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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)
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Warm welcome extended to the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at the Presidential Secretariat
The official welcoming ceremony for the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam, who is on a State visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, was held this morning (08th May 2026) at the Presidential Secretariat under the patronage of President Dissanayake.
President To Lam is undertaking this State visit with the aim of further strengthening the economic, cultural and social ties between Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
Upon his arrival at the Presidential Secretariat, escorted by the Police Mounted Division, President To Lam was warmly received by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Following the playing of the national anthems of both countries, the official welcoming ceremony for President To Lam formally commenced.
On the occasion, President To Lam was accorded a ceremonial gun salute with full State honours.
Thereafter, President To Lam and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake reviewed the Tri-Forces Guard of Honour, following which the Vietnamese and Sri Lankan delegations were introduced.
The two leaders also posed for official photographs.
Representing the Government of Sri Lanka at the occasion were Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath, Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Anil Jayantha Fernando, Minister of Science and Technology Professor Krishantha Abeysena, Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Dr Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, Minister of Environment Dr Dhammika Patabendi, Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Ananda Wijepala, Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retired), Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aruni Ranaraja, along with a number of senior officials from both countries.
(PMD)
President To Lam, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, accompanied by a delegation of 209 members arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday (07) night on a state visit.
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