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.

 Post by: ,
Filed under: District of Columbia • Earthquake • Natural Disasters • Virginia
soundoff (12,567 Responses)
  1. Bernadette Crumb

    I felt it in Kettering, Ohio (near Dayton)

    August 23, 2011 at 3:43 pm | Report abuse |
  2. MHH

    I am in Hickory, NC, which is in the foothills of NC mountains and felt it here. We are located next to an airport and jets have rattled the building, but was nothing like this. This was much stronger and shook the floors and walls.

    August 23, 2011 at 3:43 pm | Report abuse |
  3. MarineBo456

    Felt it in Mt. Pocono, Pa My radio desk swayed and my Dog freaked out!!!

    August 23, 2011 at 3:44 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Raul Trevino

    "And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the desciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And yes shall hear of wars and remours of wars; see that ye be not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise againt nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and EARTHQUAKES in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."
    TO ALL WHO WILL READ THIS: According to the Bible, no one knows when exactly the world will end, but, as God's children, I know that we all know within ourselves that the day is coming soon. Just look at all the movies out there that reference Bibilical terms relating to the End like "Armegeddon" "The Apocolypse" "The Omen" etc. Like you I don't know when Christ will return, but, like you, I'm making sure that my heart is ready for whenever he does come. Ask Christ to forgive you of your sins today, and accept him as your Savior." The Devil will put people in your path who will say, "Earthquakes, tsunamis, famine, etc. have always been around." That's true ofcourse, but never this many and all at once. This is God's way of warning us that the End is near much like Noah warned the people to get into the Ark before the flood. Did you know that he warned the people of the impending flood for 120 years while he built the ark which was no where near water? No one believed him, and they all drowned. Down get caught out of the ark this time. Christ is coming soon for those who love and obey him. Say this prayer and be ready for when he comes for you, "Dear Jesus, please forgive me of every sin that I have ever committed. I accept the gift of salvation you have given me by dieing on the cross as the sacrifice for my sins. Be my Lord and Savior, and lead, guide, and direct me in your righteous path for the rest of the days of my life on this earth and prepare for me a place in Heaven with you when my life is over. Amen"

    August 23, 2011 at 3:44 pm | Report abuse |
  5. North Cape Center in North Cape May New jersey

    We felt as sitting at our desk. Thought something was wrong or I was getting sick

    August 23, 2011 at 3:44 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Ticha Warner

    End of Days yes, today no way!!

    August 23, 2011 at 3:44 pm | Report abuse |
  7. chuck s

    I was having a late lunch in Colchester, VT, and a woman eating there said, " Did you feel the earthquake?" I said when ? She said "Right now ! Appx. 15 people all agreed we could feel it. We are appx. 30 miles from the Canadian border

    August 23, 2011 at 3:44 pm | Report abuse |
  8. D. Palmer

    Felt in in New Haven! Our whole building moved!

    August 23, 2011 at 3:44 pm | Report abuse |
  9. Rockem

    I knew there was a reason to buy and store one of those 4th of July celebration fireworks packages. If Washington crumbled to the grown, I'd bust them out for a humble celebration of the ending of Totalitarian Humanist (evil) government. Remember WACO!!!

    August 23, 2011 at 3:44 pm | Report abuse |
  10. hilo, HI

    Landlines to the nuclear power plant are down -be reassurances not to worry -all is ok.
    Why is this not reassuring?

    August 23, 2011 at 3:44 pm | Report abuse |
  11. Jennifer M.

    Entire house was shaking here in Stafford, VA

    August 23, 2011 at 3:44 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Dave

    I thought my wife moved – naaaaah it was the quake.. Silver spring MD

    August 23, 2011 at 3:44 pm | Report abuse |
  13. Steve

    When it happened around 2:00, the whole building was shaking, people stopped in place, then one person said "it's an earthquake" We all just left the building and waited out side till we got an all-clear to go back into the building.

    August 23, 2011 at 3:44 pm | Report abuse |
  14. Arran Webb

    The nuclear plant is completely safe. It is made with very thick concrete. Thicker than that used at the guns of Navarone. It is really really thick and nothing will crack it. The earth could fall in half and that concrete would still be a single piece – like an asteroid floating in space it would still be in one piece. We have nothing to worry about go back to work on the 45th floor. The aftershocks will be very mild. Sell your gold and go to the brothel – make the most of it.

    August 23, 2011 at 3:44 pm | Report abuse |
  15. Robyn

    Felt it in Louisville KY!

    August 23, 2011 at 3:44 pm | Report abuse |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754
« Back to main