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Nope, it wasn’t a big truck rumbling down your road. That rocking and shaking Long Islanders — and people across the Eastern Seaboard — felt at 10:23 a.m. was a 4.8 magnitude earthquake, according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The rumbling from the earthquake, highly unusual for the region, lasted between 10-20 seconds. People across Long Island flooded to social media and to their text message boxes to report feeling the very strong tremors of what has turned out to be a historic earthquake.
“Everyone was shocked and super surprised by what happened,” said Brady Franco, 15, a sophomore at Eastport-South Manor Junior-Senior High School. “It’s just crazy. Everyone is talking about how they have never felt something like that before. The walls and the floor shook.”
Franco’s older brother Connor, 19, reported that he was at home in Manorville taking a shower when the earthquake struck: “The door was shaking. I thought it was a ghost.”
The epicenter of the quake was six kilometers southeast of Califon, New Jersey (45 miles west of New York City), the USGS reported. The tremors were felt in Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C. — and everything in between. A 2.0 aftershock occurred centrally in Bedminister, New Jersey, at 11:20 a.m.
Following a brief pause to address any potential damage, Miller Place and Kings Park schools were among districts across Long Island that notified parents that the learning day was resuming as normal (as it possibly could).
Brian Dinklelacker, 44, a West Islip native, said he felt the shaking at his home in Wilton, Conn.
“And I was on a conference call with people in Manhattan and the buildings were shaking on the 13th floor in midtown.”
Dave Cogliano, 44, of Great River, was working at his accounting firm in Jericho, Cogliano and Sons, Inc., when he felt the earthquake.
“It felt like ‘Jump Around’ came on the radio on the floor above me!” he told Greater Long Island.
There has been no reported local damage yet. The FDNY reported that there was no damage across the five boroughs. As a precaution, the three New York City area airports are experiencing a temporary groundstop.
At home in Bellport, Monique Armann knew from experience that she was experiencing an earthquake.
“I thought it was a truck first, then it got louder and stronger and I knew it was a quake — after living in California for years,” she commented on Facebook. “It was strong enough (that) I started heading for a doorway. I’m shocked we got one that big here. Wild.”
Suffolk County Executive Edward Romaine issued a statement informing the public that no major incidents relating to the earthquake have been reported.
“The Office of Emergency Management continues to monitor the situation,” he said in a post on X.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman added that there have been no reports of damage in Nassau.
Coram resident Bob Rising commented on Facebook that the base boards in his home were rattling so much that it “sounded like a subway car” was rumbling overhead.
Debra Larson-Bel said in a comment that her “whole house shook.”
This is a developing story. Check back with Greater Long Island for updates.
