Live Updates: 4.8 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles New York City and Beyond
The United States Geological Survey reported the quake around 10:23 a.m. There were no immediate reports of damage.
"A magnitude-4.8 earthquake shook buildings across the New York City region shortly after 10:20 a.m. Friday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The U.S.G.S. reported that the earthquake’s epicenter was in Lebanon, N.J., about 50 miles west of Manhattan. The shaking was reportedly felt in cities from Philadelphia to Boston.
The F.A.A. paused flights at Newark Liberty International Airport and John F. Kennedy Airport as of 11 a.m.
James Tomasini, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said his agency had received calls from people throughout the region — from New Jersey to southern Connecticut — reporting that they felt the quake.
Emily De Jong, a volunteer coordinator at Mane Stream, a equine therapy center in New Jersey that is a few hundred feet from earthquake epicenter, said she ran outside when the earthquake struck. “It was quite startling,” she said. She added that it did not cause any damage, but a poster fell off a wall.
While earthquakes in New York are a surprise, experts know that the ground is not always stable. A study in 2008 found that a magnitude 5 earthquake occurred in the area roughly once a century. An even larger magnitude 7 is estimated at once every 3,400 years.
In the Kensington area of Brooklyn, Laura Buonomo, 64, said she had been in a video meeting when the quake hit and knew exactly what it was. She raced down her apartment building’s stairs — avoiding the elevators, in case the tremor was just the beginning. “I grew up in Italy, I like to be outside,” she said. She said she was “unsure” about going back inside and still felt unsafe. “What else do we have but the ground underneath us?”
Friday morning’s earthquake reminded many on the East Coast of another seismic event on Aug. 23, 2011. That earthquake, centered in Mineral, Va., north of the state capital of Richmond, had a 5.8 magnitude, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The agency said it caused $200-300 million in damage, affecting landmarks like the National Cathedral and the Washington Monument, as well as many private residences.
Maria Pareja, 44, has worked at So Fresh So Clean Laundromat in Marble Hill in the Bronx for seven years. As she was welcoming customers, she felt the earthquake. “Everything started shaking -- I said, ‘What is that?!’” she said in Spanish. She said she had experienced an earthquake before but that it wasn’t as strong as today’s. “This was a real shake,” she said. “It happened so quickly but it was so strong.”
A spokesman for Mayor Eric Adams urged New Yorkers to be prepared for an aftershock, posting on social media: “In case of an aftershock, drop to the floor, cover your head and neck, and take additional cover under a solid piece of furniture, next to an interior wall, or in a doorway.”
Jocelyn Perez-Blanco, 35, who works as an environmental educator, was planting oak trees on Randall’s Island when her phone started shaking. Her husband texted from their apartment in Astoria, Queens, saying their Funko Pop figurine collection had crashed off their shelves. Her father also texted asking if she was OK. Then more family. “My brothers are writing me, my dad. I’m none the wiser,” she said out loud, staring at her phone. “My husband said our cats are freaking out.”
Khalek Kirkland, the superintendent in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood, said on social media that all students were “reported safe!” The district “will make sure all scholars learn about this in science class and write about the experience” in English class, he added.
A spokesman for Mayor Eric Adams said on social media on Friday morning that New York City had felt the impact of a 4.8 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter of Lebanon, N.J. The mayor is being briefed, the spokesman said, and there were no reports of “major impacts” so far.
