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.
In NYC on the 19th floor. Felt swaying – sort of like being on a cruise ship.
I felt my bed swaying -..in West Michigan.(grand rapids)
WE FELT IT HERE IN BRIDGEWATER, VA!! Felt like it does when a washing machine is off balance!
Felt in Battle Creek, MI!! WOW!
People have to be idiots! Is there a "tsunami" next??? Idiot!
Being from California, I was wondering what the big deal is with a 5.9 earthquake...then I realized that there is limited to no seismic retrofitting on the east coast.
felt it here in north lewisburg ohio
people if you want to know about earthquakes go to http://earthquake.usgs.gov or www. usgs.gov and sign up for alerts. earthquakes happen everyday while we sleep, work, eat, play, anytime time of the day worldwide. some are as high 3.0 magnitude and as low as 1.0 magnitude. I have a specific email address for usgs.gov for earthquakes and 47 earthquakes occurred today so far. i dont check the emails for earthquakes but i know they occurr. This is nothing new and has been going on for centuries if not decades. media makes a mountain out of a mohill and people will react to what they hear or see. just prepare yourself by getting supplies in the event of an earthquake here in the US lord willing surviving one. educations and preparation is the key. this planet will break up but when is the unknown. Imagine holding up 1000lbs everyday without budging. that is how this planet feels with all the infra-structure, buildings, highways, bridges, etc. i know i couldn't hold up 1000lbs everyday and not expect to budge or get tired, sooner or later your gonna give up let it go or you will have to. mother earth can only take so much and when she decides to pop, she will POP!!!!. This is just one way of looking at it.
Felt it here in Norfolk, VA
There was an Earth Quake in Colorado this morning, it was felt here in New Mexico.....
We were movin' and shakin' in Boston too! Woke me up from a nap!!!
We were sitting on the divan in NW. Philadelphia when their was a loud noise by the front door which we thoughtt was mail then we bounced on our seats and the Grandfather clock which is broken started to chime.
I live just south of Richmond, VA. My two dogs started barking like crazy right before the quake began so there must be something to what is said about animals discerning quakes before a human even realizes what is happening!
felt it in buckhannon wv
Dude, Malvern, PA was a rockin' and a rollin'!