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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<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Just hours after many folks regained their bearings; non-stop coverage of Hurricane Irene<\/strong> soon swept thoughts of any earthquake from our minds. However, officials in Washington D.C. are still dealing with the quake fallout today.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Washington Monument, one of the busiest tourist attractions in the nation\u2019s capital, has been closed ever since several cracks were discovered<\/strong> near its top as a result of the earthquake.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once the report is issued, there\u2019s 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.<\/a><\/strong> will be able to enjoy the Monument.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n