Earthquake 2011
The epicenter of the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that struck east coast at 1:53 p.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, Aug. 23. Google/IBT

The 5.9 magnitude Virginia earthquake that rattled the eastern seaboard around 2 p.m. EDT on Tuesday happened just miles from a nuclear power plant.

The epicenter of the quake was in Mineral, Virginia, just ten miles from the North Anna nuclear plant in a rural area. The North Anna plant was built in the late 70s, with both of the reactors going online in 1978 and 1980.

News has just broke that the two reactors were taken offline automatically after the quake. The North Anna Power Station is now using four diesel generators to maintain cooling operations.

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