Damage minimal after 4.8 magnitude earthquake as dozens of New York City buildings searched; 30 aftershocks were detected

More than 80 buildings in New York City were searched in the hours after the 4.8-magnitude quake struck the five boroughs — followed by about 30 aftershocks as of Saturday morning — as the city's 311 system was flooded with reports of shaking homes and cracking facades. Saturday, city officials said.

But of all the inspections conducted by the city's Department of Buildings on Friday, only one was issued an evacuation order: The gymnasium of a school on Fountain Street in East New York, Brooklyn was cordoned off after cracks were found in the masonry walls.

A spokesperson for the buildings told the Daily News: “It has been determined that the brickwork near the cracks will likely need to be dislodged, and that the gymnasium is no longer safe for occupancy.” “As a result, we have issued an order to evacuate the gym so repairs can be made.”

The building houses Middle School 218 and Classical High School.

The spokesman said: “Our engineers have not found any conditions in other areas of the school that pose a similar risk, and it remains possible that the rest of the school will be occupied.”

Cones surround falling debris from the historic Taylor Mill in Lebanon, New Jersey, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The earthquake, which struck New York City at 10:23 a.m., was felt by millions of people from Massachusetts to Maryland and was responsible for more nerve-racking than actual damage. The US Geological Survey said the quake's epicenter was near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, about 40 miles southwest of Lower Manhattan.

The US Geological Survey said the quake was felt by more than 42 million people.

Such a powerful earthquake has not reached the five boroughs since a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck in Virginia in 2011. Friday's quake was the third worst to hit the area in 240 years, according to New Jersey state records.

The earthquake appears to be the strongest to have occurred on New York's doorstep since 1884, when an earthquake estimated at five magnitude shook beneath the city.

Residents are loaded into a city truck after their homes sustained structural damage and had to be evacuated after New York City and parts of New Jersey were struck by a 4.8 magnitude earthquake on April 5, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The city's 311 system received about 80 calls Friday from concerned building owners fearing the quake would destabilize their properties. Most of the calls came from building owners in Manhattan and the Bronx, the DOB said.

The complaints included reports of new cracks appearing in the 1915 Billingsley Terrace building in the Bronx, a building that suffered a massive partial collapse in December when a corner of the building slid into a pile of debris on the sidewalk.

The new six-inch hairline crack reported by witnesses was on the first floor of the building, but inspectors were unable to determine whether the damage was earthquake-related. Inspectors determined that the crack was “not a structural concern” and that it “poses no risk to tenants inside the building.”

DOB ordered the owner to repair the crack.

The FDNY also responded to more than two dozen 911 calls about buildings shaking during the earthquake.

During the first hour after the quake, the FDNY responded to about 30 more 911 calls than usual, a department official said. EMS call volume was about 10% higher than usual, the official said, adding that call volume returned to normal within an hour.

The NYPD used drones and harbor unit boats to inspect the city's bridges for any possible damage due to the earthquake.

Anyone with concerns about the structural stability of the building after the quake is encouraged to call 311. DOB Commissioner Jimmy Oddo said Friday that damage from the earthquake may not be detected in the building for several days or weeks after the quake.

New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner James Oddo speaks at a news conference in Brooklyn on Friday after the earthquake. (Theodore Parisien for the New York Daily News)

Since Friday morning's earthquake, about 30 aftershocks of varying intensity levels were felt throughout the night and into Saturday morning. Most New Jersey residents felt close to Whitehouse Station.

At 5:59 pm on Friday, the largest aftershock shook the city momentarily – a magnitude 4 estimated at 10 times lower than the morning's quake.

New York is expected to experience more aftershocks in the coming days, according to the US Geological Survey.

An estimated 500,000 earthquakes with a magnitude between 2.5 and 5.4 occur worldwide each year.

Since 1950, 40 other earthquakes of magnitude 3 or larger have occurred within 155 miles of Whitehouse Station, the USGS said.

By comparison, the massive earthquake that struck Taiwan on Wednesday, killing nine people, injuring nearly 1,000 and sending buildings swaying on their sides, had a magnitude of 7.4, about 1,000 times stronger than the New York quake.

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