New York City Skyline
(Photo : ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
The New York City skyline

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake shook New York City, New Jersey and much of the Northeast on Friday morning, rocking the region and lighting up social media.

The quake hit around 10:23 a.m. near New Jersey's Lebanon, a nearly-equidistant 45 miles from New York City and 50 miles from Philadelphia, according to the United States Geological Survey.

It was the strongest earthquake recorded in the region in at least five years, and was felt in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, according to reports and social media posts. 

As of 11:07 a.m., New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport, and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport were under ground stop orders while crews inspected for damage, according to ABC. The orders had been lifted by early afternoon, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, though some residual delays remained.

The widespread rumbling sent shockwaves through social media.

"I think we are having an Earthquake!" wrote meteorologist Steven DiMartino on X. "My whole house was just shaking!"

Added journalist Don Lemon, "Totally just had an #earthquake in New York. Did you feel it?"

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul confirmed the quake, and said her team was looking for reports of possible damage.

"A 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit west of Manhattan and has been felt throughout New York," she wrote on X. "My team is assessing impacts and any damage that may have occurred, and we will update the public throughout the day."

About an hour after the quake, the FDNY wrote on social media that it had responded to multiple "reports of building shaking" and was "evaluating structural stability," but had "no major incidents" to report.