Washington, New York shake under 5.9 quake in US

Washington, Aug 24: US witnessed an earthquake measuring 5.9 in the Richter scale today. The quakes were apparently felt in parts of Washington DC and mildly felt at Rhode Island, New York City and Martha's Vineyard, Mass. This is the first such instance of earthquake in the last 100 years. The quake was centered around Virginia.

Though no major casualties were reported, the quake caused considerable panic among citizens. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was half a mile deep. The impact was felt at the White House and all over the East Coast, as far south as Chapel Hill, N.C. Parts of the White House, Capitol and the Pentagon were evacuated.

The spokesman for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Roger Hannah stated that the two nuclear reactors at the North Anna Power Station located in close proximity of the epicenter of the quake were automatically taken off line by safety systems around the time of the earthquake.

The quake struck around 1:51 pm EDT. With no damages reported, the administration has asked citizens to be vigilant. High-rise buildings swayed in the impact of the quake and people were reasonably shaken by the unexpected impact. The quake in the US comes a day after an earthquake was reported in Colorado. Aftershocks were reported as later as Tuesday as well.

US President Barack Obama and other key personnel in the administration were on August vacation and are keeping a close watch on the situation.

OneIndia News