(Image Source: WUSA)
BY: KERRY LEARY
You're watching multisource US video news analysis from Newsy.
Another shaky day in D.C. -- no, not because of the economy.
A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck just before two p.m. in Louisa, Virginia -- 83 miles outside of Washington D.C..
All that shaking led to evacuations and pandemonium up and down the East Coast.
The Pentagon, the Capitol, parts of the White House and all national monuments were closed and evacuated.
The aftershocks reverberated all the way to New York City. Many buildings in Midtown Manhattan were evacuated including New York’s City Hall. (Video from MSNBC)
The earthquake was felt in New York City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and on Martha’s Vineyard -- where President Barack Obama was golfing when he heard the news about the 3.7-mile deep earthquake. (Video from ABC)
A reporter for WUSA in D.C. says the earthquake didn’t impact most day-to-day activities, though some did get stuck in an early rush hour as many fled work after the earthquake hit.
“A lot of folks are maintaining their day and going forward, even as other folks are finding their rush hours rudely interrupted. I gotta tell you, I was a little surprised, and perhaps a little disappointed that the earthquake experts say that we could be in for perhaps a worse after shock if this was a fore-shock of worse things to come so we’re going to be looking out and hoping that doesn’t happen.”
After the earthquake struck, other concerns were soon top priorities as many worried about a tsunami and about the nuclear power plants close to the epicenter.
In light of the recent Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant disaster in Japan, nuclear reactors were a main concern. For safety reasons, two reactors 20 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake were shut down. The plant is now using four diesel generators to maintain cooling. There is no reported damage.
Bridges are being inspected -- flights were grounded at New York airports -- and cell phone reception was disrupted in DC. Many celebrities went straight to twitter to comment on the earthquake- some of them even joking about it.
@FINALLEVEL (Ice T): I'm from LA..... So that was like a normal day in Cali.
@adamlevine: Ok. Even GOD is pissed off at Washington now.
@kathygriffin: Me on ph in my NYC hotel room "uh, I think we're having an earthquake right now" My Mom "You're nuts, it's just windy" TIP IT!
No serious injuries or deaths have been reported.
Transcript by Newsy.
