Earthquake rattles New York City region

A 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck the New York City region on Friday morning, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), shaking buildings and surprising residents in an area that rarely experiences notable seismic activity.

The quake's epicentre was near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, and occurred just after 10:20 a.m. ET (1420 GMT) at a depth of 4.7 kilometres, the USGS said.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre initially measured the quake at 5.5 magnitude on the Richter scale.

The earthquake was felt across the region, including in New York City, New Jersey, northern Pennsylvania and western Connecticut, according to Reuters journalists and social media.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told airlines they can expect flights to be held for New York City airports until 12.30pm (1630 GMT) and delays of 30-45 minutes. Some flights bound for New York diverted to other airports, according to the tracking website FlightAware.

The busy Holland Tunnel, one of three major Hudson River crossings between New York City and New Jersey, will be temporarily closed for inspection, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.

The governors of New York and New Jersey posted on social media platform X that they were mounting emergency responses. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been briefed, and there were no immediate reports of "major impacts," his office said on X.