New York earthquake SHOCKS residents

New Yorkers had a rude awakening this morning as a rare earthquake struck close to Manhattan.

In the early hours of Friday, May 19, a relatively small, earthquake measuring 2.2 magnitude shook residents in the lower Hudson Valley and parts of northeast New Jersey, according to NBC New York.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the earthquake struck at 1:53 a.m., at a depth of 9.8 kilometres, about a mile south of Hastings-on-Hudson in Westchester County.

Although this is a distance of around 16 miles away from New York City it is very possible that Manhattan residents would also have felt its effects.

Natalie Pasquarella, who works for NBC New York tweeted: ‘Not sure what that was! Never felt an earthquake before but – whew that was odd! Our house in NJ shook and heard a loud rumble. Kids slept right through it…’

The USGS advises that earthquakes below a Richter scale magnitude of 3 usually do not cause damage but are still felt by people. Thankfully there were no reports of casualties or damage.