There was a small earthquake in New York City

A small earthquake of magnitude 4.8 has struck New York City with an epicenter in the neighboring state of New Jersey, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. There were no reports of damage.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Center initially estimated the earthquake at 5.5 on the Richter scale.

In Brooklyn, buildings shook, rattling cabinet doors and desk lamps, an AFP correspondent reported.

At the UN headquarters building in New York, a Security Council meeting on the situation in Gaza was temporarily suspended after tremors.

“Is it an earthquake?” – said Save the Children spokesman Janti Suripto, who was speaking at the time.

Residents of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Connecticut and other parts of the US East Coast, unaccustomed to earthquakes, also reported feeling the tremors.

New York Governor Kathy Hokul wrote on Platform X that the quake was felt across the state. “My team is assessing the aftermath and possible damage, and we will update the public throughout the day,” Hokul said.

The tremors triggered memories of the Aug. 23, 2011, quake that swept from Georgia to Canada. The magnitude then was 5.8, and it was the strongest quake on the East Coast since World War II. The epicenter was in Virginia. This earthquake left cracks on the monument in honor of George Washington in the American capital and led to the evacuation of the White House and the Capitol.

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