NEW YORK — A highly effective earthquake shook New York City and the encompassing space Friday morning, alarming residents and inflicting some buildings to shake
The roughly 4.7 to 4.8 magnitude quake was centered in Readington, New Jersey, which is about 50 miles southwest of New York City and 35 miles north of Trenton. It rapidly turned the speak of the city and on social media, as individuals requested questions and shared their tales.
New Jersey residents report feeling shaking, swaying
CBS New York heard from witnesses shortly after close to Rutgers University in New Brunswick. One girl mentioned it felt like a dream and he or she began texting her household to ensure everybody was secure.
“I used to be laying in my mattress, and my entire condominium building simply began shaking. And I freaked out, I used to be like, what’s taking place? I’ve by no means felt an earthquake earlier than in my life, so it was very scary,” she mentioned. “My entire mattress shook, all the things shook.”
Others reported comparable experiences round campus.
“I used to be in my home, and the entire home was shaking. All of my roommates had been asleep, all of us awakened, like what is going on on? Immediately acquired calls from our households throughout New Jersey, throughout New York. Everybody felt it was fairly out-of-the-ordinary,” one other girl advised Westbrook. “I believed it was wind, it has been actually windy round right here, and my home windows are very skinny.”
“I used to be standing in my kitchen in my condominium, and I noticed the TV shaking. I’ve by no means felt an earthquake, so it was a little bit scary, it was a little bit bizarre,” mentioned one other.
CBS New York additionally caught up with a gaggle of volunteers on the Community Food Bank of New Jersey in Hillside. They had been packing provides for a meals drive when the warehouse began to shake.
“The floor began shaking, however I used to be considering… is there a truck, or is there one thing happening within the warehouse? Then you might see the pipes within the warehouse shaking and swaying backwards and forwards,” one man mentioned. “It was sort of unreal.”
“I truthfully thought it was only a forklift that hit one thing, as a result of I used to be on the telephone with my associate at work, and he mentioned swiftly the building began to shake,” one other man added. “I seemed round and everybody was freaking out.”
Quake would not shake some New York City residents
People all through New York City might really feel the shake and rumble of the bottom Friday morning.
“I ran out of my condominium just about instantly,” Upper West Side resident Natalie Johnson mentioned. “I truly thought my complete building was falling down.”
Some individuals on West 82nd Street acquired a case of the jitters after they say the quake expanded current cracks of their construction. The buildings division got here and gave them the all-clear.
“Pretty scary, actually, as a result of if you concentrate on how old a few of these buildings are and maybe how unstable they might be, it is a little bit regarding,” Upper West Side resident Tina Chapman mentioned.
Not everybody was all that involved, nonetheless.
“I used to be home on 57th Street. I believed it was a truck from exterior,” one man mentioned.
“When did you understand it was an earthquake? When do you know that?” CBS New York’s Dave Carlin requested.
“When I acquired the alert,” the person mentioned.
Watch Dave Carlin’s report
“I used to be simply sitting there ready for the physician, and I simply sort of felt a increase increase, increase, increase,” one girl mentioned.
“I believed it was my elevator restore man, however my roommate felt it,” Manhattan resident Ariana Fernando mentioned.
“I used to be within the chair getting a haircut. All of a sudden I really feel the bottom shaking. I believed it was a prepare,” Midtown resident Eli Yusupov mentioned. “We had one like 10 years in the past a minor one … This one was a lot stronger.”
“My girlfriend woke me up, she requested me what’s taking place. I felt the mattress shaking, so I used to be like, it is in all probability an earthquake, and I went proper again to sleep. It’s my time off, so I wanted to sleep,” Midtown resident Rob Atkinson mentioned.
“I simply felt all the things swaying and that it was very uncommon … I went again to work. I used to be on the prepare as a result of then once I checked out my telephone, I believed the trains weren’t gonna be operating as a result of I believed, once I noticed it was an precise earthquake, oh, the trains are going to be a problem, but it surely wasn’t, and all people was doing their factor,” Hell’s Kitchen resident Jason Alexander mentioned.
“Everyone mentioned, ‘Did you are feeling it? Did you are feeling it? Did you are feeling it? I felt all the things! I felt just like the building’s gonna come down!’ And I used to be… not a ripple, nothing,” Hell’s Kitchen resident Carolyn Montgomery mentioned. “You know, there was an earthquake in Queens a number of years in the past, and I felt that. I used to be in my kitchen and it was tiny, tiny. And I did not really feel this one.”
One business on Broadway proved New Yorkers know easy methods to make a quick buck; earlier than the top of the day, they had been promoting $10 “I survived the NYC earthquake” t-shirts.
“So do you guys have these within the basement able to go or one thing?” CBS New York’s Dick Brennan requested retailer proprietor Kerry Colley.
“We felt the earthquake. It simply got here to us. We thought it would be a humorous concept. So we went down, made it, put it in a window and we bought six in 10 minutes,” Colley mentioned.
“And what number of now, are you aware?” Brennan requested.
“Couple hundred, possibly? I actually do not know. It’s simply been absolute nonstop,” Colley mentioned.
The earthquake was additionally felt within the Philadelphia space and as far north as Rhode Island and Boston.
