ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ

The DC-area earthquake as it happened live on ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ

WASHINGTON — Five years ago Tuesday, a magnitude 5.8 East Coast earthquake rattled D.C., sparking brief panic and evacuations of major government buildings and causing lasting damage to the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral.

The terrifying, perplexing incident happened live on the radio.

Former ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ anchor Richard Day was in the studio when the quake struck. Shortly after 1:53 p.m., he cut into a story on the science behind how dogs smell. “We have been feeling the shakes here in Northwest Washington,” he said. The phones in the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ newsroom were ringing off the hook.

The moment shortly after 1:53 p.m. when ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ first reported the earthquake

Later, more details began pouring in. ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ afternoon anchor Shawn Anderson began filling in some of the blanks in this breaking news update.

ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ's Shawn Anderson with the breaking news

ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ reporter Michelle Basch was in her car near L’Enfant Plaza. When the car began shaking up and down, her first thought was: “Is somebody playing a trick on me?”

ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ reporter Michelle Basch

ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Kristi King on the moment her kitchen floor “began to roll like the deck of a ship.”

ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ reporter Kristi King

ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s Capitol Hill correspondent Dave McConnell had the day off — Congress was on recess that week.

ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Capitol Hill Correspondent Dave McConnell

Jack Moore

Jack Moore joined ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ.com as a digital writer/editor in July 2016. Previous to his current role, he covered federal government management and technology as the news editor at Nextgov.com, part of Government Executive Media Group.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ account for notifications and alerts customized for you.