Earthquake leaves Washington schools and monuments shut

Residents in New York spoke about the quake which was caught on camera in Washington and at a media briefing in NYC

A day after an earthquake rattled the US east coast, Washington schools remained closed and inspectors are assessing damage to national monuments.



The magnitude-5.8 quake, which some people initially feared was a terrorist attack, caused no known deaths or serious injuries.



Engineers have been studying cracks in the Washington Monument, and federal office buildings remained closed.



The quake centred on the state of Virginia but was felt widely.



It was one of the most powerful tremors to hit the US east coast since 1897.



The quake shook Washington DC for about 30 seconds at lunchtime on Tuesday, with the White House, Pentagon and Capitol buildings among sites evacuated across the city.



One of the most damaged buildings was Washington's century-old National Cathedral: three capstones broke off and cracks appeared in some walls.



"Experts are tirelessly working to assess the building damage, both structurally and aesthetically," the cathedral managers said.At the Washington Monument, the obelisk-shaped memorial to America's first president, engineers discovered cracks in the stones at the top.



They are evaluating how to repair the monument so it could be reopened to tourists.



Just two days after the start of the academic year, 126 Washington school buildings were closed on Wednesday.



DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson said the sites were being examined by structural engineers.



The steeple and bell tower at St Patrick's Catholic Church in the city of Baltimore were badly damaged, and the building was closed as a precaution.



Federal officials said two nuclear reactors had been taken offline near the epicentre of the quake but that no damage had been reported.



Twelve nuclear plants declared "unusual events" after the quake, the lowest classification of emergency.



The quake struck some 84 miles (135km) south-west of Washington, at a depth of 3.7 miles.



Its epicentre was near the town of Mineral, in the state of Virginia, the US Geological Survey said.



Three aftershocks were recorded on Tuesday, measuring from 2.2 to 4.8 in magnitude.