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.
Hauppague Long Island NY : I got dizzy then our office building swayed , at first I thought I was experiencing a health problem but noticed everyone was dizzy ! We all realized it was a quake right away ! Crazy !!
OK VA DRIVERS CANT DRIVE IN SNOW EITHER OR DID YOU FORGET THE 75 CAR PILE UP IN 2001 OVER A LITTLE BIT OF SNOW
Felt it in Toledo, OH...lasted just a few seconds but made the coat rack, fan and window blinds sway.
The news will be talking about this for months. Even though the was no grave damage. Seriously get over it.
felt it in winston salem nc i was working on the car tool box and car was swaying
And on the east coast we get earthquakes how often? C'mon, think about it dear.
We are getting more and bigger quakes ever where http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.php
There is some speculation that global warming might be the cause. The heating is not Co2 atmospheric based as being sold by Al Gore but rather internal warming and it is happening on every planet in the solar system. We seem to be entering a area in space where we are picking up a lot of heave particles and as they hit the planet they loose velocity in the form of heat. The heat then expands the planet and we get more quakes. Proof, hold a brick between your hands without using your fingers and slowly move your hands apart, don't let the brick hit your toes.
Get Google Earth and down load the earthquake add on, you may find it interesting.
It was felt in lily Dale ny
I work in it Charlotte, NC and I agree with the gentleman from NY in the article. I thought I was experiencing vertigo for a moment until I looked up and saw my computer screen moving and the whole room starting to sway. I've never experienced anything like it.
I thought I was just a bit more drunk than I should have been at first.
it was pinpointed to a cemetery outside of DC where our founding fathers were rolling over in their graves
it was pinpointed to a cemetery outside DC where the founding fathers were rolling over in their graves
I was born and raised in Virginia – lived in Williamsburg for 26 years and never experienced an earthquake. I send best wishes to those who've been affected by it. I hope this is an isolated incident.
James, I love you! 😀