Earthquake Between NYC and Philadelphia Startles Northeast US

An earthquake that struck between New York and Philadelphia on Friday morning caused no major damage but startled millions of people in an area unaccustomed to such tremors. The US Geological Survey reported a quake at 10:23 a.m. with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8, centred near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. Over 42 million people might have felt the rumbling, with reports coming from as far as Baltimore to the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border.While there were no immediate reports of serious damage, officials were checking bridges and other major infrastructure. Amtrak slowed trains throughout the busy Northeast Corridor, and a Philadelphia-area commuter rail line suspended service out of caution. Flights to the Newark, New York, and Baltimore airports were held at their origins for a time while officials inspected runways for cracks.Earthquakes are less common on the eastern than western edges of the US because the East Coast does not lie on a boundary of tectonic plates. However, quakes on the East Coast can still pack a punch, as its rocks are better than their western counterparts at spreading earthquake energy across long distances. A 4.8-magnitude quake isn't large enough to cause damage, except for some minor effects near the epicentre.Robert Thorson, a University of Connecticut earth sciences professor, said the quake resulted from the constant compression of the earth's hard, brittle crust in New Jersey. Earthquakes with magnitudes near or above 5 struck near New York City in 1737, 1783, and 1884. Friday's quake stirred memories of the August 23, 2011, earthquake that jolted tens of millions of people from Georgia to Canada.As of noon on Friday, New York City had no indications of major safety or infrastructure problems from the earthquake. City Buildings Commissioner James Oddo said officials would watch out for any delayed cracks or other effects on the city's 1.1 million buildings. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the quake was felt throughout the state but had no reports of any life-threatening problems.