Strong 6.0 earthquake rattles Washington, felt in New York

WASHINGTON: A strong earthquake measuring about 6.0 was felt in the US capital and its surrounding areas on Tuesday, forcing people to flee their offices as far away as New York. While there was no immediate report of any casualties or damage to the buildings, there was panic among the people, with buildings shaking for several seconds, taking everyone by surprise. The epicenter of the earthquake was reported to be in Northern Virginia. Reports said the Pentagon was evacuated after the temblor. Washington has not been used to earthquakes. As people rushed out of the building and started calling their near and dear ones, most of the phone calls dropped and communication system was initial down. According to the US Geological Survey, the quake's center was 54 kilometers (34 miles) from Richmond, Virginia, and 87 miles (139 kilometers) from Washington. 

Nuclear plant shut after quake, others unaffected 

HOUSTON: A magnitude 5.9 earthquake on the US East Coast on Tuesday forced the shutdown of two nuclear reactors at a Virginia power plant, but other nuclear power plants on the Eastern Seaboard were unaffected and operating normally. A nuclear power plant operated by Dominion Resources' was shut after the earthquake, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Two reactors at the North Anna Station in Mineral, Virginia were stopped, the NRC said. The plant lost off-site power, but diesel generators are operating, the spokesman said. The Virginia shutdown came automatically after the strong quake in the region. The shutdown was safe and represented no danger to the public, the NRC said. The quake was felt along the East Coast as far north as Canada. Dominion's two-unit Surry plant in Gravel, Virginia, continues to operate normally. Entergy's Indian Point nuclear power plant located north of New York city was operating normally, a spokesman for the company said. Nine other plants in the region between Virginia and New Jersey declared an "unusual event", the lowest of the NRC's emergency classification ratings, but all continued to operate at full power.