New York Buildings Rattled by Rare East Coast Earthquake

A rare earthquake hit New Jersey, rattling buildings in New York City and its surrounding areas on Friday. 

The United States Geological Survey said the magnitude-4.8 quake’s epicentre was just north-east of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.

A UN Security Council meeting on Gaza at its New York headquarters was temporarily paused due to the tremor.

“Is that an earthquake?” said Save the Children representative Janti Soeripto, who was speaking at the time.

Buildings were shaken in Brooklyn, rattling cupboard doors and fixtures,

The earthquake hit at around 10:20 local time (15:20 GMT). There are no reports of major damage.

Social media users reported feeling the earthquake from Philadelphia up to New York and eastward along the coast.

The impact was felt throughout the Tri-State Area, Philadelphia and as far as Baltimore.

Reports of buildings shaking and rattling came in from New Jersey to Long Island.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Adams have been briefed on the quake.

“My team is assessing impacts and any damage that may have occurred, and we will update the public throughout the day,” Hochul wrote on X.

“I was laying in my bed, and my whole apartment building started shaking. I started freaking out,” one New York City resident told CBS New York’s Elijah Westbrook.

It’s not the first time the East Coast and New York City have been hit with a quake. A 5.0 quake was measured in New York City in 1884.

There’s a major fault lin New Jersey called the Ramapo Fault, which stems from the Appalachian mountains, and there are at least five smaller fault lines under Manhattan island.

The quake comes just a few months after the USGS warned nearly 75 percent of US could face damaging quakes in the next 100 years.

In 2011, a 5.8 quake struck in Virginia and rattled the entire East Coast.

By Agencies