Earthquake rocks America's East Coast

The epicentre was at Mineral in Virginia but the seismic waves were felt as far north as Boston and as far south as Charlotte in North Carolina.

In the nation's capital, Washington DC, thousands of federal workers were evacuated and government offices shut down.

The Capitol building on the Mall was closed and tourists asked to leave the Monuments. The central tower of the National Cathedral was damaged.

As workers were sent home, streets in and around the capital soon became gridlocked with the exodus of traffic.

President Obama was on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts on holiday when the quake happened. He held a conference call shortly afterwards with senior advisors.

Fema spokeswoman Rachel Racusen said: "Though there are no early reports of major damage or requests for assistance at this time, preliminary damage assessments are currently taking place in all affected states and we will continue to work closely with their emergency management officials. "

It is one of the largest quakes to hit the East Coast in years.

The East Coast is bracing itself for the arrival of hurricane Irene, which is hurtling through the Bahamas and is expected to hit mainland America at the weekend.