Tuesday, January 2, 2024
Year : 1, Issue : 18
Officials say a 1.7 magnitude earthquake is believed to have jolted residents awake in Roosevelt Island and Queens and knocked out power on Tuesday morning. The United States Geological Survey reported the earthquake near Astoria, Queens. There were no reports of damage or injuries in New York City.
The earthquake was reported at 5:45 a.m., the same time as the calls began on Roosevelt Island and the surrounding areas, including Astoria and the Upper East Side. Residents say they were jolted awake by a loud noise and that they felt their buildings shaking.
“It was like an explosion, sounded like a bomb went off. The building shook, it woke us up. We called downstairs and they said it happened to all four buildings,” a resident said. Streets were open but there was a large FDNY response on Tuesday morning.
Buildings at 2 and 4 River Road just south of the Roosevelt Island Bridge and Tram were experiencing power outages. “The elevators were out, we walked down. So much commotion going on. No one knew what was going on,” a resident said.
No injuries have been reported. First responders were checking the structural integrity of buildings on the island, but none seemed to be affected. Con Edison is continuing to investigate the incident.
While earthquakes are rare in this region, they do happen. One of the last to be reported was in May of 2023 when a 2.2 magnitude earthquake shook parts of Westchester County and New Jersey.
Source: ABC News
