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The DC-area earthquake as it happened live on ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½

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 ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ 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 ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ newsroom were ringing off the hook.

The moment shortly after 1:53 p.m. when ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ first reported the earthquake

Later, more details began pouring in. ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ afternoon anchor Shawn Anderson began filling in some of the blanks in this breaking news update.

²ÝÝ®´«Ã½'s Shawn Anderson with the breaking news

²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ 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?”

²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ reporter Michelle Basch

²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ Kristi King on the moment her kitchen floor “began to roll like the deck of a ship.”

²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ reporter Kristi King

²ÝÝ®´«Ã½’s Capitol Hill correspondent Dave McConnell had the day off — Congress was on recess that week.

²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ Capitol Hill Correspondent Dave McConnell

Jack Moore

Jack Moore joined ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½.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.

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