crashing so the emergency manager will tell us not to use the phones unless you need to. all of this, people evacuating in the pictures seem to be rachg et go up a since of panic that is unnecessary and counterproductive. again, context in perspective. there was an earthquake in virginia less than an hour ago. some buildings shook. it scared some people and its over. could there be aftershocks? there could. in a twitter facebook world we have no pictures of any damage anywhere. that is not to say we won't get some. but the important thing to remember right now there is no cause for panic. maybe bridges are closed, maybe your building is evacuated. that is all it is. they are not used to this sort of thing happening. in times square there are a lot of people out. i was there a few minutes ago. everything is fine. vast majority of people in times square felt nothing. the building shook and now it's over as far as we can tell nothing has happened. so authorities from canada to north carolina are now checking buildings and checking structures to make sure they are okay. there is a lot of speculating going on. cops are going maybe this is leaning but so far, nothing has happened. with that as our beginning we'll go across the country and show you what we're seeing. for the most part is not much. jonathan hunt with us. jonathan, the most significant damage that we've heard about some ceiling tiles falling and in addition some cracks at union station in washington, d.c. no injuries, no significant damage of any kind, right? >> reporter: best to sum up would be to quote william shakespeare. much ado about nothing. some walls rumbling, they felt their buildings shake. you have to appreciate this is downtown manhattan where almost ten years ago we had awful terrorist attacks. some people were fearful that something like that might be happening. they were shepard had on the streets by the cops down here in downtown manhattan. this is an area full of federal buildings so a lot of cops on duty. they brought everybody out of the buildings. they urged them to go into more open areas. there are several parks and gathered there for something like an hour. federal court behind me where we were here for the dominique strauss-kahn hearing has now been opened again. to sum unonce again, much ado about nothing. >> shep: i think we're going to talk about what has happened. any time you are in one of the cities that have been attacked, the first thing that is weird out of the norm -- oh, no, second later you realize nothing bad happened except the earth shook and it appears everything is okay. now it's time to take stock and realize everything in mind. with that in mind, few bits of information. we talked to people in mineral springs, virginia which is where the earthquake hit. the person whom we spoke, boxes fell off a shelf. no struvl damage. person walks around and sees nothing around the center. we just gotten information the national cathedral has suffered some damage to the central tower in the earthquake. as far as we know now, nothing structural and nobody was hurt. i can further report flights at j.f.k. and newark airports in new york city area have now resumed officially after delays due to this earthquake because what they were doing there, just as they are doing up and down the east coast, it's checking to make sure everything is fine. so far it is. more coming in right now. everything else, amtrak, crews are inspecting stations before returning to normal operations. so through the course of events they are checking and new one from amtrak. no reports of any injuries, passengers should expect delays. the rest of the day going to be a little weird. it's going to be a little weird on the east coast. it will give us something to talk about. now is the wrong time to get on the cellphone and that sort of thing and then, tie up lines and that sort of thing because it could create a lot of panic that just fully under necessary. richard allen, professor at university berkeley. to bring some perspective in all this. in the early going we felt an earthquake as many in los angeles have and people in tokyo are laughing a little bit. initially it happens and then you realize everything seems to be okay. i am guessing from your perspective the report you are getting, everything seems to be okay basically, right? >> that is right. this wasn't a huge earthquake. current estimate is 5.8. it is a big earthquake. it is not expected to do a huge amount of damage. it's possibly minor structural damage that are buildings that are close to the event but this is not very large event, nothing like what happened in japan earlier this year. >> let's talk for a second about magnitudes and what they mean. for our viewers that aren't used each time you go up a tenth of point on the scale you don't go up a tenth of point in strength. difference of strength in japan and what sounds like a big deal 5.8 is miles apart? >> that is absolutely right. every time you go up one unit, magnitude 6 to 7, actual amplitude increases by a factor of ten. so the earthquake in japan was magnitude 9, this was little less than a magnitude 6 that is pack for of thousand difference in terms of ground shaking. >> one thousand times different? >> that is correct. one thousand times difference. yes, people feel it but nothing like what happened in japan. >> shep: i happened to be in japan after that earthquake.x] i think we had more than four 6.8 in that range. their skyscrapers were fine and very little damage was caused then and that would be dozens in f not hundreds of timesx]x] stronger. >> it was a magnitude it would have been a factor ten times larger. there is one other factor that needs to bear in hind. in japan the buildings are able to withstand very large earthquakes. that, they did very well. in california buildings are able to withstand earthquakes. on the east coast that is less so. so you might see a little more on magnitude 6 earthquake on the east coast than the west coast. but we don't expect very much damage. >> shep: let's talk about aftershocks. it would be very unusual to have an aftershock strangler than quake on the east coast? >> that's right. it's not impossible. it's always possible there may be a larger earthquake to come. we can't rule that out but it's very unusual. most of the aftershocks are usually much smaller. we usually expect one aftershock a little lower, that would be a factor of ten lower. >> shep: i know this is not your business, but