US | earthquake Washington Monument Springs a Leak Hurricane Irene flooded quake-damaged landmark By Rob Quinn Posted Sep 1, 2011 3:56 AM CDT Updated Sep 1, 2011 5:56 AM CDT Copied Officials inspect the Washington Monument last week amid debris that fell to the floor after a 5.8 magnitude struck the Washington area. (AP Photo/National Park Service) The East Coast earthquake and Hurricane Irene have left the Washington Monument flooded. Engineers plugged cracks in the monument caused by last week's quake before the storm hit, but pools of water were found inside during a post-hurricane inspection, indicating that some cracks are still undiscovered. "There were some leaks that we were not able to identify or able to plug," a National Parks Service spokeswoman tells CNN. "What happened was a lot of mortar popped out, so much so that you can see sunlight above 450 feet in the monument." The monument will remain closed for the foreseeable future, but engineers say it is still structurally sound. Read These Next Mark Zuckerberg's 'list' has Silicon Valley buzzing. Tillis, who opposes Trump bill, won't seek reelection. The screwworm is truly the stuff of horror films. Musk renews attack on Trump's bill. Report an error