Damaged Washington Monument Needs To Be Winterized

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Monument, damaged by August's 5.8 magnitude earthquake, needs to get ready for winter. After rainwater from Hurricane Irene leaked through weakened mortar and cracked stonework causing minor flooding inside, worries have grown about what could happen this winter. "There's concern if it sits over the winter there'd be sheets of ice, which would cause more damage to the stones," a National Parks Service spokeswoman told WTOP-FM.

The radio station reports that there is no word yet when the popular tourist attraction may reopen to the public.

The monument was one of a handful of structures in the nation's capital damaged by the Aug. 23 earthquake. Spires on the National Cathedral sustained damage, in addition to the historic Sherman Hall at the Old Soldiers Home campus and School Without Walls in Foggy Bottom's Grant School building.

WATCH: East Coast Earthquake