For many of us, the events of August 23 are already a distant memory. You may or may not recall it as the day a 5.8 magnitude earthquake rattled much of the East Coast.

Just hours after many folks regained their bearings; non-stop coverage of Hurricane Irene soon swept thoughts of any earthquake from our minds. However, officials in Washington D.C. are still dealing with the quake fallout today.

The Washington Monument, one of the busiest tourist attractions in the nation’s capital, has been closed ever since several cracks were discovered near its top as a result of the earthquake.

According to National Park Service officials, the world-famous obelisk will remain closed indefinitely as they await a report from a structural engineering firm currently surveying damage.

Once the report is issued, there’s no telling how long it will take for repairs to be complete and the structure declared safe. That means it could be a long time before folks arriving on flights to Washington D.C. will be able to enjoy the Monument.

Meanwhile, there was some more bad news in DC after a crane collapsed at the National Cathedral Wednesday afternoon. The collapse forced the city to move its planned 9/11 memorial service on Sunday afternoon to the nearby Kennedy Center. Ironically, the crane had been brought in to repair damage caused by the August 23 earthquake.

Source: USA Today