NEW YORK – A 4.8-magnitude earthquake shook New York City and the Tri-State area Friday morning.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported a quake at 10:23 a.m. with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 centered near Whitehouse Station in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. About an hour later, a 2.0-magnitude quake was reported in nearby Bedminster.
Figures indicated that more than 42 million people might have felt the quake. Check out the USGS interactive map to see if your area was affected.
In a press conference Friday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said “an earthquake of this magnitude has not been felt in New York since 2011.”
The FOX 5 NY newsroom on Manhattan’s Upper East Side felt shaking and has heard reports of a quake from our crews in Queens and Long Island. People in Baltimore and Philadelphia also reported feeling the ground shake.
Gov. Kathy Hochul earthquake update
Hochul says an earthquake of this magnitude has not been felt in New York since 2011.
“It’s not that strong of an earthquake – I mean it’s pretty strong for this area – but compared to the one we just saw in Taiwan, it’s about a thousand times less powerful than that,” Steve Holler, an associate professor at physics and engineering at Fordham University, told FOX 5 NY.
The FDNY said there were no initial reports of damage. Mayor Eric Adams had been briefed on the quake, his spokesperson Fabien Levy said, adding, “While we do not have any reports of major impacts at this time, we’re still assessing the impact.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul posted on X that her team was assessing impacts and any possible damage.
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FOX 5 NY‘s Lisa Evers spoke to residents of Inwood, Manhattan. A construction worker told her he was working on a rooftop when he felt the trembles.
“The whole roof was just shaking, we just ran down to the street, we made sure everyone was OK. It was pretty crazy … it put quite a scare into you,” a construction worker told Evers.
Officials are advising people to avoid calling 911 unless they have an emergency.
Flight and traffic delays
Ground stops were reported at JFK and Newark airports. Delays were also reported on the George Washington Bridge and the Goethals Bridge due to volume.
Holland Tunnel traffic was also temporarily halted for inspection, as the NJ Transit rail service was subject to 20-minute delays due to bridge inspections.
Amtrak said it was inspecting its tracks and had speed restrictions in place throughout the busy Northeast Corridor. New Jersey
Check the status of airports and roads below:
Newark Airport status
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JFK Airport status
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LaGuardia Airport status
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NY roads closed
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NJ roads closed
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CT roads closed
Can destructive earthquakes hit NYC?
East Coast Earthquakes | Weather Extremes
Damaging earthquakes have occurred in nearly every eastern state, including New York. The largest were magnitude 5.2 earthquakes that occurred in 1737 and 1884.
Quakes on the West Coast – and recently Japan – make headlines for their damage, but they’re a threat to the East Coast as well.
“An earthquake is an earthquake, no matter [where] it happens,” Dr. Lucy Jones, a seismologist, told FOX 5 NY. “The fact that earthquakes cannot be predicted is a large part of what makes them so frightening. We are much more afraid of something when we don’t know when it’s coming.”
The New York City Area Consortium for Earthquake Loss Mitigation says the city’s earthquake hazard is moderate. However, it is unclear if one of the fault lines could be a source of a strong earthquake. And the potential damage concerns many experts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.