because you are so very well versed in earthquakes, what they do, how they roll, what the depth means. given the information we've gotten so far, would your advice to people just calm down and stay off the phone? >> i think that is absolutely right. there is no reason to panic here. people should calm down. we don't expect to see any big events to follow but it's always a possibility. calm down. phones and issues with the phones that is because important people trying to call. >> shep: it's lining the long island expressway, if all a sudden everybody's car gets on expressway it's not going to work. >> yes, exactly. >> shep: we want though shoe you what is happening across the country. you see these pictures and it looks scary with everybody outside. they are only outside so the people in charge of the buildings so they can inspect the buildings and because they have an insurance agent that would demand that they do so? >> that's right. the wise thing to do the house has been shaking and possible damage to a building. wise thing to do is calmly evacuate that building and make sure the building is fine. that is right precaution for people to take. >> shep: hopefully that is something that it will not do. one more thing, from your experience, looking at earthquakes in california, earthquakes along the new madrid in this age of everybody being connected, an hour later we see no significant damage of any kind and not a single report of injury, is it your sense that is very good news and we are all right? >> absolutely. i think that is good news. it was a large amount of damage we would begin to have some sense of what that might be at this stage and we haven't seen that. that is good news. >> shep: richard allen, university of california berkeley from west coast, it is unusual for magnitude 5.8 in virginia but for an earthquake is really not unusual? >> that is right. when you look as the u.s. as a whole, hazard on the west coast is higher but there is previous examples of these events on the east coast. this particular earthquake is located is a at slightly higher risk regions. there have been earthquakes in this region before so it's not a complete surprise. >> shep: thank you richard allen. before we move on to washington, i want to show you something that is always a sign. when something happens that effects this city, new york city media capital of the world, it's usually reflected, reality is reflected in the markets. if there is a panic and weirdness, markets sometimes tank. look what has happened. since this event, we're up hundred points. dow is up 310 points today. they haven't left the trading floor on wall street. they are still trading and they are buying and not selling. they are not panicking there. they are not panicking in washington. though my guess is, they have drummed up a full panic thought in the halls or corridors of washington. our producer who covers capitol hill for us, i'm guessing everybody is outside and it looks weird? >> it was kind of weird because people moved away from the capitol. we go through this periodically when we have a suspicious package. there was supposed to be a drill shelter in place drill on capitol hill today. they remain evacuated. what is going on they are going through these buildings, they are old buildings and they are fortified to some degree against potential terrorist attacks. they are big buildings. the architect at the capital's office woonts to make sure. i'm talking about st. peters catholic church which is behind the library of congress. it turns out this church lost a few bricks, nothing major but something to be concerned about. united states senate the business of government continues. my colleague on the senate side of the capitol says the senate is going meet in a pro forma second. they have to do this constitutionally. they were scheduled to do this with democrat of delaware and they are going to do it outside in just a little bit. >> shep: thanks very much. that video on the screen on the right in the booth, that was feed from sky news, right? my point to our viewers they are watching us in london now. there is a dictatorship falling in libya. the world has switched from that to the earth shaking on the east coast. markets could be reacting in some way to the historic developments going on in libya. at some point we'll get to those. we would anticipate in a 5.8 earthquake there would be minor damage. let me tell you what i've learned. national cathedral in washington which is the highest building in the city has, indeed, suffered some damage. three of the pinnacles in the central tower broke off. richard weinberg is director of communications, a fourth pinnacle is leaning and might be damaged. central tower is 30 stories tall and it also suffered minor structural damage. other damage reported from the earthquake occurred in ecuador can embassy. a little bit on airports for you. major east coast airports grounded their airlines smtsd here is what is going on happen. they are going to close down airports and check them. if they are fine they will reopen them. if you were traveling by train or bus or plane or maybe go over a large bridge on the east coast maybe check out those particular locations before you head out. if the word comes they are closed that doesn't mean there are problems there. what it means initially they are checking for problems. brett baier is live in washington as they check around, great news of this day nothing very serious at least to report thus far. >> yeah, you are right. you are talking about significant or not significant damage. you talked about the cathedral. union station down the block from me, some ceiling tiles fell out of the ceemg. no one was hurt. we're outside the building here at d.c. bureau. like chad talked about they are checking the building and probably won't get back to this building tonight. we'll probably have to do reports from out here. people are calm. there is not really a lot of hysteria out the streets. if you have to remember there have been 3100 earthquakes this year above 2900. that is a fact. i think 31 of them were above 5.0. so this was not huge but obviously many people upset and made people scared. victoria was driving metro at the time. what was it down in the subway? >> i was coming out on business point and going on the red line. i was stepping on to the train. this huge wobbling feeling. we all got on and nobody knew what was happening. the train kept going. i got out and a ton of people