THE EARTHCAM CAMERA on the Statue of Liberty captures the 4.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the Tri-state area on Friday, April 5, 2024 at 10.23 a.m. Video courtesy of Earthcam via YouTube.

Bronxites, elected officials and tourists have been sharing their reaction to a midmorning earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 that hit New Jersey [Whitehouse Station] on Friday, April 5, and was felt throughout the Tri-state area, while an 4.0 magnitude aftershock was also later recorded 7 km southwest of Gladstone, New Jersey by the U.S. Geological Survey [USGS] on Friday evening just before 6 p.m.

 

According to some observers, the aftershock was more like a roll of semi-distant thunder, whereas the vibrations and sound of the actual earthquake earlier in the morning were clearly felt by many. According to the Earth Observatory of Singapore, the biggest earthquake ever recorded, of magnitude 9.5, happened in 1960 in Chile.

 

USGS experts said the epicenter of Friday’s 4.8 magnitude earthquake occurred “as a result of oblique reverse and strike-slip faulting at shallow depths in the crust.” They said although the event did not occur near a plate boundary, such “intraplate” earthquakes can and do occur.

They continued, saying, “Earthquakes in the eastern US are infrequent but not unexpected. Since 1950, 40 other earthquakes of magnitude 3 and larger have occurred within 250 km of today’s earthquake. In that time range, the April 5, 2024, earthquake is the largest.”

 

They added, “Within 500 km of the April 5th earthquake, 13 earthquakes M 4.5 and larger have been recorded since 1950, the largest being the August 23, 2011, M 5.8 Mineral Virginia earthquake which caused substantial damage and was felt throughout the eastern US. The April 5, 2024, earthquake occurred in a region where faults have been previously identified and may be reactivated at any time.”

 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued a statement in response to the earthquake on Friday, saying, “At approximately 10:23 AM, New York City felt the impact of a 4.8 magnitude earthquake. The epicenter was in Lebanon, New Jersey, about 50 miles from New York City. Our first responders are working to make sure New Yorkers are safe, and at this point, we do not have any reports of major impacts or injuries.” 

 The mayor continued, “I encourage all New Yorkers to check on your loved ones, and if you feel an aftershock, drop to the floor, cover your head and neck, and take cover under a solid piece of furniture, next to an interior wall, or in a doorway. So far no major life safety issues reported, no reported infrastructure issues, but we will continue our inspections of critical infrastructure.”

 

In a 2018 Long-term National Seismic Hazard Map published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), New York City, as well as the southeast corner of New York State and the northwest corner of New Jersey, were considered to be at “moderate” risk of an earthquake.

 

NY NJ PA Weather wrote, in part, on social media on April 5, “So we had a very interesting geological day in the region. The Earthquake and aftershocks are due to pressure being released by the Ramapo Fault line. This fault line is active and has produced numerous earthquakes in New Jersey over the past 500 years. We will likely have more aftershocks the next few days. This event has nothing to do with the solar eclipse or any other factor. Just plain old geology.”

 

At 10:26 a.m., one Morris Park resident told Norwood News, “We just had an earthquake, I felt it! What’s going on? I’ve never felt that. Oh, my goodness! Oh man! Nothing was damaged, but still…. That’s weird and scary!”

Meanwhile in Norwood, at 11.08 a.m., Heather Guerino of Norwood contacted us and said, “Did you feel the earthquake? I thought my boiler was going to explode or something and my windows started rattling, I said what the heck is going on? Wow… this is my first time experiencing something like this!”

Elsewhere at P.S. / M.S. 280, also in Norwood, Karla Espana told Norwood News in person, “I just got home from the gym and was putting my stuff down when the room started shaking. It felt like a train was running underneath my building. It was really scary.”

 

Norwood News was at a Monroe College event around the time the earthquake occurred. Asked for his reaction, one male security guard at the College, located at 2501 Jerome Avenue at West 190th Street in Fordham Manor, said, “It was a quick jolt.” Several students were observed watching the unfolding story being reported on television at 10:36 a.m.

