WASHINGTON — Tuesday marks the fifth anniversary of the magnitude 5.8 earthquake that was centered in Mineral, Virginia, and shook the entire East Coast.
The 2011 earthquake — coming from an area not known for major seismic activity — could be felt as far north as Canada and as far south as Georgia. Although no one died in the quake, the tremors brought extensive damage to two of the area’s most iconic landmarks — the Washington National Cathedral and the Washington Monument, with repair costs in the millions.
Heavy pieces of stone shifted on the 555-foot Washington Monument. Crews on ropes inspected the damage and found that mortar between the stones had fallen out. In some cases, if you were inside the monument, you could see sunlight shining through from outside. The monument closed for repairs and reopened in 2014.
“The stone and masonry repairs necessitated by the earthquake were completed prior to reopening in May 2014 and structurally the Washington Monument is sound,” said Mike Litterst, public affairs officer with the National Park Service. “We believe, however, that the effects of the earthquake, including moisture seeping in through cracks, may have had a greater impact on the elevator system than originally believed and may be at least partially responsible for the earlier than anticipated replacement of the control system, currently underway,” Litterst said.
At the National Cathedral, mortar fell out from between the carved stones; the ceiling cracked; some heavy sculpted pieces on the outside of the cathedral fell to the ground. One of the spires broke off.
The cost of the damage to the cathedral was estimated at $34 million; the cathedral has remained open during the stabilization process, as it tries to raise money to complete the repairs.
“Twelve million dollars in quake repairs have been made to date; there’s $22 million to go,” said Kevin Eckstrom, chief communications officer with the Washington National Cathedral.
Eckstrom said the next phase of work is rebuilding two pinnacles atop the twin west towers on the front of the cathedral, requiring a half-million dollars.
“At the current pace, it will take us a decade or more to finish the work,” said Eckstrom. “If someone handed us a check for $22 million tomorrow, we could probably get the entire work done in about three years.”
At the time of the earthquake, which struck shortly before 2 p.m. on a workday, the Smithsonian National Zoo reported that several animals had reacted before the tremors. Dominion Virginia Power’s North Anna Power Station, near Mineral, shut down its two nuclear reactors automatically when the quake happened and took several months to restart them.
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