5.9 Earthquake In Washington DC

WASHINGTON- Buildings moved as a 5.9 magnitude earthquake rolled along the east coast of the United States of America on Tuesday, August 23, 2011. It felt as though the big tree near the building might be falling, but there was no sound of anything breaking.

     When it was felt in Washington, office workers poured into the streets of the U.S. capitol. Residents poured on to porches to talk to neighbors. Stores experienced water falling from above. The Union Station food court moved so rigorously that ceiling tiles began falling from the ceiling, as people ran to save themselves. People did not know what was happening until guards told them what was happening.

     One business man said it sounded like a big monster was walking down the hallway of the office building. A government worker said her building experienced two earth quakes before the building was evacuated. The tip of a spire fell off at the National Cathedral on Wisconsin Avenue in Northwest Washington, DC and chunks of stone as big as ones head gave way also.

     According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the quake strike began 87 miles southwest of Washington in Mineral, Virginia at 1:51 pm Eastern time. The 5.9 magnitude quake was initially measured to be 5.8 in magnitude. A 2.8 magnitude aftershock was reported at approximately 2:45 p.m.