Washington, Aug 24 (IANS): An undersea quake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale Tuesday afternoon jolted several US cities, including Washington DC, where the authorities had to temporarily evacuate the White House, the Capitol Hill and other buildings, Xinhua reported. There was no immediate report of damage or casualties.

The quake occurred at 1751 GMT and is being described as "one of the largest earthquakes on the east coast". The epicentre was located 134 km southwest of Washington D.C.

The US weather service has ruled out a tsunami.

The quake was felt in the New York City, North Carolina and as far as Toronto, Canada, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Two nuclear reactors were taken off-line in Virginia, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said.

"This is one of the largest earthquakes on the east coast in quite a while, in many decades at least," USGS spokeswoman Lucy Jones told CNN.

"It's not unprecedented. But it's one of the largest we have had there."

Telecommunication in some areas was briefly disrupted.

 The US Capitol Building and the Pentagon here were evacuated after a 5.9-magnitude quake jolted the city Tuesday afternoon, Xinhua reported.

The quake occurred at 1.51 p.m. at a depth of one kilometre, the US Geological Survey said. Telecommunication in some areas was briefly interrupted.