New Yorkers React to 4.8 Magnitude Earthquake in NYC

New Yorkers and residents across the Eastern seaboard were rattled this morning when a 4.8 magnitude earthquake shook the ground just after 10:20am. According to The New York Times, the epicenter of the quake was near Lebanon, New Jersey, a location about 50 miles west of New York City. Reports of shaking have come from cities as distant as Boston and Philadelphia. New Yorkers took to social media to share their experiences and find out what exactly was going on. Here are some reactions!

Earthquakes are rarely felt in New York City, but New Yorkers are used to feeling vibrations from trucks, subway cars, and trains. Untapped New York Insider Robyn Roth-Moise was walking down Park Avenue when the quake hit. “I was up on the street walking down Park. Between the car and train vibrations, I was clueless as to what I felt. People seem to have been clueless in Grand Central Terminal.

She was headed to catch a vintage subway train that will shuttle passengers to Yankee Stadium for opening day. While in the crowd on the subway platform, loud earthquake alerts went off on cellphones. In typical New York fashion, no one seemed concerned.

“I thought it was my building’s boiler overworking. I was nervous it was going to explode. I was honestly a bit relieved it was an earthquake,” said Cristina DiCocco, an Astoria resident who was in her home at the time, “It was pretty shaky. Nothing fell off the walls though. It was manageable but that was crazy!” A 1.7 magnitude quake shook Queens in January of this year.

The Empire State Building, known for its funny social media posts, tweeted to let us all know it’s okay:

Untapped New York’s Chief Experience Officer Justin Rivers was inside his home in Brooklyn. “It was weird,” he said, “The floors were shaking so I thought they were doing street work but I heard no jackhammers, and then everyone here came out of their houses.” Although no damage has been reported, New Yorkers, including Untapped New York’s founder Michelle Young, have heard sirens across the city.

This morning’s quake is close to the strongest New York City has ever felt. The last major earthquake in New York City was a 5.8 magnitude quake that originated in Virginia in 2011. Before that, another 5.8, the Cornwall-Massena earthquake, hit in 1944. The most damaging earthquake shook the city in 1884 when a 5.2 magnitude quake started to rumble just off Coney Island. This quake caused hundreds of chimneys to fall. If the same magnitude were to hit today, estimates say it could cause $750 million in damage. What was your experience of the earthquake this morning?