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.
I'm not sure about the time but it should be around 2:30 pm. I live in Arlington, MA. I was then surfing internet and all of sudden I noticed tall lamp trembling which is next to my computer table. One moment I was thinking why is it shaking then I again focused on my work. Now, I came to know the fact that it was due to earthquake!
Matthew 24:4-7 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 ye shall hear of wars and rumours 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 against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
I babysit dogs on a daily basis. Maggie, a gorgeous Springer Spaniel, was behaving jittery, and I held her to calm her down. When I felt sudden vibrations, I thought poor Maggie was shivering, but when I let her go, I realized the HOUSE was quaking! "We're having an earthquake," I said aloud. Maggie whimpered. "It's OK, girl," I assured her. I turned on the TV, where they verified what I had figured out–we had had an earthquake down in Virginia–5.9.
felt at surfside beach my apt on the 3rd floor i could feel the building start to sway. i thought it was the wind but it didn't stop. i looked online and evbody in boiling springs sc was saying wat was that and i knew then.
I PITY THE FOO THAT CAUSED THIS EARQUAKE WHILE I BE TAKING A SH1T !!!!
You bet I felt it....in Bethesda, MD. New respect for Californians!
i'm from NJ, and i felt it there! i was in my basement watching TV and all of a sudden the couch started shaking violently and my wall hangings were shaking even though there was no breeze! the window's shattered in the bank where my neighbor works! glad everyone's safe......
"In fact, earthquakes in the central and eastern U.S. can have far greater effects than their western equivalents. Western rock is fairly young, which means it absorbs a lot of the shaking caused by earthquakes. Thus, western earthquakes result in intense shaking close to the epicenter, but fade quickly the farther they travel."
"Not so in the central and eastern United States".
"The result—large earthquakes in the central and eastern states can travel nearly half the distance of the continental United States. "
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2767
Exactly, and everthing depends also on hypocenter depth.
Please change your headline to be less misleading. They shut the reactor down as a precaution and you're making it seem like the quake caused it to not work. Sensationalism is not journalism!
We felt it way up here in Portland, Maine!
My husband fred cheated on me due to the earthquake!
Mrs. Wilma I had to laugh out loud when I read ur earthquake experience today. But I hope that was just to put a smile on the faces of those who was frighten by the 'quake. I shall not comment any more but be blessed and love him til the nezt 'quake shakes. Still smiling as I hope this was to cheer folks up.
The 'WORD' is written for us to read, understand n to govern ourselves accordingly in the will of GOD. However, be not dismayed as GOD will take care of all things. But we as individuals must make our election sure. The world economy; wars n rumors of wars; disobedient children, earthquakes n famine in the land n many other things that we are witnessing today are definitely all signs of what is to come. The question to all is, "Is your heart right with GOD?" The earthquake today was to rattle our spirit and belief to draw near to GOD as he draws nears to you! Put this in perspective......it could have been completely devastating! But GOD'S mercy kept us. So seek ye first the Kingdom of GOD and all his mercies n grace will be added unto all. All the best as you trust in the LORD with all your heart at all times. GOD bless u all at such a frightening time n experience. Stand on the WORD of GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not very bad in NYC shaky in tall building nothing on the streets..most people didnt feel it.
Could this quake be from the fracking into the Marcellis and the Utica shale
It is a big deal for those in VA. It was a tie with the largest quake to hit Va in 114yrs, back in 1897. I live 25 miles from the center and thought my house was going to collapse. Unlike Alaska and Cali and other common areas where quakes strike, buildings are not built to be quake proof here in Va. It lasted for a good 45 seconds.
Those in Virginia AND Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, and Ontario, Canada.