A 4.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the northeastern United States on Friday morning, with tremors felt along the Atlantic coast between Boston and Philadelphia, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The quake's epicenter was located about 45 miles (72km) west of New York City in Lebanon, New Jersey, causing buildings to shake in densely populated Manhattan and throughout the five boroughs.

Despite the strong tremors, there were no immediate reports of casualties or significant structural damage. The New York City Fire Department confirmed that there were no major incidents following the earthquake, and the city's mayor's office announced that they were still assessing the impact.

Approximately 45 million people may have felt the shocks, as reported by the USGS. Authorities were expected to hold a news conference at 12pm local time (16:00 GMT) to provide updates on the situation. The NYC Emergency Management agency advised anyone in danger to call emergency services at 911, while non-emergency impacts were directed to the city's services hotline.

As a precautionary measure, teams from the NYC Public Schools commenced assessments of school buildings. Flights bound for New York were also diverted to other airports, according to the FlightAware tracking website.

Residents in New York City reported feeling the buildings shake for several minutes. India Hays, a barista in lower Manhattan, described how she noticed the door trembling on its frame, adding, "I thought surely there couldn't be an earthquake here." Other witnesses, like Charita Walcott in the Bronx, described the sensation as a violent rumble that lasted around 30 seconds.

Reports also emerged from Baltimore, Philadelphia, Connecticut, and other areas of the Northeast, with tremors lasting for several seconds felt over 200 miles (322km) away near the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul confirmed that she had been in touch with the White House, which stated that President Joe Biden had been briefed on the situation. The USGS mentioned that earthquakes along the Atlantic Coast are uncommon but not unheard of, as there are underlying stresses despite the absence of an active tectonic plate boundary.

The earthquake brought back memories of a similar event on August 23, 2011, when a magnitude 5.8 earthquake rattled millions of people across the Atlantic coast from Georgia to Canada. That earthquake caused cracks in the Washington Monument, led to the evacuation of the White House and the US Capitol, and created a sense of unease among New Yorkers. The epicenter of that quake was in Virginia.

Authorities will continue to monitor the situation as they assess the impact of this recent earthquake and provide further updates to the public.