Magnitude 4.8 earthquake strikes northeastern U.S.

A
magnitude
4.8

earthquake
shook
the
northeastern
United
States
on
Friday
morning.

The
earthquake
was
felt
from
Boston
down
to
Baltimore
at
10:23
a.m.
ET,
according
to
the
U.S.
Geological
Survey.

In
New
York
City,
where
tremors
were
felt
for
more
than
30
seconds,
there
were
no
immediate
reports
of
injuries
or
damage,
but
the
quake
triggered
numerous
delays
and
temporary
closures
of
transportation
infrastructure
in
the
area.

The
epicenter
of
the
quake
was
detected
about
45
miles
west
of
New
York
City,
and
40
miles
east
of
Allentown,
Pennsylvania,
in
an
area
north
of
Whitehouse
Station,
New
Jersey,
according
to
the
USGS.

Earthquakes
of
Friday’s
magnitude
are
relatively
rare
in
the
northeastern
U.S.,
and
the
intensity
and
duration
of
Friday’s
quake
startled
people
across
the
region.
The
quake
was
the
third-largest
recorded
around
the
New
York
metropolitan
region
in
nearly
75
years.

“Everyone
@NYSE
just
gave
each
other
a
big
look,”
CNBC’s
Carl
Quintanilla
tweeted
from
the
New
York
Stock
Exchange
in
lower
Manhattan
after
the
tremors
occurred.

“I
AM
FINE,”
the
Empire
State
Building’s
social
media
account
X
tweeted.

The
National
Tsunami
Warning
Center
said
there
was
no
danger
of
a
tsunami
on
the
East
Coast
after
the
quake.

An
aftershock
with
a
2.0
magnitude
occurred
at
11:20
a.m.
ET
in
northern
New
Jersey.

The
USGS
said
there
was
a
46%
likelihood
of
another
earthquake
of
magnitude
3.0
or
greater
in
the
next
week.

The
Federal
Aviation
Administration
inspected
runways
at
the
three
major
airports
in
New
York
City
and
Newark,
New
Jersey.
The
agency
briefly
halted
departures
there,
and
as
of 12:40
p.m.
ET,
the
stop
into
Newark
Liberty
International
Airport
was
lifted
but
flights
were
delayed
about
one
hour.

United
Airlines,
which
dominates
the
Newark
airport,
in
a
statement,
said
two
United
flights
were
diverted
from
Newark
because
of
the
ground
stop
there,
and
there
were
some
minor
delays
in
flights
bound
to
JFK
and
LaGuardia
airports
in
New
York.

The
carrier
offered
travelers
booked
to
fly
the
chance
to
change
their
Newark,
LaGuardia
or
Philadelphia
flights
without
paying
fees
or
a
difference
in
fare
if
they
can
travel
as
late
as
next
Thursday.

New
Jersey
Transit
said
its
commuter
rail
service
is
subject
to
systemwide
delays
of
up
to
20
minutes.

The
Port
Authority
for
New
York
and
New
Jersey,
which
operates
Hudson
River
crossings,
said
the
Holland
Tunnel
connecting
lower
Manhattan
to
New
Jersey
was
temporarily
closed
to
traffic
inspection.

New
York
Gov.
Kathy
Hochul
in
a
tweet
said, “My
team
is
assessing
impacts
and
any
damage
that
may
have
occurred,
and
we
will
update
the
public
throughout
the
day.”

President
Joe
Biden
later
Friday
said
he
had
spoken
to
New
Jersey
Gov.
Phil
Murphy, “who
thinks
everything
is
under
control.”

“He’s
not
too
concerned
about
it,”
Biden
said. “So
things
are
alright.”

New
York
City’s
emergency
alert
pushed
out
a
warning
to
cellphones
at
around
11:46
a.m.
ET
warning
that “aftershocks
may
be
felt,”
but
added, “NYers
can
continue
usual
activities.”