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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)
Latest News
FFSL renews National Team Head Coach Abdullah Almutairi under “The Next Chapter” program
As part of the newly launched “The Next Chapter” program of Sri Lanka Football, the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) has renewed the contract of National Team Head Coach Abdullah Almutairi.
The renewal follows discussions held between FFSL President Jaswar Umar and Coach Almutairi regarding the future direction and ambitions of Sri Lanka Football.
During the meeting, President Jaswar Umar expressed his appreciation for the Head Coach’s commitment, professionalism, and positive results delivered over the past two years. He also outlined the new objectives and performance targets that the national team is expected to achieve under the FFSL’s strategic development framework, “The Next Chapter.”
Coach Almutairi completed his first tenure with notable success, helping Sri Lanka achieve significant progress on the international stage. Under his leadership, the national team improved its FIFA ranking substantially, rising from 205 to 187 while recording an impressive number of international victories and positive results within a relatively short period.
President Jaswar Umar stated that he was satisfied with the achievements delivered during Almutairi’s first tenure and the successful completion of key performance targets. As a result, the FFSL had no hesitation in offering him a second contract, reflecting the Federation’s trust and confidence in his leadership and technical expertise.
With the renewed mandate, Coach Almutairi will now lead the implementation of the FFSL’s new technical and competitive objectives, including preparations for upcoming international competitions and the Federation’s long-term vision for national team success.
The renewal marks another important step in “The Next Chapter” initiative, as Sri Lanka Football continues to strengthen its foundations, increase its competitiveness, and build greater visibility and success at both regional and international levels. Football in Sri Lanka is steadily progressing across all areas, supported by a clear vision, strong leadership, and a commitment to sustainable development.
Cody Gakpo and Brian Brobbey both scored twice as the rampant Netherlands thrashed Sweden 5-1 in a World Cup warning to the favourites.
The big win on Saturday in front of nearly 69,000 at Houston Stadium put the delighted Dutch on the cusp of the knockout rounds and gave them lift-off after being held by Japan.
Ronald Koeman’s side top Group F with four points from two games, ahead of Sweden on three, Japan (one) and Tunisia (zero).
Despite the sobering loss, the Swedes had plenty of chances but were denied by good goalkeeping and wasteful finishing.
Sunderland striker Brobbey got his first start of the tournament and repaid Koeman with predatory goals after five and 17 minutes.
Before that, the 24-year-old had scored only once for his country since making his debut three years ago.
In a game full of top Premier League talent, Liverpool’s Gakpo – who set Brobbey up for the opener – scored twice early in the second half.
Substitute Anthony Elanga from Newcastle United pulled one back for Sweden just before the hour with a classy finish.
West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville had the last word for the five-star Dutch.
Two crew members from the historic Artemis II lunar mission were among the VIP guests, a nod to Houston’s place as the home of space flight.
There was no problem here as the Dutch, twice pegged back in a lively 2-2 draw with Japan to start their title bid, made the brighter start in front of their orange-clad fans and King Willem-Alexander.
Brobbey, who came in for Summerville despite the winger scoring against Japan, started and finished the first goal.
It was made in the Premier League, with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Gakpo all involved.
Brobbey exchanged passes with Gakpo, before the Anfield attacker crossed in low from the left for his team-mate to stab in from close range.
Sweden, who thrashed Tunisia 5-1 in their first game, could not handle Brobbey’s muscular presence.
Up front, the much-vaunted attack of Liverpool’s Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres of Arsenal were feeding on scraps for Sweden.
Twelve minutes after his opener, Brobbey made it 2-0 when a deflected Denzel Dumfries cross from the right fell perfectly into his path and he toe-poked past Kristoffer Nordfeldt.
Sweden’s English coach, Graham Potter, was in deep discussions with his backroom staff as the game threatened to run away from them.
At the unpopular hydration break, Potter made a beeline for left-sided defender Gabriel Gudmundsson of Leeds United, who was being overrun by the flying Dumfries and Donyell Malen.
Sweden then had their best chance, Gyokeres crossing for an unmarked Yasin Ayari, who completely miscontrolled the ball with his chest.
Gyokeres was next to fluff a good chance, failing to make proper contact after being played in by the largely anonymous Isak.
Gyokeres and Ayari both had further sights of goal, only to be denied by the increasingly overworked Verbruggen.
The Netherlands were hanging on by the end of the half.
Koeman sent on Summerville for Malen at the break and two minutes later it was mission impossible for Sweden, Gakpo prodding in from close range after yet another dangerous low cross from Dumfries.
All three goals were strikingly similar.
Gakpo scored a lovely fourth on 54 minutes, turning inside his defender before firing low into the bottom corner.
Elanga pulled one back five minutes later when he raced clear of the Dutch defence and rattled the ball past Verbruggen.
Summerville made it five in the dying minutes with his second goal in North America.
Sweden are still in with a good chance of progressing into the last 32.
Japan and Tunisia play later Saturday in Monterrey, Mexico.
Sweden face Japan next, while the Netherlands play Tunisia.
[Aljazeera]
The Iranian military says it has closed the Strait of Hormuz again over Israel’s attacks on southern Lebanon.
Iran said Israel’s strikes in Lebanon are a breach of Tehran’s agreement with the US to end the war.
“Do not approach the Strait of Hormuz; otherwise, your security will be jeopardised,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said.
The US-Iran deal includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz – a shipping channel through which about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes.
After Iran’s statement, US Central Command (Centcom) said safe passage through the strait “remained intact” and commercial ship traffic had increased on Saturday, with 55 merchant ships transiting.
It was not clear whether Centcom was referring to marine traffic before or after Tehran’s announcement.
The Iranian military accused the US of violating the US-Iran deal by not implementing the first clause of their 14 point memorandum of understanding, which agrees to “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”.
At least 20 people have reportedly been killed by Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, less than 24 hours after a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced. Lebanon’s health ministry said 4,057 people have been killed since the re-start of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah on 2 March.
Iran’s top joint military command cited what it called Israel’s “continuous and relentless violation of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon” in a statement on state TV as the reason for re-closing the strait.
“It is noted that this first step is a response to the enemy’s breach of promise, and if the aggression continues, further steps will be planned and taken to force the enemy to comply with its obligations.”
The move comes days after the US and Iranian presidents signed an initial agreement aiming to end the war, including in Lebanon, with immediate effect. It includes a commitment to further talks to reach a final deal over the next 60 days.
At the time, Israeli officials said then they had no intention of withdrawing their forces from Lebanon and insisted the conflict with the Iran-backed group Hezbollah was separate from the war on Iran.
The Israeli military confirmed a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect at 16:00 local time (14:00 BST) on Friday, but later a spokesman said its forces would “continue to remove immediate threats”.
Israel and Hezbollah have since accused each other of repeatedly violating Friday’s ceasefire.
[BBC]
FFSL renews National Team Head Coach Abdullah Almutairi under “The Next Chapter” program
Gakpo, Brobbey doubles give Dutch 5–1 World Cup win
Trump vows Iran will not charge Strait of Hormuz tolls, but says US might
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Govt. seeks INTERPOL assistance to bring Basil Rajapaksa back
Ravi warns against attempts to stir communal tensions over Easter attacks probe
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