Magnitude 5.9 Earthquake Shakes Virginia, Eastern Seaboard

Updated 1:08 p.m.: This story and headline has been updated with new information from the US Geological Survey.

Note: Michael Theis is the local editor of Fredericksburg Patch.

The United States Geological Survey says a 5.9 magnitude earthquake shook Fredericksburg, Va., along with the better portion of the East Coast around 1:50 p.m. on the East Coast. The quake rattled pictures and valuables off of walls. In and around Fredericksburg, residents are reporting trouble with cellphone networks.

"I thought Jesus was coming back," said Carla Roop, in an interview. She had never experienced an earthquake before, but was dining with a former California resident, as well as her husband and son, in Stafford County when the quake struck. 

Her young son said the tremors caused his orange juice to splash on him as they ran outside. 

According to data from the USGS, the quake was centered in Louisa County, near the town of Mineral. The epicenter of the quake was about 34 miles southwest of Fredericksburg, 27 miles east of Charlottesville and 39 miles north of Richmond. 

The quake was less than a mile underground, with the USGS describing it as a poorly constrained quake 0.6 of a mile underground.

According to Twitter reports, the shaking was felt as far away as Cleveland and New York City.

Seattle-area sports columnist Greg Johns, a writer for the shuttered Eastside daily paper King County Journal and who now works for MLB.com, tweeted: "Still a little wobbling in the press box at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Hearing quake was centered outside D.C., must have been big one." Johns, who was at the Mariners-Indians game, later tweeted that it was not felt on the field, though others in the stands reported feeling shaking.

Bellevue-native and AOL employee Scott Iwata, who works in New York City, tweeted to Bellevue Patch: "Yeah we're good out here just noticed my monitors were wiggling and felt my leg shake without me shaking it."

News reports say that the Pentagon was being evacuated after the quake.

The tremors sent people scurrying into the streets here near the home offices of Fredericksburg Patch on Forbes Street.

Hector Correra, a painter working at 1314 Caroline Street was on top of a ladder scraping paint when the quake struck.

"It was weird." said the shaken Correra. He said he's never felt an earthquake in Virginia before. 

Dina Young, owner of Moms of Fredericksburg, was on the phone and her children were playing when the quake happened. 

"I grabbed my three children and took cover in the basement," said Young on Facebook. "No way to get through to 911 so we waited a little while and then turned on channel 4 to see the report."

Lorisa Robinson told Patch that she is having cellphone trouble at the moment. 

"I have no outgoing cell service but I am getting alerts," said Robinson. "I can't call or send texts but Internet is working."

"It felt like a train was going through, shaking everything, didn't quite know what to do," said Robinson.

Stay tuned to Fredericksburg Patch as more details are learned.

Edited and additional reporting by Bellevue Patch