Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Earthquake Felt in the Vicinity of New York; U.S. Geological Survey Updated Magnitude Number to 4.7; Gov. Hochul's Team Evaluating Potential Effects from Earthquake in New Jersey. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired April 05, 2024 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NEWSROOM ANCHOR: This is CNN Breaking News right now. And just to tell you what we're hearing the latest out of New York, the tri-state area, that an earthquake was felt in New York and the surrounding areas. We're, we understand from a -- the U.S. Geological Survey in the last several minutes that they have initially measured the earthquake to be about 4.8. on the Richter scale.

We're right now trying to scramble teams in New York City in the surrounding area, as well as our weather center at Atlanta to get some folks on camera as soon as they can to talk to us about this. But if you talk to people in the New York City area, you see that there are people who are describing what they felt as tremors in just the last several minutes.

Elisa Raffa is in the CNN Weather Center. And Elisa 4.8 magnitude earthquake, that is -- I mean, that's enough for folks to feel it. What can you tell us?

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is, and it is enough for folks to feel it. And I'm actually from New York, so on my way down to the studio, I called my mom to be like, did you feel it, and she said that -- you know, my parents are in Staten Island, and she said that she did feel the shaking of the earthquake. Some of her friends even had some China, you know, dishes that were kind of shaking on the shelves, and kind of, falling too.

So, yes, definitely felt in New York City for sure. 4.8 magnitude on the Richter scale is pretty significant, especially for this area that's not quite that used to earthquakes, right?

[10:35:00]

We've got a seven-point magnitude earthquake in Taiwan, that's in kind of ground zero in the heart of seismic activity where they're used to it. These people here in New York, I can tell you, are not used to it, so they definitely felt that shaking. The depth is pretty shallow, which is also why people would feel the shaking, right, the center of the quake is not that far down, so that's where they're going to feel it as well.

So, yes. Right now, it also again looks like it was in the heart of, kind of, central New Jersey -- North -- central New Jersey right there. So again, felt in New York. Also heard from some family friends that felt it even up into Connecticut as well.

So, no words yet, on damage. The weather team, the producers are working on getting, information on that, graphics and things like that. So, this is what we've got for you so far. The 4.8 magnitude earthquake with that shallow, shallow depth there in New York City, or at least in New Jersey and felt in New York City and up into Connecticut.

And, and like I said, my mom was saying that she had friends and family that have things that were shaking around and falling off of shelves that they have all been kind of scattering to be like, what was that? And --

ACOSTA: Yes, it wasn't just your mom. It wasn't just your mom.

RAFFA: No, it was --

ACOSTA: No, I mean, CNNers have been tweeting about this. Guys, if you're a CNN employee, feel free to call in. But Andrew Kaczynski, our Andrew Kaczynski, just tweeted, did anyone else just feel an earthquake? And there are several other folks who are saying the same thing.

And Elisa, I mean, how significant is this? I remember when we had the D.C. Earthquake, that was about 10 or 12 years ago. It was significant enough for there to be cracks in the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral, and it caused a huge mess. It was extremely rare. I have to assume -- and maybe this is an area where I'm going to get something wrong on live TV, are we along the same fault line? Am I stumping the weather meteorologist by asking you that kind of a question? Are we talking about a different fault line in that area? I have to think this is rare up in the tri-state area.

RAFFA: It definitely is rare. You know, the New York City area doesn't really have like classic fault lines. Like I said, like California does or like --

ACOSTA: Right.

RAFFA: -- Southeast Asia does, right? Like it's not like that classic place that you would expect earthquakes like this, you know. But it can happen and it has. Jim, did you feel it in D.C.? Did it make it that far to you guys or no --

ACOSTA: Yes.

RAFFA: -- not quite?

ACOSTA: Well, I can see that the magnitude has just been updated to 4.7 right behind you, Elisa. And we're going to continue to follow this. We're going to take a quick break. We're going to gather ourselves and see if we can find anybody in our bureau in New York who could talk to us on camera.

And maybe that tower cam -- is there a way to rerack that tower cam video? We could see if it was shaking just a few moments ago. We're going to try to get all of that for you in just a few moments. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

ACOSTA: Welcome back to our breaking news. An earthquake has hit west of Manhattan in New York. The governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, just posted this a few moments ago. She says a 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit west of Manhattan and has been felt throughout New York. She says, my team is assessing impacts and any damage that may have occurred and we will update the public throughout the day. We should note the U.S. Geological Survey has updated their magnitude number to be 4.7, just to have that clear there.

But I want to go to -- and I believe we have on the phone right now, Andrew Kaczynski, our investigative reporter. Andrew, doesn't take any investigating to figure out what's going on here. What did you feel?

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: Yes, so I was in, my bedroom with my toddler, you know, as one does on a Friday. And we felt -- first I kind of thought I was going crazy because I looked and mirror was shaking, you know, stuff was just moving around a little bit. Never experienced an earthquake before.

