New York and New Jersey rocked by magnitude 4.8 earthquake
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake hit New York City and the surrounding area on Friday morning, eastern daylight time.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) agency reported a quake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.7-4.8, quake centred near Lebanon, New Jersey, 40 miles west of New York City. USGS said it occurred just after 10:20 a.m. ET (14:20 GMT).
The Fire Department of New York said there were no initial reports of damage, according to Associated Press.
buildings and surprising residents in an area that rarely experiences notable seismic activity but apparently causing no major damage.
Residents reported they felt shakes across the Eastern Seaboard and people in Baltimore, Philadelphia and other areas also reported feeling the ground move.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul posted on X that her team was assessing impacts and potential damage.
The New York police department’s deputy commissioner of operations, Kaz Daughtry, said in a statement: “While we do not have any reports of major impacts at this time, we’re still assessing the impact.”
The Weather Channel posted a video on X, showing the ares where the quake could be felt:
At the United Nations headquarters in midtown Manhattan, the chief executive of Save the Children paused while addressing the Security Council on the Israel-Gaza conflict as cameras started to tremble:
But the offical social media account of the Empire State Building said it was fine:
Earlier this week, Taiwan experienced its biggest earthquake in 25 years. Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring agency gave it a magnitude of 7.2 while the US gave it 7.4. It struck close to Hualien, a city popular with tourists on Taiwan’s eastern coast.