Earthquake shakes New York City area

An earthquake shook the densely populated New York City metropolitan area Friday morning, the US Geological Survey said, with residents reporting they felt rumbling across the Eastern Seaboard. 

The agency reported a quake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.7, centred near Lebanon, New Jersey. The Fire Department of New York said there were no initial reports of damage. 

In midtown Manhattan, the usual cacophony of traffic grew louder as motorists blared their horns on momentarily shuddering streets. Some Brooklyn residents heard a booming sound and their building shaking. In an apartment house in Manhattan’s East Village, a resident from more earthquake-prone California calmed nervous neighbors. 

People in Baltimore, Philadelphia and other areas also reported feeling the ground shake. 

New York Governor Kathy Hochul posted on X that her team was assessing impacts and any possible damage.