At 5:45 a.m. on Tuesday morning, January 2nd, the U.S. Geological Survey reported a 1.7 magnitude earthquake near Astoria, Queens.
Initially, the earthquake was a mystery.
Firefighters responded to reports of small explosions coming from Main Street, near the Roosevelt Island Tramway, but found no clear cause. The FDNY then turned the search over to Con Edison after declaring it safe.
However, according to Jessica Turner, a geophysicist with the USGS, it was an earthquake that shook buildings rather than a building explosion.
According to NBC, a Roosevelt Island resident stated to the network, “I heard, it was like a big boom, and then the room shook.”
A 1.7 magnitude earthquake is “tiny,” according to Turner, and those that live in high-rise buildings directly on top of where the earthquake occurred definitely felt the shaking the most. However, a lot of people think the vibrations are “similar to the passing of a truck.”
Thankfully Notify NYC reported there were no reports of injuries or damage, as well as no impact on transit, traffic, utility services, or structural stability.
According to Stephen Holler, an associate professor of physics and engineering at Fordham University, the earthquake was not related to the recent one in Japan, and New Yorkers shouldn’t be worried.
“The east coast has been geologically stable for millions of years,” Holler stated, according to NBC.