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A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck on Friday morning, rattling some buildings in the Northeast and shaking felt from Washington, D.C., to New York City and Maine, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The USGS said the quake was the third largest earthquake recorded in the region in the last 50 years and the largest in New Jersey in more than 240 years. The rare earthquake was felt by millions of people hundreds of miles away, disrupting work and school life and briefly jolting nerves before an early spring day seemed to return to normal. Ta.
In a region not accustomed to earthquakes, residents across a wide swath of the Northeast said they were startled and first thought it was a passing tractor-trailer or freight train, but then realized it was something else. Authorities reported little damage and people quickly resumed their daily lives, with minimal disruption to travel.
“At first, I thought it was a big truck on the road nearby or an oil burner shaking inside my house,” said Jeanne Evora, who described how her entire house shook in Franklin Square, Long Island. said.
The earthquake became violent, so she ran outside. She found her neighbors making similar rattling noises and realized she had experienced an earthquake in a suburb about 20 miles east of New York City.
New York City police said there were no reports of damage or injuries.
“New Yorkers should go about their lives as usual,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference late Friday.
Britteny Newman/Associated Press
New York City Mayor Eric Adams called on New Yorkers to “carry on with their lives as usual.”
The USGS said the earthquake occurred at 10:23 a.m., and the New York City Fire Department said it received reports of buildings shaking around 10:30 a.m.
“We have responded to the call and are assessing the structural stability,” the ministry said in a statement. “There have been no major accidents at this time.”
In some parts of New York City, startled residents spilled out of row houses and onto the sidewalks in front of buildings within minutes after the shaking subsided.
“Everything started vibrating and then I felt the building shaking,” said David Rodriguez of Hoboken, New Jersey. “I thought it was a big truck outside until everything started shaking. But then I heard something swinging from side to side.”
The Empire State Building's X account posted, “I'm fine.”
Long after the earthquake had subsided, residents were again startled by loud emergency alerts on their cell phones. Another alert was issued at 11:46 a.m., warning of possible aftershocks. Regarding the delay, city emergency management officials called the quake an “unannounced event” and said authorities needed to review the information they received.
According to the USGS, there were six small aftershocks in the immediate vicinity of the original quake, with the largest magnitude 2.2 aftershock recorded at 1:32 p.m.
“New Yorkers are not used to earthquakes happening in our state,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul told reporters. “Everyone should continue to take this seriously.”
New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner James Oddo has asked for the “help” of construction experts in reporting damage to the city's 1.1 million buildings.
In Hunterdon County, New Jersey, where Lebanon Township is located, county officials said there were no reports of injuries or evacuations near the epicenter.
The county commission said a damage assessment is underway and officials are beginning to receive reports of structural problems with the building.
In Newark, New Jersey, three nearby homes were evacuated after residents reported structural damage, according to the city's public safety director.
No injuries were reported, but firefighters responded to calls of structural damage to three buildings more than 30 miles from the earthquake site, Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Flage said.
He said 10 families, including 25 adults and three children, were relocated.
All buildings in Newark have been closed. Fraje said the city is inspecting buildings for damage and power outages.
Water mains are believed to have been severed in Essex County, New Jersey, due to the earthquake, according to the Montclair Township Office of Emergency Management.
In Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Police Department received more than 200 calls “in a very short period of 20 minutes” after the quake, Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel said. This call overloaded the system.
“We were able to get our call base back up within 30 minutes,” Bethel says.
According to the USGS, more than 23 million people felt “mild shaking.” This is felt by most people and can cause the car to shake violently and feel like a truck crashing into a building.
About 9,000 people felt the “strong shaking,” which the USGS described as “felt by everyone,” which could move heavy furniture and cause minor damage. This would occur closest to the epicenter near Lebanon, New Jersey. Nearly 300,000 people will feel “moderate shaking,” which could be strong enough to break windows and cause dishes to fall.
Spencer Pratt/Getty Images
People walk in lower Manhattan moments after Friday's 4.8 magnitude earthquake.
Reid Whitmont, who lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, was sitting on his bed in his old apartment when everything started shaking. Then the cat jumped out.
“It went on for about a minute, and then I stuck my head out the window and all the neighbors started yelling and asking each other if they felt that way too. A great New York moment. .”
In Jersey City, New Jersey, Christina Fiore was sitting at her desk in her apartment when her building shook for several seconds.
Video from inside the house shows objects rattling as the cat runs away. “It's okay! It's an earthquake!” Fiore's voice is heard. At first, Fiore thought there was an explosion at a nearby metal recycling plant, but the shaking got louder. I could tell they were worried, so I yelled, “It's an earthquake.'' My cats were really freaked out too. They were scared and confused for about an hour after the earthquake. .”
Video shared on social media showed customers running in confusion from the Boonton Coffee Company store in Boonton, New Jersey, as the building began to shake. I've heard that some people panic. Others continued to order with the barista.
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Initial data from the USGS indicates that light shaking is unlikely to cause damage. Initial reports indicated a magnitude 4.8 earthquake, but it was later revised to magnitude 4.7, and again he was adjusted to magnitude 4.8. This may change again as more data is considered.
The epicenter was northeast of Lebanon, New Jersey, less than 80 miles west of New York City, according to the USGS.
The light tremors were shallow, just 5 kilometers below the ground, so residents in the affected areas could easily feel them. Initial reports indicate that the shaking was felt widely in New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.
Some plane and train operations have been affected.
The USGS said many factors influenced the number of locations that felt the earthquake, including the geology of the area itself.
This earthquake occurred at the extreme end of what the USGS considers a shallow earthquake, between 0 and 70 km depth. The energy released by an earthquake slows down with distance, so a shallower earthquake of the same magnitude as a deeper earthquake will cause much stronger shaking at the Earth's surface.
According to the USGS, the rocks that make up the crust and mantle in the eastern United States are much older, denser, and harder due to time compression than those in the west. This makes it a more efficient conduit for the seismic energy released by an earthquake, allowing it to be transmitted in a more powerful form over longer distances.
The USGS said buildings in the Northeast are older and may not have been designed to comply with the latest earthquake codes. This is a particular concern in short buildings such as residential buildings. The USGS noted that earthquakes tend to shake in faster back-and-forth motions in the east compared to the west, putting smaller buildings at greater risk of damage.
Kenna Betancourt/AFP/Getty Images
First responders arrived to inspect homes in Lebanon, New Jersey, the epicenter of the magnitude 4.8 earthquake.
The earthquake affected flight and train services in parts of the Northeast.
Flights to New York Kennedy, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Newark airports were initially suspended, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Air traffic controllers said in radio communications after the earthquake that the air traffic control tower at Newark Liberty Airport was being evacuated, meaning flights were on hold while controllers were redirected to another location. Stated.
“No one is going anywhere for the time being,” the air traffic controller said over the radio.
The runway was being inspected for damage.
At noon, the FAA reported that a ground stop was continuing in Newark and controllers were returning to the tower.
Amtrak reported that train service was delayed to conduct track inspections after the earthquake.
“As of 3:30 p.m. ET, all inspections have been completed and service has returned to normal speeds. Delays are expected to remain,” Amtrak posted on X.
This story has been updated with additional information.
