New York City and New Jersey witnesses to today's quake share first-hand accounts: 'Everyone was terrified'

NEW YORK – A powerful earthquake shook New York City and the surrounding area Friday morning, alarming residents and causing some buildings to shake

The approximately 4.7 to 4.8 magnitude quake was centered in Readington, New Jersey, which is located about 50 miles southwest of New York City and 35 miles north of Trenton. It quickly became the talk of the town and on social media, with people asking questions and sharing their stories.

New Jersey residents reported feeling shaking and swaying

CBS New York heard from witnesses shortly after near Rutgers University in New Brunswick. One woman said it felt like a dream and began sending text messages to her family to make sure everyone was safe.

“I was lying in bed, and my entire apartment building started shaking,” she said. “I panicked, and I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ I had never felt an earthquake before in my life, so it was very scary.” . “My whole bed shook, everything shook.”

Others reported similar experiences around campus.

“I was in my house, and the whole house was shaking. All my roommates were asleep, and we all woke up, like what's going on? We immediately got calls from our families all over New Jersey, all over New York. Everyone felt it. Another woman told Westbrook: “It was out of the ordinary.” “I thought it was wind, it was very windy in here, and my windows are very thin.”

Another said: “I was standing in my kitchen in my apartment, and I saw the TV shaking. I've never felt an earthquake, so it was a little scary, it was a little strange.”

CBS New York also caught up with a group of volunteers at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey in Hillside. They were packing supplies for a food drive when the warehouse started shaking.

“The ground started shaking, but I was thinking…is there a truck, or is there something going on in the warehouse? Then you could see the pipes in the warehouse shaking and swaying back and forth,” one man said. “It was kind of unreal.”

Another man added: “I honestly thought it was just a forklift that had hit something, because I was on the phone with my business partner and he suddenly said the building started shaking.” “I looked around and everyone was scared.”

The earthquake does shake some New York City residents

People all over New York City felt ground tremors on Friday morning.

“I ran out of my apartment almost immediately,” said Natalie Johnson, an Upper West Side resident. “I actually thought the whole building was collapsing.”

Some people on West 82nd Street felt nervous when they said the quake widened cracks in their structure. Building management came and gave them the evacuation.

“It's really scary, because if you think about how old some of these buildings are and maybe how unstable they are, it's a little unnerving,” said Tina Chapman, an Upper West Side resident.

However, not everyone was that interested.

“I was at home on 57th Street. I thought it was a truck from outside,” one man said.

“When did you realize it was an earthquake? When did you know that?” asked CBS New York's Dave Carlin.

“When I got the alert,” the man said.

Watch Dave Carlin's report

Earthquake does affect some New York City residents 02:55

“I was sitting there waiting for the doctor, and I felt kind of bang, bang, bang,” one woman said.

“I thought it was my elevator repairman, but my roommate sensed it,” Manhattan resident Ariana Fernando said.

Eli Yusupov, a resident of the city center, said, “I was sitting in the chair getting my hair cut. Suddenly I felt the ground shaking. I thought it was a train.” “We had a little one like that 10 years ago… and this one was much stronger.”

“My girlfriend woke me up, and she asked me what was going on. I felt the bed shaking, so I said, 'It's probably an earthquake,' so I went right back to sleep. It's my day off, so I needed to sleep,” Midtown resident Rob Atkinson said.

“I felt everything swaying and it was very unusual… I went back to work. I was on the train because when I looked at my phone, I thought the trains wouldn't run because I thought, when I saw it was an earthquake,” said Hell's Kitchen resident Jason Alexander. Really, the trains would be a problem, but that wasn't the case and everyone was doing their job.”

“Everyone said, 'Did you feel that?' Did you feel it? Did you feel it? I felt it all! It felt like the building was going to collapse!” “I wasn't just undulating, nothing,” Hell's Kitchen resident Carolyn Montgomery said. “You know, there was an earthquake in Queens a few years ago, and I felt it. I was in my kitchen and it was very small. “I didn't feel that way.”

One Broadway show proved that New Yorkers knew how to make a quick buck; Before the end of the day, they were selling $10 “I Survived the NYC Earthquake” T-shirts.

“Do you guys have these downstairs ready to go or something?” CBS New York's Dick Brennan asked store owner Kerry Cooley.

“We felt the earthquake. It just came to us. We thought it would be a funny idea. So we went down and made them and put them in the window and sold six of them in 10 minutes,” Cooley said.

“How many are there now, do you know?” Brennan asked.

“Maybe a couple hundred? I really have no idea. It's been non-stop,” Cooley said.

The earthquake was also felt in the Philadelphia area and as far north as Rhode Island and Boston.

More CBS News

Elijah Westbrook

Elijah Westbrook is an Emmy Award-winning journalist. He joined CBS2 News and CBS News New York in January 2022.

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