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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.
soundoff (12,567 Responses)
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Layton (NDP opposition leader, Canada) died from cancer: (Aug 23 posts in G & M, some deleted)
Letter from God: He was an angry man. Remember his stupid persistence on global warming and other stupid things he did, that will bring all of you down. These are the facts. God teaches you to tell the truth and some Canadians still do not want to admit that. He has a sure place in hell. There are pple that deserve no respect. 365 days a year. He was ordered to carry a torch and made some of you angrier about God. That was his mission. Foooolish. Bluuuuunder! The grief will be for all, unfortunately. Jackie saw it coming and he didn't stop. The grief will be for all, unfortunately. Jackie & lib saw it coming and they didn't stop.
Seek professional mental health care assistance. You have lost touch with reality.
THIS story is about an earthquake in Virginia that was felt up and down the east coast and some distance inland as well.
Felt @ Nationwide Insurance, World Headquarters in Columbus, OH.
Thank goodness muslims did not cause the earthquake (a ton of pun intended)
What is all the hoop la about the quake in DC, when the epic center is close to Richmond. Don't hear much about Richmond and how those folks faired. It is all about DC. Of course when it thunders hard in DC, everyone is evacuated. Don't see anything about the quake this morning in Colorado either. Guess they don't rate having thier news published on the internet. The worst thing folks can do is run out of buildings. In real earthquake areas across the US, they tell you to stay inside and get under something solid. All of the folks running outside is asking for injury. Go Figure!!!!! IT's DC.....Guess we will hear about this for 2 or 3 weeks nonstop.
Well, it was felt in Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York. Philadelphia and New Jersey had damage from the earthquake.
The last time I checked, those states are in the Northeast of the nation.
We felt it out here in Ca too, Oh wait we have them all the time never mind.
LOL
I cant believe so much hoopla over something under a 6. Glad no one over-reacted or anything;)......
You know what I can't believe? When Cali gets a little snow or ice the people out there have 50 car pile ups because they aren't smart enough to navigate through such a blizzard. HAHAHAHAHA!
That's because we are not accustomed to the quakes on the east coast. You almost expect it on the West Coast but not so much here on the East side : ) It would be like you guys getting a freak hurricane.
i live in nj and felt it for about 30 sec, scary!
where in new jersey are you cause we felt it for 2-3 minutes and you only had it for 30 seconds im up in seaside heights
Earthquake aftershock in SeasideHeights,NJ at the shore lasted about 2 or 3 minutes my bed was shaking i fell off and my chandelier was shaking lamp fell and broke and whole family felt it neighbors came over and asked if we felt it to or if it was just them
the entire capitol complex shook in harrisburg pa
Keep killing innocents over oil and God will keep punishing you
We saw waves and ripples on the lake here in Bridgeport NY. Seemed odd cos' it'd been so calm...
I was sitting in my car at a red light and all of a sudden it felt like I was riding a wave for about 10-15seconds.
Felt my office building in lower Manhattan swaying and through it was my Tinnitus or vertigo acting up so I took a minute or so before asking my coworkers if they felt it and didn't really need an answer after I looked out at the street and saw people pouring out of Federal buildings. I tried to get in touch with my twin sister in DC and my Verizon service wasn't working! Horrible time for that to happen! But I just got in touch with her and she is fine so thank God!
In Macon, GA I saw the shelves in the library sway, then heard a distinct sort of ticking noise coming from the shelving for perhaps as much as a minute, although the shelves were no longer visibly moving. "Earthquake" crossed my mind, but I dismissed the thought until an hour or so later when a co-worker said there had been an earthquake! So I WASN'T crazy!
We've had snow in SoCal what... once in 30 years? Yeah it's kind of a big deal out here. Consider that it also only rains for about 2 weeks out of the year here.
And yeah, 5.9 isn't even enough to bother getting out of bed.