Animal magic: Gorillas, elephants and lemurs sensed huge East Coast earthquake from their zoo cages before it struck

• Animals at National Zoo in Washington DC yelled out 15 minutes beforehand
  
• Huge 5.8 quake felt across the East Coast, from Toronto to South Carolina
• Damage reported in Virginia, while buildings evacuated for fear of collapse in New York and Washington
• The White House and the Pentagon among buildings evacuated
• Washington Monument to be closed indefinitely after cracks found
• Aftershocks could last for weeks
  
• NYPD staff had worries earthquake was another terrorist attack in the city
  
• Fears of Fukushima-like nuclear disaster because old nuclear plant is just 10 miles from epicentre
• Injuries reported but no deaths
  

By Thomas Durante and Paul Bentley for the Daily Mail and John Stevens for the Daily Mail and Laurie Whitwell for the Daily Mail
Updated: 03:07 EDT, 25 August 2011

Animals at zoos across the East Coast showed signs of distress up to 15 minutes before the huge earthquake struck, leaving $100m worth of damage.

Keepers at the National Zoo in Washington DC say that red-ruffed lemurs started barking an alarm call a quarter of an hour before Richter scales leapt at 1.51pm yesterday.

And about three seconds before the ground started to shake, the zoo's gorilla Mandara gave a yell, gathered up her baby, Kibibi, and then climbed a tree.

Zookeepers said Iris the Orangutan started 'belch vocalising' before the earthquake started, and did not stop until it was over, while a 64-strong flock of flamingos huddled together ahead of humans noticing anything was wrong.

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Sixth sense: A gorilla named Mandara (right) gave a yell and gathered up her baby, Kibibi (left), before the earthquake hit at the National Zoo in Washington DC

Dangerous: One of the spires , left, of the National Cathedral in Washington is seen missing following the earthquake

Damaged: The spire, left, was smashed by the quake, leaving debris, right, on the floor

Monument: Workers assess damage to the historic building, which has been closed indefinitely

Apology; For fear of collapse, the Washington Monument has been closed to the public

A pride of lions had the foresight to walk to away from the shelter in advance of the quake hitting.

Elsewhere, at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the dolphins - in the midst of a training session - began to swim away from their trainers, paired up and began swimming rapidly around the tank about 10 seconds before the seismic waves began.

And closer to the epicentre, the Richmond Zoo in Virgina says the chimps began 'acting up and hollering' before the quake began.

'Animals we know from experimental studies, can hear above and below our range of hearing, that's part of their extra-sensory abilities,' said Don Moore, associate director of animal care at the National Zoo.

'They are responding to danger,' said Brandie Smith from the National Zoo. 'So when there is danger present, a lot of animals go to the place where they are safest from danger.'

The remarkable reports surfaced as it emerged that the earthquake has devastated historic buildings, causing a huge $100million in damage.

Terrifying tremors were felt throughout the north east causing buildings from Washington D.C. through New York City to Toronto, Canada, to be evacuated yesterday for fear of collapse.

The 5.8 magnitude earthquake, which originated in Virginia, brought panic to the Pentagon and the White House, and sparked fears that the iconic Washington Monument would fall.

The huge structure, which was said to have tilted because of the shudder, cracked because of the earthquake and has since been closed indefinitely to the public for immediate repairs.

Crushed: Cars were smashed in Virginia after the huge East Coast earthquake

Wreckage: Pictures show the devastating aftermath of the quake in Virginia

'Clean up on aisle five': Debris covers the aisle floor at the Miller's mart food store in Mineral, Virginia

Overall damage caused across the coast was estimated to be a huge $100million.

In Mineral, Virginia - the epicentre of the earthquake - people's homes were trashed and supermarkets looked as if they had been ransacked by looters.

As ripples from the tremor hit Washington and New York, city streets across the coast were filled with thousands of people hauled out of buildings for fear they could collapse.

There were also fears of a nuclear disaster of the kind seen in Japan's Fukushima because the epicentre was just ten miles from a nuclear power plant.

Federal officials said two nuclear reactors at the North Anna Power Station in Louisa County, Virginia, were automatically taken off line by safety systems.

At the Pentagon, it was reported that staff ran from the building fearing they were under attack.

As authorities revealed that aftershocks from the earthquake could last for weeks, it emerged the Washington Monument will be closed indefinitely to the public after engineers found cracks in the building.

The monument suffered minor damage but cracks were found in the stones at the top of the structure, sparking fears of collapse.

