Disaster_Accident

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A stone cherub which use to sit atop the center tower's corner spire of the National Cathedral, lays shattered on the roof, Wednesday, August 24, 2011, in Washington D.C. The cause of the damage was due to Tuesday's 5.8-magnitude earthquake.

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"Difficult Access Team" engineers Katie Francis, bottom right, and Ema Cardini, left, talk with Team Leader Erik Sohn after they finish repeling down the west front faÃ§ade of the Washington National Cathedral to check for possible damage from a magnitude 5.8 earthquake that struck the East Coast on August 23, Washington, DC, Monday, October 17, 2011. (Andrew Harnik / The Washington Times)

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Austin Wright works on the roof of the historic Cuckoo house, built by the Pendleton family in 1819 just outside Mineral Va., which lost both its chimneys and two walls in last year's earthquake and according to contractors on site, will take approximately one million dollars to repair, Cuckoo, Va., Tuesday, August 21, 2012. Thursday, August 23, 2012 marks the one year anniversary of the magnitude 5.8 earthquake that hit nearby Mineral, Va., causing millions of dollars worth of damage and was felt in nearly every state along the east coast. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Assistant project manager Brandon Chambers watches as demolition begins on Louisa County High School two days before the one year anniversary of the magnitude 5.8 earthquake that hit near Mineral, Va., causing millions of dollars worth of damage and was felt in nearly every state along the east coast, Mineral, Va., Tuesday, August 21, 2012. The school sustained massive structural damage and was deemed unsafe, forcing all their students to move into nearby trailers. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Left to right: Andy Dimitriou of Chicago, Ill., Judy Franklin of Las Vegas, Nev., her sister Janice Hoffman of Chicago, Ill., and Michael Franklin of Las Vegas, Nev. walks up to a temporary barrier to get a close up look at the closed National Monument as the National Park Service announces that Perini Management Services, Inc. of Framingham, Mass. will be the contractor tasked with repairing the earthquake damage to the Washington Monument at a press conference, Washington, D.C., Wednesday, September 26, 2012. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Left to right: Seventh graders Jack Dooley, 12, Alex Letchworth, 12, and Scott Browoning, 13, and their fellow classmates at Langston Hughes Middle School drop under their desk and hold on as they participate in the Great ShakeOut national earthquake drill, Reston, Va., Thursday, October 18, 2012. Students in the Washington, D.C. region are now participating in the earthquake preparation program for the first time after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the area in August 2011. According to the program's website, an estimated 18 million people are participating this year. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Seventh grader Miguel Ortega, 12, right, and his fellow classmates at Langston Hughes Middle School drop under their desk and hold on as they participate in the Great ShakeOut national earthquake drill, Reston, Va., Thursday, October 18, 2012. Students in the Washington, D.C. region are now participating in the earthquake preparation program for the first time after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the area in August 2011. According to the program's website, an estimated 18 million people are participating this year. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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A students hands can be seen holding onto a desk as seventh graders at Langston Hughes Middle School drop under their desk and hold on as they participate in the Great ShakeOut national earthquake drill, Reston, Va., Thursday, October 18, 2012. Students in the Washington, D.C. region are now participating in the earthquake preparation program for the first time after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the area in August 2011. According to the program's website, an estimated 18 million people are participating this year. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt speaks to Langston Hughes Middle School about her job and the roll her organization has with earthquakes following the school's participation in the Great ShakeOut national earthquake drill, Reston, Va., Thursday, October 18, 2012. Students in the Washington, D.C. region are now participating in the earthquake preparation program for the first time after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the area in August 2011. According to the program's website, an estimated 18 million people are participating this year. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Left to right: Seventh graders Ambika Minocha, 12, Alex Letchworth, 12, and Scott Browoning, 13, and their fellow classmates at Langston Hughes Middle School drop under their desk and hold on as they participate in the Great ShakeOut national earthquake drill, Reston, Va., Thursday, October 18, 2012. Students in the Washington, D.C. region are now participating in the earthquake preparation program for the first time after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the area in August 2011. According to the program's website, an estimated 18 million people are participating this year. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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5Ground crew covers the field during a rain delay of Game 3 of baseball's National League championship series between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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In this citizen journalism image provided by Lens Young Homsi, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, a general view of destroyed houses which was damaged by Syrian government forces shelling, at Baba Amr neighborhood, in Homs province, Syria, Thursday Oct. 18, 2012. Syrian activists say a string of government airstrikes on rebel areas in the country's north has killed at least 20 people, leveled buildings and forced residents to dig through mounds of rubble in search of survivors. (AP Photo/Lens Yong Homsi)

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St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Jason Motte (30) works during the eighth inning of Game 3 of baseball's National League championship series against the San Francisco Giants, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

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RST Development is building 46 condominium homes at the Orion in Silver Spring. The homes have up to 1,132 square feet and are priced from the mid $200,000s.

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The runway at Grundy Municipal Airport in Virginia coal country is 2,200 feet long. Efforts to lengthen it to 5,700 feet to accommodate larger aircraft have been stymied by federal red tape. (Debra McCown/Special to The Washington Times)

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The runway at Grundy Municipal Airport is too short to comply with insurance standards for corporate jets, but federal regulators have refused to allow for an expansion without a mining permit because of the coal deposits below the land. (Debra McCown/Special to The Washington Times)

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People in the District’s Chinatown area rush into the street after last year’s magnitude-5.9 earthquake. A Great ShakeOut drill Thursday is planned to help people know how to react to an earthquake, which includes staying indoors. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)