An earthquake sent tremors from the nations capital to New York City and New England Tuesday afternoon, the result of what officials said was a 5.9 magnitude temblor based in Virginia.

The New York Times
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was centered near Mineral, Va.
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Buildings throughout major metropolitan centers in the northeast were evacuated after the quake, and tremors were felt as far north as Bath, Me., and as far south as Hampstead, N.C., with some limited reports of damage reported near the quakes epicenter in Virginia, where a nearby nuclear power plant was taken offline. Amtrak trains were temporarily halted, and cellphone service was disrupted as calls flooded cellular systems.

The streets of downtown Washington filled with thousands of people on Tuesday afternoon as buildings from the Capitol to the White House were evacuated.

A mild shake and tremble could be felt shortly before 2 p.m. The movement lasted no more than 30 seconds in downtown Washington.

Fire alarms sounded throughout the downtown business district in Washington on an otherwise bright and sunny afternoon. Pennsylvania Avenue, from Capitol Hill to the White House, was filled with evacuated workers and tourists on Tuesday afternoon. There was no panic -- or obvious reason to -- as people recounted the trembling moment shortly before 2 p.m.

Andre Smith-Pugh, a 25-year-old carpentry worker, was high above the Eisenhower Executive Office Building when he felt the shaking.

"It felt like the scaffolding was coming down," he said in an interview. "It felt like a big truck slammed into the side of the building right here at the White House."

He and his work crew climbed down and gathered outside the White House. None were injured, he said, but all were rattled.

Several buildings in New York City were evacuated, with employees standing in the streets in midtown Manhattan. Rumbles were reported on Twitter from places as far-flung as Marthas Vineyard, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee.

Credit goes to nytimes.com/2011/08/24/us/24quake.html for the news!

Hurricane Irene, which was over the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday morning, moving at about 9 m.p.h., was expected to remain over the island nation for at least the next day or so. Tide levels in the Bahamas could reach as high as 11-feet above normal and a storm surge is expected to create dangerous waves near the coast


The storm had been nudged away from its 10-m.p.h. path toward Florida by weakness in a high-pressure system parked over the southeastern United States, forecasters said. If that system changes, the hurricane could still graze Floridas coastline

As it moves over the Bahamas, the storm may head in a more northwesterly direction, which would put it roughly in line with the North Carolina coast. Federal and state authorities however warned residents in other places not to be complacent; they said the hurricane would probably affect nearly every state along the East Coast

Picture of Hurricane Irene's Path:
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As of 8 AM on Wednesday morning, Hurricane Irene was upgraded to a major category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and a minimum central pressure of 957 millibars. Irene intensified rapidly overnight and developed an eye on satellite imagery for the first time in its life cycle.

Irene continues to track toward the west-northwest at about 9 mph, and a gradual turn toward the northwest is expected on Wednesday, which will put the Outer Banks of North Carolina in the target zone for a possible landfall late on Saturday. A gradual turn to the northeast is then expected as Irene interacts with some fast moving short-waves in the westerly flow, which would put Long Island and the southern coast of New England under the gun for a possible landfall early Monday morning. Impacts here would also include torrential rains, strong wind gusts up to hurricane force, and a dangerous storm surge with coastal flooding



Sources: examiner.com/environmental-news-...and-states

nytimes.com/2011/08/25/us/25hurricane.html