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.
Felt it Columbus Ohio, 3 floor of building swaying back and forth. Fun ride.
was at blairsville pa walmart parking lot. just came out of walmart sat in my truck and my truck started to sway. i waslike the wind isnt blowing what the f. made me sick to my stomack. got home and my sister and father said did u feel the quake. they said the whole house shook. never feeling something like that was very strange.exciting
Miss D. a woman with brain......SHE was far closer to it than many people yet as she said she realized it was ONLY an earthquake.........which is showing everyone how much worse it could have been were it something else........I applaud you Miss D. for your observation!!
Strange that a place by the name of "Christchurch" experienced "God's wrath"??
duh!
Actually the town got hit twice months apart.. That had nothing to do with my pappy being mad at me though.. Every other earthquake is God's anger.. It only means something when I say it's something. Don't worry I will have my p_r_o_s_t_I_t_u_tes suck the tectonic plates back together. You can have them too if you give me your soul.
WE KNOW WHAT CAUSED THE EARTH QUAKE!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqKsJwMhCt0
SPREAD THE WORD THIS IS WHAT THE GOVERNMENT ISNT TELLING YOU!!!!
When the moon is blue in 2011 (end of harvest season) there will be a powerful earthquake followed by a powerful wind storm ( hurricane). Severe hardship will follow . Starvation, disease and famine to come to the land . Be saved and pray NOW!
Well I live 30 miles Southeast of Buffalo, New York and my computer table and bed were rocking east and west. It was the most terrifying thing. I have been through blizzards, tornados, hurricanes and rains but this was unbelievable to see everything shaking and be helpless to stop it. Just phenomenol. Casred the tar out of me.
Felt it in Sudbury, Ontario... Downtown core shut down while they check the l integrity of a few buildings...
son stop writing BS....
i created you to do my stuff and die instead of me, not tell CNN that i did it... its the government using the HAARP....
@God: Dad I know it's HAARP! Those pesky angels and their HAARPS always playing loud annoying music while they sing praises of you. I'm trying to get more system of a down on the TV, but it's hard now that iTunes has let people listen to what they want.. I will keep up the good fight though.
Felt it in long island my bed was shaking and I didnt understand why? Then my cousin called and said did you feel the earthquake I was shocked never expected on to reach NY
I wonder if Obama got any mulligans?
Okay...we get the picture – YOU FELT IT! Now, back to the economy and Libya...
The earthquake reportedly occurred along the Spotsylvania Fault, an ancient fault-line that is now located in the middle of a plate.
didnt feel it in OR
THAT HOW CAIL ROLL N WE STILL WONT ARE COFFEE THIS IS NOTHING NEW TO US JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADAS...