Earthquake Shakes New York, New Jersey Region

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 Northeast. The agency reported a quake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.7, centered near Lebanon, New Jersey, or about 45 miles west of New York City and 50 miles north of Philadelphia, per the AP. 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, Connecticut, and other areas of the East Coast unaccustomed to earthquakes also reported feeling the ground shake.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the quake was felt throughout the state, adding that assessments were underway. The shaking stirred memories of the Aug. 23, 2011, earthquake that jolted tens of millions of people from Georgia to Canada. Registering magnitude 5.8, it was the strongest quake to hit the East Coast since World War II. The epicenter was in Virginia. (More earthquake stories.)