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NEW YORK: An earthquake centered between New York and Philadelphia shook skyscrapers and suburbs across the northeastern US for several seconds Friday morning, causing no major damage but startling millions of people in an area unaccustomed to such tremors. The US Geological Survey reported a quake at 10.23am with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8, centered near New Jersey.
People from Baltimore to the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border reported feeling the ground shake.While there were no immediate reports of serious damage, officials were checking bridges and other major infrastructure, Amtrak slowed trains throughout the busy Northeast Corridor, and a Philadelphia-area commuter rail line suspended service out of what it said was “an abundance of caution.” The earthquake slowed travel along the East Coast, with some flights diverted and traffic snarled on roads and rails for runway, bridge, and tunnel inspections. Flights to the Newark, New York and Baltimore airports were held at their origins for a time while officials inspected runways for cracks.
In Manhattan, motorists blared their horns on shuddering streets. Some Brooklyn residents heard a boom and felt their building shaking. Cellphone circuits were overloaded for a time as people tried to figure out what was going on.
At UN headquarters in New York, the shaking interrupted the chief executive of Save The Children, Janti Soeripto, as she briefed an emergency Security Council session on the threat of famine in Gaza.
Earthquakes are less common on the eastern edges of the US as East Coast does not lie on a boundary of tectonic plates. Temblors with magnitudes near or above 5 struck near NYC in 1737, 1783, 1884, the USGS said.
People from Baltimore to the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border reported feeling the ground shake.While there were no immediate reports of serious damage, officials were checking bridges and other major infrastructure, Amtrak slowed trains throughout the busy Northeast Corridor, and a Philadelphia-area commuter rail line suspended service out of what it said was “an abundance of caution.” The earthquake slowed travel along the East Coast, with some flights diverted and traffic snarled on roads and rails for runway, bridge, and tunnel inspections. Flights to the Newark, New York and Baltimore airports were held at their origins for a time while officials inspected runways for cracks.
In Manhattan, motorists blared their horns on shuddering streets. Some Brooklyn residents heard a boom and felt their building shaking. Cellphone circuits were overloaded for a time as people tried to figure out what was going on.
At UN headquarters in New York, the shaking interrupted the chief executive of Save The Children, Janti Soeripto, as she briefed an emergency Security Council session on the threat of famine in Gaza.
Earthquakes are less common on the eastern edges of the US as East Coast does not lie on a boundary of tectonic plates. Temblors with magnitudes near or above 5 struck near NYC in 1737, 1783, 1884, the USGS said.
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