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New York and beyond rattled by rare East Coast earthquake
New York and cities on the US East Coast are assessing the impact of a rare earthquake that swayed landmarks and cracked roads.
The magnitude-4.8 quake struck at 10:23 local time (15:23 GMT) near Lebanon, New Jersey, and could be felt from Pennsylvania to Connecticut.
Residents spoke of being rocked by a violent rumbling that threw objects around their homes and damaged walls.
Officials are now conducting safety assessments of infrastructure.
In New York, the Statue of Liberty was seen swaying, while workers and residents across the city’s five boroughs reported violent rumbling.
Jane Coxwell told the BBC she felt a “rattling” like a train passing while she was in a building in lower Manhattan. “Living in New York I have become accustomed to rattling from the subway. That’s what I thought it was,” she said. “Then I realised I was on the ninth floor. It was a bit unsteady for sure. It felt like a passing train.”
Charita Walcott, a 38-year-old from the Bronx, said the quake felt “like a violent rumble that lasted about 30 seconds or so”. “It was kind of like being in a drum circle, that vibration,” she said.
Another New York resident told the BBC’s US partner CBS News how their lazy morning suddenly turned. “I was laying in my bed, and my whole apartment building started shaking. I started freaking out,” they said.
At the UN Security Council headquarters, a meeting on Gaza was temporarily paused due to the tremor. “Is that an earthquake?” said Save the Children representative Janti Soeripto, who was speaking at the time.
Aircraft at two airports – JFK in New York and Newark in New Jersey – were temporarily grounded while runways were inspected.
Yet for all of the drama, New York state Governor Kathy Hochul said there had been no reports of major damage or injuries. She warned of the possibility of aftershocks, even if the chances were slim. She added that officials had started a damage assessment across the state to ensure the safety of buildings and infrastructure. “It’s been an unsettling day, to say the least,” she added.
In the town of Union, New Jersey, about 35 miles from the epicentre, resident David Scibione told CBS how “things on our roof started coming down” when the shaking began. And when it had finished, the roads around his house had split from the force.
Allison Martins, also of New Jersey, was recording on TikTok when the rumbling started. Her “little video on the day in the life of somebody who works from nine to five” became something more as her camera caught her house shaking. “We’re not used to having earthquakes in New Jersey, let alone a big one like this; we were all scared,” she said.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said his state had also started a safety assessment. His top concern were the Hudson River tunnels, although there were no reports of major damage. “The rail tunnels were built in…1911, which is why we’re building two new ones,” he said.
Cracks appeared in roads closer to the epicentre – such as here in Union, New Jersey (BBC)
The East Coast and New York City are no strangers to earthquakes, although they are rare.
A quake hit near the town of Newcomb in upstate New York with a 5.1 magnitude in 1983, and a 5.0-magnitude tremor was measured in New York City in 1884.
But the biggest to affect the East Coast was in 2011, when a 5.8 quake in Virginia forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate buildings in New York, Washington DC and other cities.
Jessica Jobe, of the US Geological Survey, said said that Friday’s quake may have happened on an old fault line that had become “reactivated”. “Although there are no known active faults in the area, there are dozens of older inactive faults that formed millions of years ago,” she said. “And under the current stresses from tectonic plates moving those faults can be intermittently reactivated.”
She added that earthquakes “can happen anywhere at any time”, but there was only a 3% chance of a 5 magnitude aftershock in the next week.
(BBC)
Without Mark Chapman and Rachin Ravindra, the hosts have a top-three spot for Devon Conway. They have as many as six seamers in the squad to pick from, with Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell offering part-time spin in a fairly stacked bowling attack.
[Cricbuzz]
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Bangladesh and Nepal to host Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup from January 21 to February 6
Four venues in Bangladesh and Nepal will host the 2027 Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, which is set to run from January 21 to February 6. Chattogram, Sylhet, Kirtipur and Mulpani are the four venues, with Chattogram set to host the two semi-finals on February 4 as well as the final on February 6.
The 16-team event will feature four groups of four teams each, with the group stage set to be followed by a two-group Super Six stage, and then the semi-finals and final.
This is the third edition of the tournament, with India having won the first two back-to-back in 2023 and 2025. The defending champions have been drawn in group A alongside Ireland, West Indies and Nepal. Group B has 2025 runners-up South Africa as well as New Zealand, Pakistan and Samoa.
Australia, Bangladesh, Nigeria and UAE make up Group C, while England, Sri Lanka, USA and Scotland have been drawn in Group D.
The tournament will kick off with four matches on January 21, with Sylhet hosting Bangladesh vs UAE and Australia vs Nigeria, and Mulpani hosting Sri Lanka vs Scotland and England vs USA. The other two venues and other eight teams will be involved on January 22: New Zealand vs Samoa and South Africa vs Pakistan in Chattogram, and Nepal vs Ireland and India vs West Indies in Kirtipur.
All 41 games of the tournament will be played during the day. Morning matches will begin at 9.30am local time, and afternoon games at 1.30pm local time.
“The ICC U19 World Cup is the stage that showcases the future of our sport and serves as the ultimate platform for young players to make the leap towards elite careers representing their countries,” ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta said. “These future stars representing 16 teams will garner the world’s attention and become relatable role models for many young girls playing the sport, serving inspiration for their continued cricket journeys.
“The choice of our hosts – Bangladesh and Nepal – is also reflective of the ICC’s belief and investment in the future of the cricket ecosystem. With deep passion for cricket and nearly 40% of the two countries’ populations below the age of 20, they serve as the ideal hosts for one of the world’s biggest youth sporting events.”
(Cricinfo)
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake today (20) paid his last respects to the remains of Most Venerable Kappetiyagoda Siri Wimala Thera, Anunayake of the Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya and Chief Incumbent of the Rajopawanaramaya Temple in Gatambe, Kandy, who passed away.
The President visited the Rajopawanaramaya Temple in Gatambe, Kandy, where the remains of the Thera are lying, and paid his last respects. He subsequently expressed his deepest condolences to the Maha Sangha and the temple’s Dayaka Sabha, who are mourning the passing of the Thera.
Central Province Governor and Consultant Physician Dr Harsha Suranga Fernando, Kandy District Secretary Indika Udawatta and several others were present.
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