A small earthquake hits northern New York City

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A minor earthquake shook parts of New York’s Westchester County early Friday, with tremors reported to be felt in New York City and towns in northern New Jersey. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The USGS said the quake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 2.2, struck at about 1:50 a.m. about a mile south of Hastings-on-Hudson, a village of about 8,000 people. Hastings-on-Hudson is located about 20 miles north of New York City.

The USGS has received more than 200 notifications from people, most within 15 miles of the epicenter, who reported feeling the quake in Hastings-on-Hudson and in surrounding towns, from Closter, New Jersey, across the Hudson River, and south to Bronxville and Yonkers. . A few people reported feeling the quake in parts of New York City, including in the Bronx, Inwood, and East Village in Manhattan.

Small earthquakes are not uncommon in the area, and earthquakes of magnitude less than 2.5 are rarely felt. A man who picked up the phone at a restaurant in Hastings-on-Hudson said he fell asleep with it on.

“I wouldn’t say it would be harmful at all, but they are feeling it in the Northeast,” said Randy Baldwin, a USGS seismologist. “Of course in a large metropolitan area people are up at two in the morning.”

In February, a magnitude 3.8 earthquake occurred near West Seneca, New York, a suburb southeast of Buffalo. On April 23, a 3.6-magnitude earthquake jolted residents of Adams Center, a small town more than 200 miles north of New York City. This earthquake was followed by about 10 aftershocks.

“These are just random little earthquakes,” Baldwin said. “They’re all over the place, so you don’t have real specific fault zones, like the ones that might be active in California.”

This story was originally published on nytimes.com. Read it here.

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