5.8-magnitude earthquake jolts Virginia, USA on August 23, 2011

Just hours after the Colorado earthquake, another temblor struck a US state Tuesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

A map of the August 23, 2011 Virginia Earthquake | Source: USGS

According to its bulletin, the quake measured a Richter Scale reading of magnitude 5.8 (earlier reported to be 5.9) and had an epicenter located 14 km (9 miles) South Southwest of Mineral, Virgina at 17:51:04 UTC at a depth of 6 km (3.7 miles).

The intraplate earthquake reportedly was the strongest in Virginia's recorded history since 1897. It was felt as far away as Ontario, Canada; Michigan; Pennsylvania; Ohio; South Carolina; North Carolina; New York and Massachusetts. Many buildings were evacuated in New York and Philadelphia including the Capitol building and the Pentagon in Washington, DC.

There are also reports that it damaged the Pentagon, Washington National Cathedral and the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

A couple of airports were temporarily closed and two nuclear plants in Virginia were taken offline because of the quake.

There were no reports of casualties.