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Mass. residents react to feeling the trembles of N.J. earthquake
No injuries or damage has been reported in Massachusetts after a 4.8-magnitude earthquake shook the East Coast Friday.
Massachusetts got a little shake-up Friday morning as a 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck New Jersey, startling residents from Western Massachusetts through Boston and down to Cape Cod.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake struck at 10:23 a.m. near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, located 40 miles west of New York City and about 230 miles west of Boston. No injuries or substantial damage has been reported.
Earthquakes large enough to be felt are rare on the East Coast. Since 1950, the region has only had about 20 earthquakes with a magnitude surpassing 4.5, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, compared to more than 1,000 on the West Coast.
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The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) said it received multiple reports of shaking across the state.
“Our Local Coordinators are making outreach to communities to receive damage reports/requests for assistance. In an earthquake: drop, cover, hold on,” MEMA wrote on Twitter.
‘Thought I just drove over another pothole’
Boston.com asked its followers to share their personal experiences of Friday’s earthquake on social media. From Western Mass. to Boston and down to Cape Cod, people reported tremors ranging from short and subtle to lengthy and alarming. One Somerville resident said they felt a rumble for 10 seconds, while a person in Cambridge said their house shook for 45 seconds.
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On Instagram, @hrh_klynch said they “felt it for 5-7 seconds” in Woburn, to which another user replied, “giggity.”
Another person mistook the vibrations for their washing machine on an intense spin cycle, and someone else thought it was a low-flying helicopter.
“My entire desk and 2 monitors moved back and forth, and then I realized it was the house moving,” said @i_am_michaelle.
“…My 125 year old house just did a wiggle-wiggle-wiggle dance for a minute. The third floor shook quite a bit,” said @tallguybuilders.
Instagram user @_dubbz_ said they felt it at their desk in Boston. “The water in my glass was moving too,” they said.
Some social media users had fun with the situation, snarking over the unusual phenomenon.
@zkramer5044 sarcastically wrote, “My entire room collapsed! I had to climb under a table in Boston Massachusetts! Now I can’t take my kids to soccer practice cause my minivan can’t get past the broken roads!”
“Thought I just drove over another pothole,” said @kernelthegreatdane.
Boston.com’s Facebook followers also weighed in, sharing a few tongue-in-cheek quips.
One Bostonian asked, “How could you possibly tell over all the construction noise in this city?” While another person said, “I can feel my neighbors upstairs every time they walk. This is the real earthquake.”
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