What to Know
- Residents across the Northeast -- including Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs -- are describing their experiences with an earthquake in a region where people are unaccustomed to feeling the ground move.
- Officials say Friday morning's quake was centered near Lebanon, New Jersey, about 50 miles north of Philadelphia and had a preliminary magnitude of 4.8. There were no reports of damage or injuries in Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Delaware.
- The earthquake led to a brief evacuation at Philadelphia's City Hall and a brief delay at Philadelphia International Airport.
An earthquake hit New Jersey and its impact was felt throughout the East Coast, including Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York Friday morning, the United States Geological Survey (U.S.G.S.) confirmed.
The agency reported a quake at 10:23 a.m. ET with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 centered near Lebanon, New Jersey, or about 45 miles west of New York City and 50 miles north of Philadelphia. U.S.G.S. figures indicated that the quake might have been felt by more than 42 million people.
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An aftershock was reported in Gladstone, New Jersey, just before 6 p.m. on Friday evening, according to the USGS. It measured at 4.0 magnitude.
People in Philadelphia, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Baltimore, Connecticut and other areas of the Northeast reported shaking. Tremors lasting for several seconds were felt over 200 miles away near the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border. In midtown Manhattan, traffic grew louder as motorists blared their horns on shuddering streets. Some Brooklyn residents heard a boom and their building shaking.
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Governors react to earthquake
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy activated the State Emergency Operations Center due to the earthquake and advised residents to not call 911 unless they were experiencing an actual emergency.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro also said his team and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) were monitoring the situation.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said three smaller aftershocks hit the East Coast following the earthquake.
Philly officials react to the earthquake
Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Director Dominick Mireles said his staff observed their building shake at 10:27 a.m. OEM's 24/7 watch center was then alerted of the earthquake by the U.S.G.S.
At 10:40 a.m., OEM then activated its emergency operation center to monitor impact, take any damage reports and provide the public with messaging and support.
Around 11 a.m., OEM then alerted the public via its mass notification system. OEM has been in contact with over 25 public safety, infrastructure, transportation and governmental partners to assess any potential damage and meet any needs, according to Mireles.
“We are very glad to say that we have found no significant issues at this time," Mireles said.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said they received over 200 911 calls in a 20-minute span in the city once the earthquake hit.
"That volume would cause us to overring beyond our 10-second call receiving time period," Bethel said.
Philadelphia Police advised city residents to not call 911 to report the earthquake unless there was an emergency.
Commissioner Bethel also said there was only one report of damage in the city; a home in Northeast Philadelphia. Bethel did not reveal the extent of the damage to that home.
The earthquake also led to the brief evacuation of Philadelphia’s city hall. People were later let back in, however.
"Our desks were trembling," Gail Young, a city hall employee, told NBC10. "It lasted for a period of time. Everything in city hall, this great, big old concrete building, was shaking back and forth. Back and forth."
Mayor Cherelle Parker confirmed that there was no damage to city hall or the municipal complex and no injuries were reported.
"Your city and our administration is responding to this event swiftly and surely to ensure that we have done everything in our power to keep you safe," Parker said.
Parker also thanked President Joe Biden.
“I also right now have to send a special thank you to our president, Joe Biden, who -- immediately upon hearing the news -- ensured that every federal agency that we would have needed access to had their been any catastrophes here in the city of Philadelphia, that they were on standby waiting to hear from me and my administration and for that, President Biden, I want to say thank you," Parker said.
Tips for dealing with aftershocks
Mireles shared the following safety tips in the event of an aftershock:
- Protect yourself right away by dropping to the floor, holding on and taking cover
- If you're inside, drop to your knees and hands and hold onto something sturdy like a table or desk
- Cover your head and neck with your arms
- If you're driving in a car, pull over and set the parking brake
- If you're in bed, turn face down and cover your head with your pillow
- If you're outdoors, stay outside and away from buildings
- If you're inside, stay inside, don't run outside and avoid doorways. Don't try to evacuate the building
Earthquake's impact on transportation
PATCO service was shut down due to the earthquake. Train service between all of the New Jersey stations was resumed about an hour later. PATCO also said they would restore full service following a precautionary inspection of the line between the Philadelphia stations.
"We felt the earthquake. We immediately stopped all the trains that were out operating on the system," PATCO General Manager John Rink said. "They're asked to go into the next available station at restricted speed which is no greater than 15 miles per hour and then we off load all the customers off to the platform and ask them to leave the station."
NJ Transit also experienced delays due to the earthquake.
SEPTA did not report any injuries or damage and service is running normal.
AMTRAK also did not experience any disruption to their service.
The earthquake also led to traffic being stopped for 10 to 15 minutes at Philadelphia International Airport. The airport is now back to normal operations, however.
"Is Jesus coming back?"
The earthquake drew mixed reactions from Philadelphia residents, with some saying they felt it and others saying they didn't feel a thing.
"I was really scared," one woman told NBC10. "Like, 'Hmm, is Jesus coming back?' Maybe."
James Helm, a SEPTA employee, told NBC10 he was underground when the earthquake hit and he initially thought it was another train.
“I really thought it was a train because again we feel it all day long," he said. "They come in and out of the station. So I was just like, ‘Oh it’s just another train.’ But then it did last a little longer than a train coming through. And it was just like, okay, then I looked up. Seen papers shaking and I’m like, ‘That’s not a train. That’s definitely not a train.’”
Mark, who works at the Comcast Center, told NBC10 he felt the earthquake while he was working.
"So I was sitting at my desk and I just saw my monitor shake back and forth," he said. "And a bunch of other people on the floor got up and we all said, 'Did you feel that? Did you feel that?'"
The earthquake's impact was felt in the Pennsylvania suburbs as well, including Flourtown.
"And I walked into the kitchen and I made a joke because the fridge was rattling," one woman who works in Flourtown told NBC10. "And I was like, 'Is there an earthquake happening?'"
A vendor at the Flourtown Flowers Market told NBC10 she was driving when the earthquake hit.
"I thought it was just the bass and the music," she said. "I didn't realize."
She said she didn't realize what happened until her son called her.
"My son called me panicking," she said. "He's like, 'Mom, are you okay? Are you okay?' I'm like, 'What's going on?' He was like, 'It was just an earthquake.'"
Another resident told NBC10 the earthquake left a little mess behind.
"I felt the desk shake," he said. "And I was like, 'Is my brother like throwing stuff downstairs in the basement?' And I look over to my dresser and all my drawers just fell out so I was like, 'This must be some type of earthquake.'"
Other people took to social media to share their reactions.
How common are earthquakes on the East Coast?
Friday's earthquake 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.
Earthquakes are less common on this side of the U.S. because the East Coast does not lie on a boundary of tectonic plates. But East Coast quakes can still pack a punch — its rocks are better at spreading earthquake energy across far distances.
“If we had the same magnitude quake in California, it probably wouldn’t be felt nearly as far away,” said U.S.G.S. geophysicist Paul Caruso.
You can learn more about the history of earthquakes on the East Coast here.
