5.8-magnitude earthquake struck the U.S. east coast

U.S. President Barack Obama held a discussion with senior administration officials about the strongest earthquake since 1944, about a 5.8-magnitude, which struck the U.S. east coast Tuesday afternoon.He was reported that there are no initial reports of major infrastructure damage, a White House spokesman said.

The president, who is on vacation in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, led a conference call with some top officials including Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Janet Napolitano, White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate and others, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.

The president was told that there are no initial reports of major infrastructure damage, including at airports and nuclear facilities and that there were currently no requests for assistance, according to the statement, issued hours after the 5.8- magnitude earthquake struck eastern United States.

The powerful earthquake forced airports in Washington, New York, Philadelphia and other major cities in the area to temporarily stop ground operations to allow inspections, informs the news.xinhuanet.com.

Obama asked for regular updates on the earthquake and condition of critical infrastructure, the statement added.