An earthquake of 5.9 magnitude quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey said was centered in Mineral, Virginia, hit the U.S East Coast and Canada on Tuesday which led to emergency evacuation of buildings and several delayed flights in New York.
The Earthquake was unusually shallow and strong however there have been no reports f any injuries.
The earthquake made items crash to the floor from shelves of offices and stores. Pentagon and U.S. Capitol were also evacuated in Washington where as many office workers ran out t the streets, evacuating their offices.
According to Larry Beach, who works at the U.S. Agency for International Development in downtown Washington, 83 miles from the quake’s epicenter, “We were rocking, it was definitely significant.”
The earthquake also stopped the on going work at the World Trade Centre construction site. The Control towers at Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City were also evacuated, where as the flights were delayed.
A spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said: “We’re going to hope to resume operations. We are talking hours, not longer.”
Although no damage was reported in New York however fire department and police officials in Dutchess County, north of New York City, confirmed damage to a few buildings.
“We’re getting a lot of calls on buildings shaking but there’s no report of any structural damage at this time. Just panicked people calling about buildings shaking,” a spokesman for the New York City Fire Department said.
