A magnitude 2.2 earthquake reportedly struck New York around 1:53 a.m. Friday morning at a depth of 10.3 kilometers.
The epicenter of the quake was just northeast of New Jersey in the lower Hudson Valley near Yonkers and White Plains, roughly 16 miles away from midtown Manhattan, according to the United States Geological Survey. A few people reported the shaking on social media, but here were no reports of damage as of 8am on Friday, as the quake was a fairly nominal magnitude, NBC noted.
USGS noted that the New York-Philadelphia-Washington urban corridor has experienced small earthquakes since settlers first started to nest in the region. The New York City area has been hit with larger, more damaging earthquakes in 1737 and 1884. It’s believed that larger magnitude quakes only occur on an average of twice a century in the area, but smaller ones hit every two to three years.
Not sure what that was! Never felt an earthquake before but – whew that was odd! Our house in NJ shook and heard a loud rumble. Kids slept right through it… https://t.co/WfKoDLgKpN
— Natalie Pasquarella (@Natalie4NY) May 19, 2023
For example, a small 3.6 magnitude quake hit upstate New York in April 2023, according to the Times Union. More than 1,100 people reported feeling the shaking, stretching from Ontario down to New York’s Southern Tier. (RELATED: Earth Has A Blind Spot In Our Planetary Threat Detection System)
Recent geological studies of New York City show that the weight of the skyscrapers might be sinking the area by up to two millimeters per year, according to ABC7. It is unclear how the growth of infrastructure, population, and potential threat of sea-level rise will impact the lower parts of Manhattan, as well as Brooklyn and Queens. Sinkholes and flooding have already hit parts of New York in the recent past, so a larger quake within the area could prove devastating.