Northeast nuclear plants unaffected by quake

HOUSTON Aug 23 (Reuters) - U.S. nuclear reactors in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland were not affected by a 5.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Virginia on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's region 1 office said.

Several of the 26 reactors in the region declared an unusual event due to the quake, but no significant damage was reported, she said. (Reporting by Eileen O'Grady)