Barricaded: US Capitol Police officers secure the streets outside the US Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Precautions: Staff ran from the Pentagon after the earthquake, thinking it was an attack

Open space: Workers stand in Foley Square park in New York after the earthquake

A police officer had earlier insisted he had seen the monument tilting because of the vibrations.

A family who were at the top of the monument when the quake hit said they felt it swap almost a foot, while pieces of the structure fell on top of them.

At the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. three of the four pinnacles of the tower were damaged.

Engineers are currently working to try to limit the damage.

The 5.8-magnitude tremor struck at about 2pm local time with shallow tremors of about 3.7 miles deep, which is thought to explain why the shaking was so widespread.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was half a mile deep and centred near Louisa, Virginia, about 40 miles north west of Richmond.

It is though to have been the strongest quake to hit the Virginia area for seven decades.

The previous record for an earthquake in the Washington, D.C. area was on July 16, 2010, when a 3.6 magnitude one struck.

Out of order: A gas pump in Mineral, Virginia, is cordoned off and out of service after being damaged by the earthquake

Fallen bricks: A man walks past bricks that fell off of a house in Baltimore

Recovery mission: Christopher Hartman works on the roof installing a tarpaulin after the earthquake tore down parts of the chimney on his dad's office in Mineral, Virginia

'This is one of the largest earthquakes on the east coast in quite a while, in many decades at least,' USGS spokeswoman Lucy Jones told CNN.

Tremors were also felt as far north as New York City and Martha's Vineyard, where President Obama is vacationing.

There were no immediate reports of deaths, but fire officials in Washington said there were injuries.

According to reports, President Obama had just been starting a round of golf when the earthquake struck - although the vacationing president said he didn't feel anything.

The Capitol Building was also evacuated after the quake struck.

Pictures hanging on the walls at the Capitol reportedly fell to the floor from the shocks.

Shocked: Office workers gather on the sidewalk in downtown Washington

Thankful: Co-workers Susan Sproul, left, and Susan Davidson hug after evacuating from their building after an earthquake was felt in Baltimore

Bad timing: A bride in her wedding dress runs from the courthouse in Lower Manhattan in New York after feeling the terrifying shake

US aviation authorities halted flights at several airports after the shake was felt.

'We're getting a lot of calls on buildings shaking but there's no report of any structural damage at this time,' a spokesman for the New York City Fire Department said.

Buildings in Boston were evacuated, while witnesses said the quake was felt as far away as Toronto.

Impact: The earthquake could be felt across the East Coast of America

In New York, many office buildings were evacuated.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly was in the NYPD's 14th floor executive command centre planning a 9-11 memorial service.

'We felt a rumbling and the floor shaking underneath,' said his spokesman, Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne.

Mary Lupoli, 64, a supervisor in the NYPD's public inquiry office at 1 Police Plaza, said she thought the worst when the evacuation order came.

'I kind of thought it could be a terrorist attack. It's THAT time,' she said.

The 26-story federal courthouse in lower Manhattan began swaying and hundreds of people fled into the street.

When Ellen Rea felt the tremors in her New York she panicked and thought of 10 years ago.

'I’m not a person who gets scared, but I thought of 9/11 and thought what the hell happened?” she told CNN

She remembered being near the World Trade Center nearly 10 years ago and coming home with the ashes in her hair.

'It actually surprised me how those thoughts came up,' she said.  'I’m a tough New Yorker. I was really surprised that was the first thought.'

Charlene Lloyd, 25, who works on the 60th floor of the Empire State Building, told the New York Daily News: 'It felt like I was in a boat. I was on the phone with a client, and I hung up and ran.'

Bill Parks, from Hummelstown, added: 'Our townhouse started shaking a short time ago and branches started to fall off trees and hit our windows and hit our roof like crazy.'

Ripples: This map shows the vast spread of the affect of the earthquake. Buildings were evacuated as far away as Toronto, Canada

Shaken: Live pictures from Washington and New York, which felt the shudder

'It lasted about 10 seconds and was as bad as the Northridge after shock I had experienced while visiting in California. I ran outdoors and found my neighbour calling a friend in Virginia who also felt the profound quake. This quake was like none I ever experienced in the East in my life and I am 76 years old.'

The city said calls to 911 spiked to 6,900 in the half hour between 1.30 pm and 2.00pm, most placed in the final 10 minutes. Normally, 911 receives 800 calls in a half hour.

Thomas McGarry, 55, has run a small convenience store kiosk above subway tracks right in front of New York city hall for the last year and a half.

He told MailOnline he was in the kiosk when the quake hit.

