Locals Report Feeling Earthquake in Metro Atlanta

A powerful quake that shook up the Mid-Atlantic this afternoon was recorded here in Metro Atlanta, according to officials from the Tellus Science Museum.

"It sounds like a bit of a surprise if you think about one hitting here in Georgia, but it definitely does happen," said Joe Schulman, Director of Marketing at the Cartersville-based museum.

Schulman said Georgia's last recorded earthquake was in 2004. 

Today's quake, which hit just before 2 p.m., measured a preliminary 5.9 and lasted up to 45 seconds, officials said. News reports indicated that it shook office buildings and homes and rattled residents in the New York, Washington, D.C. and Virginia areas. The U.S Geological Survey warned of aftershocks.

Twitter and Facebook users were abuzz chronicling their experiences with the quake here at home with the following posts:

"I'm in ATL and I felt that earthquake." Another one wrote, "East coast Earthquake!?... Hope everyone I okay. I felt it in ATL- not cool... At all."

"A magnitude 5.9 is huge and very rare in these intercontinental locations where there are no know major faults, but they do occasionally happen," said Tellus Museum Curator Julian C. Gray.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the White House reported shaking, and was eventually evacuated along with parts of the Pentagon.

No injuries have been reported in Georgia.