A 5.8 magnitude earthquake rattled Washington DC, Philadelphia and Richmond. It was centered 87 miles south of the Capitol. Many buildings are being evacuated in Washington including the Pentagon. It is extremely rare for seismic activity in this locale. It was felt as far north as New York. Buildings in New York have been evacuated. The Capitol building has been evacuated. It was centered in Mineral, Virginia and was only 3.7 miles deep. That is extremely shallow. Up to 11million people felt this quake in some way. There have been only two dozen quakes in Virginia state history. There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Again, buildings up and down the east coast have been evacuated.

Nine nuclear power plants along the east coast have declared an "unusual event." That is the lowest level in a four level alert. A plant run by Dominion Power located 11 miles from the epicenter is running on emergency power to keep fuel rods cooled. The reactors auto shut down. Numerous reports are now coming in about reports of structural damage in the town of Mineral. The National Cathedrals pinnacles have collapsed. Mayor Bloomberg is to speak at 1:00PM Eastern in NYC.