'We all looked at each other. I thought the floor was going to cave in,' he said.

Calling home: Office workers gather on a sidewalk after their building was evacuated following an earthquake in New York

Damage: A maintenance worker looks for additional cracked windows in a building on Market Street in Philadelphia

He added that it wasn't long before workers at the government buildings on Broadway poured into the street.

'They were flooding out, like on 9/11. We couldn't even get out of the shop to look because we were surrounded.'

Flora Gross, also 55, was working on the fourth floor of a federal office building on church street, just down the street from ground zero, when she felt the tremors.

Calm: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks after the earthquake

Just in case: Children are evacuated from the Jacob K. Javits Federal building in New York

Scared: Suzanne Beatty comforts her son Quentin Beatty, 7, on a street in TriBeCa, New York

'We thought it was construction,' she said. 'But then my daughter called from uptown and said: 'Mummy we just had an earthquake.'

Her husband, who works as a maintenance worker uptown, told her he was on a ladder when the quake hit. 'He thought his legs were giving out before realising the whole building was shaking,' she said.

When Alex Priest, a director of a marketing company, felt the tremors on his 7^th floor office in Bethesda, Maryland, he suspected a terrorist attack. He told CNN he and his co-workers sprinted out of the building.

'I was young when the attacks happened,' said Mr Priest, 22, about 9/11.  'For the vast majority of my formative years, we’ve just had this national security mindset. There are terrorists out there.'

'Just being in that environment and having that as a constant issue in the news and because of the 9/11 anniversary, the first thing that comes into your mind any time something bad happens is "Oh my God, is it terrorist attack?"'

Aghast: People who came out on the street after an earthquake look up at a window that cracked during the quake on Market Street in Philadelphia

Gathered: People gather for safety in a garden in Lower Manhattan after the earthquake in Virginia was felt in New York

Paul Badger said he was sitting in his office in Troutman, North Carolina, when the earthquake hit.

'I could feel my chair slowly rocking back and forth and see my computer monitors rocking slightly,' he told the Charlotte Observer.

Another resident told the newspaper that dishes and plates in his house shook.

Control towers at John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty International airports were also evacuated.

Andre Smith-Pugh, 25, felt the shaking from the top of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

'It felt like the scaffolding was coming down,' he told the New York Times. 'It felt like a big truck slammed into the side of the building right here at the White House.'

In Mineral, Virginia, which is four miles from the quake’s centre, residents said there had been extensive damage, with pictures falling off walls and crockery smashing from shelves.

Wrecked: Damage can be seen on the street outside a library in Washington DC

Shattered: Part of the library's roof crumbled during the 5.9 magnitude earthquake

Broken: Cracks appear on the facade of a building on Market Street in downtown Philadelphia

In Charleston, West Virginia, hundreds of workers left the state Capitol building and employees at other downtown office buildings were asked to leave.

‘The whole building shook,’ said Jennifer Bundy, a spokeswoman for the state Supreme Court. ‘You could feel two different shakes. Everybody just kind of came out on their own.’

In Connecticut, play was stopped during a tennis match at the New Haven Open after the stadium on the Yale campus shook.

The umpire stopped the game between Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and Elena Vesnina of Russia after spectators felt three waves of shaking and water bottles sloshed back and forth.

According to reports, tremors were felt as far away as Toronto, Canada.

On King Street West in Toronto, office workers evacuated buildings. One, named Amanda, told the Toronto News her whole office rolled.

'It was very unnerving,' she said. 'I have no words.'

Social networking site Twitter lit up with reports of the earthquake from people using the site up and down the U.S. eastern seaboard.

‘People pouring out of buildings and onto the sidewalks and Into Farragut Park in downtown DC...,’ tweeted Republican strategist Kevin Madden.

Missouri senator Claire McCaskill tweeted that her staff in Washington was in an ‘emergency location. Hope everyone is OK.’

Blower: President Obama was busy on the golf course when he heard the news

On holiday: President Barack Obama, second from left, felt the quake while playing golf

Hard at play: President Barack Obama plays the first hole of the Farm Neck Golf Club today

John Gurlach, air traffic controller at the Morgantown Municipal Airport was in a 40-foot-tall tower when the earth trembled.

‘There were two of us looking at each other saying, “What's that?”’ he said, even as a commuter plane was landing. ‘It was noticeably shaking. It felt like a B-52 unloading.’

Not everyone, however, was quite so terrified by the tremors. On Wall Street traders could be heard shouting: 'Carry on trading!' despite the shaking.

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