standing outside. >> reporter: people weren't hysterical but 30 seconds deal where it went under your feet? >> exactly. >> reporter: you are not worried. i'm from california we get a lot of these. >> so here in d.c. we could learn from you. there are a lot of people outside the office. we're not going to let back in a lot of buildings are being checked out. it's 2800 in 2011 and 31 between 5.0. >> 1300 earthquakes of this magnitude or thereabouts worldwide each year. 1300 of them. this happened miles away from the nation's capitol where there are all these cameras. we're seeing what it's like in a new media world with 24-hour cable channels to have something weird happen ten years after 9/11. we're on full weird mode up and down the east coast. i've gotten all kinds of new information. let me say all of it everything is fine. this came from the city of new york, a notification through the emergency management office. i'm going read it. there are no reports of any major structural damage, injuries, transportation or utility service disruptions affected any parts of new york city. long island railroad reported, an area of couple million people a day, all operating as normal. i want to get to the united states geological survey. claudia, i get the feeling maybe from the bay area down to san diego and all points in between, there might be a collective at east coast right now? >> i don't know about that. i can tell you seismologists here at the nation's center for earthquake study are excited about this earthquake. number one, it doesn't appear to have caused any deaths. let me show you how it looks in terms of scientific data. you see the squiggly lines. that is s how it looked. there have not been a lot of earthquakes in this part of the country. part of the reason they do occur goes back nearly 100 million years to the creation of the atlantic ocean. when the continents split they left behind these shallow faults along the eastern seaboard. this fault was show shallow and covered with sediment. it doesn't even have a name yet. so this fault was formed perhaps 100 million years ago. it moves every 500 years, good news is that sies seismologists all of the modern day technology sensitive instruments will be able to tell the story the scientific story of what happened when all the data comes in. >> shep: thanks. gotten this from amtrak. it will be operating trains at reduced speeds between baltimore and washington while they do inspecting. no damage to any rail lines on the entirety of the east coast has been found thus far. pentagon is fine. jennifer griffin. hi, jen. >> we are fine. everyone was evacuated but they are all back in the building. i think there was a moment of fear because many of us were preparing for the 9/11 anniversary coming up and reading descriptions of what it was like in the building on that day. there were a lot of people that were here. that is exactly, low rumbling and the whole building shook. it was a bit unnerving. there was a pipe that burst in corridor 3 and 4 on the second and third floor. those are the corridors where flight hit and some were stuck in offices where there was standing water in hallways. i got a message from colonel oliver north that was at funeral for a navy seal who was killed on august 6th in falls church virginia. when the earthquake struck during the funeral about 400 marines were gathered at the funeral and eulogy was taking place. they felt the shaking. there was no panic. let me read. former marine come can't looked about, there is a message in this. someone standing next to him, no need to run, we know where we're going. the service resumed. >> shep: there is something that does really matter. jennifer griffin. update on couple more things. indian point nuclear reactor, they went out and checked it. everything is fine. two nuclear facilities in the vicinity of this earthquake in virginia, they have checked them everything is fine. some ceiling tiles have fallen. couple of spears on top of national cathedral has broken off but nobody was underneath them nobody got hurt. trains are running fine. airports are reopening. earth shook and now its okay. and during all of this and incredibly historic event is taking place in libya. the dictator has had people, his own citizens come into the compound where he has had wild parties and negotiated for decades. they've gone into his bedroom and taken his things and they are now walking on the streets in the mad dog of the middle east clothing hats and carrying his books. a dictatorship is falling. assad in syria must be shaking in his shoes. an event of real national interest. we'll be covering the history unfolding in libya right after this. 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[ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. >> shep: we have zero reports of any significant damage and not a single report of injury in the entirety of the united states over this earthquake. i make you a promise. if i hear of one single significant thing or get a piece of video you might find interesting i'll put it on the screen that instant but first there is a real news. breaking in libya, revolutionary fighters stormed the mad dog of the middle east main compound in tripoli. the rebels are now inside that heavily fortified government base at the heart of the city. >> khadafy forces, we don't see any sign of them. all the gunfire are coming from the opposition fighters. we saw khadafy soldiers in the roads leading in to here in the buildings around the roads where they had taken up positions and trying to shoot any of the fighters that came close. this is very much in the control of the opposition fighters. they got free reign and wandering all over the place in and out of compound. the fire that you seek to the right of the building is the tent where it comes out. that is now being put on fire. >> shep: alex crawford who has been doing incredible work for sky news and for us. these are live pictures at moammar khadafy's main compound. this actually pictures of live from what is khadafy square. this is a green revolution. he has green book tells people how to live, how to be. that is how this dictator has controlled his people for the better part of 42 years. now, they are going rename it freedom square. in that place where he held the lavish parties, so many stories of atrocities came out. they stormed in after his son said he is here and fight the last fight. remember baghdad bob? they have a lot in common. kh