 

Meanwhile, a female security guard at the entrance to P.S. 340, 25 West 195th Street in Kingsbridge Heights, gave her reaction saying, “We were standing right here, and the ground started to shake. They said it was 4.8. That’s crazy!”

 

Elsewhere, outside P.S. 86, located at 2756 Reservoir Avenue also in Kingsbridge Heights, several women and a GrubHub delivery driver on a bicycle were seen standing outside the school, unable to get in as the school was apparently under lockdown, when Norwood News reporter, David Greene, was dropping off copies of our latest print edition at the school.

The GrubHub driver left after calling his contact inside the school. Norwood News reached out to NYC Department of Education for comment on the apparent lockdown. A spokesperson replied, saying, “Some schools, out of an abundance of caution, ensured kids stayed inside [when the earthquake struck at 10.23 a.m.]. We quickly told them they no longer needed to do that.”

 

Parent Maria Acosta, who was one of those standing outside P.S. 86, gave her reaction to the earthquake, saying, “In the news, they say that it was 4.8. I was on my bed, and it was moving right-left, right-left for maybe like 50 seconds, yes.” Asked if she knew right away, it was an earthquake, she said, “Yes, it was shaking and then I thought something fell upstairs, but I felt the bed, and that’s how I realized it was not coming from upstairs but the ground.”

 

Asked if she had ever experienced anything like it before, she said, “No.” Asked if she had come to the school to find out about the impact of the earthquake, if any, on students, she replied, “Yes. Everything is okay here; they called me.”

 

After about 10 minutes, the women, including at least one parent, were let inside the building. A male security guard told the parent, “Once you come in, you can’t go back out.”

 

Elsewhere, further north, Westchester County elected officials advised residents to check for gas or water leaks, or any structural damage to their homes. Two residents of Windham in upstate New York [Greene County] also reported feeling the effects of the earthquake, estimating the time to be around 10.30 a.m. Westchester County officials added that airport operations were, nonetheless, continuing uninterrupted.

 

CBS News later reported that some flights in the New York area were diverted after the the earthquake happened in order to check airport infrastructure.

 

Husband and wife, Damien and Fiona [Byrne] Higgins, longtime residents of Luxembourg, Europe and friends of Norwood News editor, Síle Moloney, arrived in New York City on Monday for a mini-vacation. Grabbing a bite to eat in a Juniors restaurant in downtown Manhattan on the final day of their trip before heading to the airport, their meal was suddenly interrupted by the jarring event.

 

Parents to two young children, the couple were on a rare trip without their son and daughter, who were being cared for by their grandparents in Ireland. Higgins, originally from Ballincollig, Co Cork, and Byrne, originally from Portuma, Co Galway, were flabbergasted to have experienced an earthquake during their vacation.

 

Byrne said in part, “Síle, the [expletive] ground was shaking and we took a look at the people at the table next to us and everybody was slightly puzzled and then, I said, ‘Look, it must be the subway,’ ’cause that’s what it kind of felt like, the rattle of the subway.”

 

As sirens were heard in the distance as she spoke to Norwood News by phone shortly after the incident, Byrne added, “Yeah, how [expletive] mental and we just got the text alert there like everybody else I guess. So, look, that was just a mad experience! I wish I knew it was coming. So there’s an eyewitness account from downtown Manhattan!”

Experts from the U.S. Geological Survey provide the following tips on what to do during an earthquake.

Meanwhile, on social media, Citizen App users summed up the experience, with user, cakeyporter, saying, “The grounds of The Bronx were definitely shaking. I thought I was on a rollercoaster, while another Citizen user, @felonamerican, said, “That was a serious earthquake for the North Bronx. Crazy. Everyone outside on the street in astonishment. We gets lots of crazy things in this city but never an earthquake like that. Yes, obviously, minor compared to other places but this was no joke for a non earthquake area.”