An earthquake shook the densely populated New York City metropolitan area Friday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey said, with residents across the Northeast reporting rumbling in a region where people are unaccustomed to feeling the ground move.
The agency reported a quake at 10:23 a.m. 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.
St. Thomas Journalism Professor Mark Neuzil, who was in Philadelphia, 50 miles away from the epicenter of the tremors in New Jersey, at the time of the earthquake told TommieMedia what he felt.
“I am in Philly for the annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Journalists. From the 15th floor of my room, it felt like I was standing next to a moving train for several seconds.”
New York City’s emergency notification system said in a social media post more than 30 minutes after the quake that it had no reports of damage or injuries in the city. The Fire Department of New York said on social media about an hour after the quake that it was “responding to calls and evaluating structural stability” but that there are “no major incidents at this time.”
The Israeli military said Friday that it dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in drone strikes in Gaza that killed seven aid workers on a food-delivery mission, saying they had mishandled critical information and violated the army’s rules of engagement.
The findings of a retired general’s investigation into the Monday killings marked an embarrassing admission by Israel, which faces growing accusations from key allies, including the U.S., of not doing enough to protect Gaza’s civilians from its war with Hamas.
President Joe Biden is expected to get a firsthand look Friday at efforts to clear away the hulking remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, as cranes, ships and diving crews work to reopen one of the nation’s main shipping lanes.
Biden will receive updates from the U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers. Eight workers — all immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador — were filling potholes on the bridge when it was hit by a huge cargo ship and collapsed in the middle of the night of March 26. Two men were rescued, but the bodies of only two of the six who died have been recovered.
The president plans to meet with the families of the victims.
Eli Andersen can be reached at ande4516@stthomas.edu.