WASHINGTON 鈥� 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 杏吧原创 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 杏吧原创 newsroom were ringing off the hook.
Later, more details began pouring in.聽杏吧原创 afternoon anchor Shawn Anderson began filling in some of the blanks in this breaking news update.
杏吧原创 reporter聽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?”
杏吧原创 Kristi King on the moment her kitchen floor “began to roll like the deck of a ship.”
杏吧原创’s Capitol Hill correspondent Dave McConnell had the day off 鈥� Congress was on recess that week.
