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In New York City

The Police Department’s chief of transit said on X, formerly Twitter, that no structural damage had been reported within the subway system and there were no service disruptions as a result of the earthquake. The New York City’s public schools reported no immediate signs of damage or compromised buildings either, said Nathaniel Styer, a spokesperson. “The safest place for our kids right now is in our schools,” Styer said. “Schools are operating as normal.”

New York City officials were slow to send an alert about the earthquake. A beeping text alert went out to some residents at 11:02 a.m., nearly 40 minutes after the earthquake hit. Mayor Eric Adams has received criticism in the past over his delayed response to emergencies, including floods and wildfire smoke.

Aftershocks are common after an earthquake, and officials in New York City warned residents to be prepared for them. Most aftershocks are smaller than the original earthquake, but they can still be damaging.

While most earthquakes in the Northeast go undetected, New Yorkers have felt several over the years. A 2.2 magnitude earthquake rattled parts of New York and New Jersey last May, and a 3.6 magnitude earthquake rocked the town of Adams Center, New York, the month before that. In 2011, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Virginia led to the evacuation of City Hall and midtown office buildings in Manhattan.

New York City added earthquake safety provisions to its building code in 1995, but most of the city’s roughly 1 million buildings were built before then. Many are considered “vulnerable” to earthquakes, according to the city.