at 3:20 pm | Report abuse |
  9. emerald

    Does anyone know if flights from Washington Dulles are still scheduled?

    August 23, 2011 at 3:20 pm | Report abuse |
  10. heather lacey

    my take on the quake
    http://heatherlcorner.blogspot.com/2011/08/earthquake-in-md-today.html

    August 23, 2011 at 3:20 pm | Report abuse |
  11. CA

    It was most likely a very shallow earthquake to have had such a widespread effect. We understand the feelings behind all these posts out here, but a 5.9 in CA would barely/rarely make national news. Nor'easters back there (normal-ish occurance) would even get more air time. Let's move along folks...

    August 23, 2011 at 3:21 pm | Report abuse |
    • Jevone

      Very inhumane of your comment, to just move along if there are people who have never experienced an earthquake as much as you people in CA. If its not a regular event, then yes, there are things some people may need to know on how deal with it. Please! Yes, there are people who will be very afraid, because it is not a regular event in many places, unlike CA.

      August 23, 2011 at 3:25 pm | Report abuse |
    • CA

      Please come out to CA and experience a 6.9 (1989) if you have not. My My "mini-rant" was not focused on how people were scared or feeling, (having been in that earthquake I would definitely understand) but more focused on how the media is all over this. However, if a similar rare occurrence happened out here in CA (say, a tornado, which it has on a small scale recently) it would barely make national news. Didn't know that, huh? My point exactly.

      August 23, 2011 at 3:50 pm | Report abuse |
    • CA

      You said "you people in CA" so I assume that you do not live here. Since I do not know what natural disasters your region experiences, I'll use the tornado again. If you experience tornadoes in your area, I'm sure you'd post something similar about how the media jumps all over anything East Coast and there are many people in CA who feel this way. Oh, and yes, people need to how to deal with it, but "my chair moved" or "my feet vibrated here in WV!" is not necessarily helpful. So you see, folks are just stating their experiences and opinions (like me). Here's a helpful hint for those who need it: http://www.usgs.gov to learn about earthquakes and what you can do to prepare.

      August 23, 2011 at 4:02 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Loman C

    Registered 5.8 at Green Bank Observatory in WV

    August 23, 2011 at 3:21 pm | Report abuse |
  13. BeTheBuddha

    Wimps – anything under 6.5 is a foot massage.

    August 23, 2011 at 3:21 pm | Report abuse |
  14. Torchy

    You babies. San Jose, CA where a 5.9 wouldn't even make the front page.

    August 23, 2011 at 3:21 pm | Report abuse |
  15. wedmar80

    ****HAARP***** I suggest that people look up HAARP. It is located in Alaska and is capable of being used as a weapon. When directed as a target, it can set off earthquakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    August 23, 2011 at 3:21 pm | Report abuse |
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