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The Pentagon and US Capitol buildings in Washington were evacuated after a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck much of the US east coast. It was felt from North Carolina to Rhode Island, the US Geological Survey said. The shaking also affected the Martha's Vineyard golf course where the vacationing President Barack Obama was just starting a round. The quake was centred in Mineral, Virginia, 92 miles southwest of Washington DC and between Charlottesville and Richmond. The shallow quake, initially reported at 5.8 magnitude, happened just before 2pm local time. Washington government buildings were evacuated, as were buildings in New York City and as far north as Boston and as far south as North Carolina. In New York, thousands of people poured onto the streets as evacuation procedures put into place after September 11 attacks were activated. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance had just started speaking at a press conference about the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case when the building started shaking. US aviation authorities evacuated the control towers at New York's JFK and Newark airports and halted flights. At Reagan National Airport outside Washington, ceiling tiles fell during a few seconds of shaking. Authorities said all flights were put on hold. There were reports that the quake was felt as far away as Toronto, Canada.