Shock Waves From Virginia Earthquake Felt Locally (Updated)

Updated: 7:45 p.m.

An earthquake centered in caused a large portion of the East Coast to shake Tuesday afternoon.

The United State Geological Survey reported the 5.9 magnitude quake hit at 1:51 p.m. Tuesday about 27 miles from Charlottesville, Va.

Shock waves were felt in Chestnut Hill, as well as in municipalities up and down the east coast.

In Philadelphia, City Hall was evacuated, while nationally, the Pentagon and the Capitol building were evacuated.

Minor building damage was reported in Philadelphia. All major government buildings were inspected and reopened mid-afternoon Tuesday, and city employees returned to work, according to a statement from the city.

No water, gas, road and bridge damage was reported, the statement said.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation bridge inspectors in each of the agency’s 11 districts are doing precautionary inspections of bridges around the state. One bridge in Reading was closed earlier Tuesday after inspectors noticed it was cracked.

The Chestnut Hill West train line (along with the Trenton, Wilmington, Paoli and Cynwyd lines) was operating on a 30- to 60-minute delay for much of Tuesday afternoon, but as of 7:45 p.m., should be running on or close to schedule, SEPTA said.

The earthquake prompted Philadelphia Airport to initiate a ground stop for less than a half hour Tuesday afternoon, according to airport spokeswoman Victoria Lupica. That means that flights flying into and out of Philadelphia were held at their gates until crews could be sure there was no structural damage in the terminals. Operations are now back to normal, as no damage was found.

A representative from the Philadelphia Police Department asked residents to stay calm and alert.

"The commissioner isn't here, but If I had to speak for him, I would say for people to remain calm and pay attention to radio and TV for what we should do next," said Tanya Little, a public affairs officer with the department.

The US Weather service has announced that there is no tsunami threat after the quake. After shocks are, however, a possibility.

The ReadyNotifyPA service said there are no reports of damage in Pennsylvania, and said "911 is inundated with phone calls regarding the tremor."

"Please refrain from calling 911 unless there is a true emergency," it said.

The 311 service will be open until midnight, and people can call that number if they see any sort of earthquake-related damage. If you smell detect gas fumes, you should call 215-235-1212 (you can do that 24/7).

Stay with Patch for updates.

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