The News
A rare 4.8 magnitude earthquake rattled New York City on Friday morning, sending tremors from Boston to Philadelphia. The epicenter of the earthquake was in Lebanon, New Jersey, 50 miles west of New York City.
It was the strongest to hit the region since 1983 when a 5.1 magnitude quake hit upstate New York.
“This is one of the largest earthquakes on the East Coast to occur in the last century,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a press conference, adding that the state was reviewing all vulnerable infrastructure. No damage has been reported, but flights at John F. Kennedy Airport and Newark are grounded for the time being.
“My whole house shook!” former Rep. George Santos wrote on X. New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell said he felt the earthquake and “was wondering what the hell was happening,” in a post on X, echoing the bemused reactions from many New Yorkers given how rare earthquakes are.
There is a 46% chance of a magnitude 3 or higher aftershock within the next week, and a 3% chance of an aftershock with a magnitude larger than 5, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a forecast.
While earthquakes are rare on the U.S. East Coast, which is not located close to tectonic fault lines, the tremors travel further than their West Coast counterparts. “If we had the same magnitude quake in California, it probably wouldn’t be felt nearly as far away,” a U.S.G.S. geophysicist told Politico.
