Earthquake rattles U.S. East Coast, no deaths

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A strong earthquake struck  the U.S. East Coast and was felt as far away as Canada today, shaking buildings in many cities, delaying flights and  trains and sending thousands of frightened workers into the  streets.
There were no reports of major damage or injuries from the  5.9 magnitude quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey said was  centered in Mineral, Virginia, at a very shallow depth of 0.6  mile (1 km).
The Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol were briefly evacuated in  Washington, and thousands of panicked office workers scurried  into the streets up and down the East Coast as the lunchtime  quake sent items crashing to the floor from store and office  shelves.
“We were rocking,” said Larry Beach, who works at the U.S  Agency for International Development in downtown Washington, 83  miles (133 km) from the quake’s epicenter. “It was definitely  significant.”
Earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 to 6 can cause damage to  buildings and other structures, especially if shallow. The U.S.  East Coast does not normally feel quakes of this strength.
The shallower a quake is, the more intense it is felt on  the surface, and the potential for damage is greater.
Amtrak reduced speed between Washington and Baltimore,  track crews inspected East Coast stations and rails for damage  and warned passengers to expect delays.
Two nuclear reactors at a power plant in Virginia went off  line,  while traffic lights were knocked out throughout  Washington.
Three pinnacles in the central tower of the Washington  National Cathedral, the highest building in the city, broke off  in the quake, a spokesman said.
Chandeliers swayed in the U.S. Capitol and the floor of the  U.S. Senate shook before staff headed for the doors. The U.S.  Congress is in recess.
“I thought at first somebody was shaking my chair and then  I thought maybe it was a bomb,” said Senate aide Wendy  Oscarson-Kirchner.
Phone service was disrupted throughout the region as  network congestion prevented Cellphone users from making calls.  A Verizon Wireless spokesman said there were no reports of  damage to its network but congestion disrupted service for  about 20 minutes after the quake.
NEW YORK PANIC
In New York, the tremors prompted evacuations of  courthouses, City Hall and halted work at the World Trade  Center construction site.
Control towers at John F. Kennedy International Airport in  New York City and Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey were  also evacuated, and flights were grounded briefly in  Washington, Philadelphia and New York while authorities  inspected control towers and runways.
Fire department and police officials in Dutchess County,  north of New York City, reported structural damage to some  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.
Buildings in Boston were evacuated, while the quake was  felt as far away as Toronto.
Some people who experienced the swaying at their offices in  Boston said they felt their stomachs turn.
“I thought I was dizzy and I needed to drink more water,”  said Heather Kennaway, a manager at Sportello, a local  restaurant, who was unaware of the earthquake.
The earthquake was felt in Martha’s Vineyard, where  President Barack Obama was playing golf on his summer vacation  at the time. It was unclear if Obama felt the tremor.
The quake was the largest in Virginia since 1897.
Vacationers at the Hamptons, the upscale resort on eastern  Long Island, felt the earth shake. Many grabbed their cell  phones to make calls, while several began asking aloud whether  a tsunami — a huge wave created by an underwater quake — was  headed their way.