Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 18:46:50
A 5.9 magnitude earthquake has struck the east coast of the United States at 01:51:04 PM (EDT) - Eastern Daylight (New
York, Toronto) - 05:51AM this morning (NZ). The US Geological Survey reported that epicenter was located 1.5km below
Mineral, VA but the tremor was felt 136km away in Washington DC and as far north as Toronto, Canada. There were no
immediate reports of injury or significant damage in either Washington or New York although several buildings were
evacuated.
Earthquake Felt in Washington DC
The Department of Defense reported that offices in the Pentagon were evacuated and a water pipe burst on the third floor
of the building; engineers were able to stop the water leak. Officials gave the all-clear for staff to return after 15
minutes.
ABC News reported that a number of major buildings were evacuated in Washington DC including Union Square train station
and Capitol Hill.
CBS News reported no significant damage and emphasised how unusual such natural phenomena are in the region:
Hear Connie Lawn’s report for Scoop here.
Quake Shuts Down Virginian Nuclear Power Plant
In Mineral, VA, The North Anna nuclear power plant, located a few miles from the epicenter, shut down its two reactors.
Dominion Virginia Power, the owner and operator of the plant, reported no nuclear material has been released.
CNN report on North Anna power plant: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/08/23/virginia.quake.nuclear/index.html
Earthquake Media Disruption Video Footage
Hollywood Reporter published a number of videos of media offices being disrupted by the tremors across the east coast,
from Philadelphia to New York, including the press conference on the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case:
Virginia: Damage to Buildings
This amateur footage shows damage from much closer to the epicenter in Tyson’s Corner, VA:
ENDS