Ecuador Embassy damaged by U.S. quake

On Tuesday a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck the U.S. state of Virginia and was felt by residents on the East Coast (including yours truly). No deaths or major damages resulted from the tremor though one of the worst hit buildings in Washington, D.C. was the Embassy of Ecuador.

According to the EFE news agency (via Ecuadorian daily El Universo):

The business major of the Ecuadorian Embassy, Efrain Baus, confirmed that the dipomatic site suffered damages though "fortunately there were no victims"...

According to Baus, three chimneys collapsed causing damages to the roof and and the interior offices of the embassy and consulate...

"(The firefighters) asked that we remain patient in light of the emergency affecting the city," said Baus who also noted that workers will not return to the building until it's confirmed that there hasn't been serious structural damage.

The earthquake rattled the nerves of some Brazilian expats residing in the traditional Portuguese community of Ironbound in Newark, New Jersey. "It was crazy. The firetrucks and ambulances sped down the streets without stopping," said Marli Cagley in the article from the Brazilian Voice. "The duration (of the quake) was much shorter than in California but my office chair was still shaking as if it were balanced on a tightrope," admitted Francisco Salles who was a survivor of the 1989 Loma Prieta tremor.

Image Source - AP ("Christopher Hartman works on the roof installing a tarp after an earthquake tore down parts of the chimney on his dad's office in Mineral, Va., Tuesday Aug. 23, 2011. ")
Online Sources - NY1, El Universo, Brazilian Voice,