Outer Banks shakes in 4.7 earthquake that reached all the way to New York
Some residents on North Carolina’s Outer Banks reported minor shaking from an earthquake Tuesday evening, according to the United States Geologic Survey.
The magnitude 4.7 quake happened at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday about 165 miles northeast of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the USGS reports.
There were reports of shaking from as far south as Nags Head in the Outer Banks and one report of minor shaking in Jacksonville, North Carolina, according to the USGS.
Most of the reports from the public came from Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, with some as far north as New York, the USGS reporting map shows.
There were no reports of damage or a tsunami from the quake, according to the USGS. The Outer Banks Voice reports authorities did not issue any tsunami watched or warnings.
The effects of earthquakes can travel farther in the eastern United States than on the West Coast because the Earth’s crust is more rigid, USGS geophysicist Jana Pursley told The Delmarva, Maryland Daily Times.
“It is highly unlikely this earthquake caused any damage on land. By the time the seismic waves traveled through the water to the coast, the shaking had significantly weakened,” according to Pursley, the newspaper reports.
This story was originally published January 16, 2019 at 2:07 PM.
