New York City earthquake prompts explosion reports
The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 1.7 earthquake was reported in Astoria, Queens, around 5:45 a.m. EST at a depth of about 3 miles.
Small earthquake rattles New York City
A magnitude 1.7 earthquake shoot New York City on Tuesday morning and was the strongest in the region in decades.
NEW YORK – A small earthquake was reported in New York City on Tuesday morning and could be behind reports of an explosion on Roosevelt Island.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) says the magnitude 1.7 earthquake was reported in Astoria, Queens, around 5:45 a.m. EST at a depth of about 3 miles.
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A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was reported in New York City on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (FOX Weather)
According to a report from FOX 5 New York, the fire department responded to reports of a "building shaking and explosion" in the area of 580 Main St., which is just south of Roosevelt Island Bridge & Tram.
"About 5:45 or so, all of a sudden, I felt my bed moving, and the building moving, and a very loud sound," Georgette Sinclair told FOX 5. "I woke up and thought there was an earthquake."
A photo showing emergency crews in New York City following a magnitude 1.7 earthquake on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (WNYW / FOX Weather)
According to the USGS, more than 130 people reported feeling the shaking, but there have so far been no reports of any damage or injuries.
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The FOX Forecast Center says the magnitude 1.7 earthquake in New York City is now the strongest to occur within New York City limits since a magnitude 2.4 earthquake on Oct. 27, 2001. It's also the eighth earthquake within New York City limits since 1970.
San Francisco 1906: The earthquake that shook up seismology
On April 18, 1906, San Francisco experienced a magnitude 7.9 earthquake. The quake and the fires it caused destroyed a large portion of the city by the bay.
The most recent earthquake to shake New York City before Tuesday was a magnitude 0.9 earthquake centered in Long Island City on June 25, 2019.
Tuesday's earthquake in New York City came just hours after a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was reported northwest of Washington, D.C., and was felt from Maryland to Virginia.