New Yorkers were shaken up on Friday morning when a 4.8-magnitude earthquake hit Lebanon, New Jersey, and was felt across the tri-state area.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake at 10:23 a.m. local time, in the Jersey city about 45 miles west of New York City and 50 miles north of Philadelphia. According to The Associated Press, the agency notes that more than 42 million people may have felt the quake.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul posted on X that the quake was felt throughout the state: “My team is assessing impacts and any damage that may have occurred, and we will update the public throughout the day.”
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New York-based figures like late night host Jimmy Fallon and Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr. responded to the earthquake with humor.
Fallon wrote in a tweet that has since been deleted, “Having a dance party with Godzilla rn in NYC. Sorry for the scare. He loves Beyonce!” Wood joked, “Sooooo New York City, was that an earthquake or nah?” and then added, “That wasn’t no earthquake. That was Kendrick slamming the door to the recording booth he just walked into.”
The official account of the Empire State Building also reacted with humor, tweeting, “I AM FINE.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Melissa Gorga opened up to Entertainment Tonight about her experience during the earthquake, recounting the moments when the seismic event began, “I was in complete shock. I was downstairs in my gym, working out all by myself alone in the house. Nobody’s here today other than me and my dog, and the house sounded like it was being invaded. It was, like, shaking. The floor was shaking.”
The earthquake marked the first one to hit since the 5.8-magnitude East Coast Earthquake that hit in August 2011 and was felt from Georgia to Canada, leaving cracks in the Washington Monument and causing the White House and Capitol to evacuate.
Read more reactions below.
