New York City was shaken by a 4.8 magnitude earthquake Friday morning, with the epicentre near Lebanon, New Jersey, which is about 72.5 kms from the Big Apple. Residents across NYC’s northeast reported hearing rumbling and feeling the ground move, the US Geological Survey said, indicating more than 42 million people would have felt the earthquake’s force as far as Baltimore, Philadelphia, Connecticut and other areas stretching north east 200 miles away to the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border.According to a post from the New York Fire Department (NYFD) on social media, there are no initial reports of damage and “no major incidents at this time.”The department is "responding to calls and evaluating structural stability,” NYFD said. Mayor Eric Adams’s spokesperson Fabien Levy said the mayor has been briefed. "While we do not have any reports of major impacts at this time, we're still assessing the impact,” said Levy. "My team is assessing impacts and any damage that may have occurred, and we will update the public throughout the day," Democrat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote on social media. President Joe Biden has also been briefed, the White House said in a statement, and is “in touch with federal, state and local officials as we learn more."Transportation across the region has been impacted as officials investigate for damage. One of the three major Hudson River crossings, the Holland Tunnel, was closed temporarily for inspection. Authorities are inspecting all railway tracks, with speed restrictions currently implemented as the investigation is underway. New York City, New Jersey and Philadelphia (about 80 kms away) trains are all impacted. Airports are also affected, with all flights halted until runways could be inspected for damage. Some inbound flights have been redirected to other airports. "Air traffic operations are resuming as quickly as possible," the Federal Aviation Administration said.