And I was -- yes, I first thought I was going nuts a little bit, but then, you know, what I -- what did I do immediately? Went on Twitter and saw about, you know, 3,000 other people tweeting, that they're asking if they felt an earthquake, too.

ACOSTA: Yes. And Andrew, I mean, what did it feel like? How long did it last? Did -- I mean, did it bother the toddler at all? I hope the little one's OK.

KACZYNSKI: Oh yes, Jim. We have -- we survived New York City earthquake.

ACOSTA: OK.

KACZYNSKI: We're doing OK. My toddler just jumping on the bed and literally did not notice a thing. I think it maybe lasted -- what? A few seconds? Around, yes, you know, a few seconds. And then we were just immediately like, what was that? Because we haven't experienced something like that before.

ACOSTA: Got it. And no damage? Nothing fell off a shelf or anything like that?

KACZYNSKI: Nothing fell off a shelf. No, I'm trying to look. No, everything looks in place.

ACOSTA: Got it. KACZYNSKI: OK. Hey, Andrew, thanks for calling in. You win the prize of the first reporter to be on standby and ready for us. We appreciate it.

Let me go to Jason Carroll who's in New York. Jason, Andrew beat you just by a smidge, but thank you for jumping in there and helping us out here.

[10:45:00]

And I don't want to make light of it because I'm sure these worried folks a little bit there for a few seconds. What happened? Were you in the Bureau? Did you feel this? Tell us.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, full disclosure, Jim, I'm from California, so first of all, I'm used to feeling earthquakes. I was on the 18th floor with my colleagues, at my computer, and the computer monitor started moving just ever so slightly. And to be honest, I didn't have breakfast this morning, and I thought, am I lightheaded?

ACOSTA: Interesting.

CARROLL: Am I about to faint or something? And for a split second, I thought, are we having an earthquake? And I thought, you know, this just cannot be. Walk out of my office, I see my colleague Jean Casarez, and she says, I think we just had an earthquake. And then of course all the producers started gathering around and it quickly became evident to us that we had experienced an earthquake here in New York City.

ACOSTA: Wow.

CARROLL: Not the first time. Several years ago, I think you remember, we had another slight earthquake in the New York City area. I remember feeling that. That's when we were over at a different location here, just to let your viewers know, we are at a place called Hudson Yards.

ACOSTA: Right.

CARROLL: It's on the very west side of New York City, right up against the river there. We are on the 18th floor and we could feel it. I mean, once again, it lasted for several seconds again. Again, I'm from California, so we are -- people like us were accustomed to feeling things like this. Not accustomed to feeling it in a place like New York City.

So, I had to sort of check myself and think, yes, this is an earthquake that we are experiencing. And I have to say, you know --

ACOSTA: Yes, and Jason, I'm going to -- 4. 7 is not --

CARROLL: Sorry.

ACOSTA: -- is not insignificant. I mean, that -- that -- you're going to feel that. CARROLL: You definitely are going to feel that. I mean, again, when you're from a place like California, a magnitude 4.6, 4.7 isn't going to rattle nerves, if you will.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CARROLL: But in a place like New York City, most definitely.

ACOSTA: All right. And Jason, I mean, how did folks around you react to this? I mean -- you know, was it -- did everybody sort of have the same feeling at the same time? Like, oh my goodness, did we just have an earthquake?

CARROLL: We did. A lot of us were second guessing ourselves. We were wondering, did we just experience that? And then, obviously, as more and more people started coming out of their offices, we realized what we had experienced was, in fact, an earthquake.

Obviously, an unusual event to experience something like this in New York City. And when you're from California and you're used to earthquakes and you move to a city like New York, always in the back of your mind, you always wonder, I wonder what would happen if something like that happened here.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CARROLL: Now, of course, we don't have to wonder anymore.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. All right. Jason, hey, thank you so much for being ready for us. We appreciate it.

I want to go to Laura Dolan, one of our CNN producers out in Long Island. I feel like I'm getting to talk to all of my New York friends today, Andrew, Jason and Laura. Laura, what did you feel? I think you're out on Long Island. Is that right?

LAURA DOLAN, CNN SUPERVISING PRODUCER: Yes, I'm about 20 miles out from the city. And when it first started, I thought it was a truck coming down on one of the roads near us, like a heavy truck, and it just didn't stop. And it started small and it got stronger and stronger to the point where I ran outside.

I initially thought it might be my boiler or something crazy going on in my home. And when I ran outside, my other neighbor could also -- those of us who were home today, and we all thought the same thing. Maybe it was initially something with our home. And when we went outside, we all said, oh, my God, I think we just felt an earthquake. But we were relieved, it wasn't anything from my home, but then the bigger issue of, wow, that was a really strong earthquake.

And like Jason just said, quite different from the one we felt about 10 years ago, I think, where it was just very quick. This one was noticeably stronger and our homes were shaken. I was a little shaken, but I think my dog felt it, he was a little more concerned than I was after the fact. ACOSTA: I bet it takes your breath away a little bit. And I was just wondering, Laura, I mean, did anything fall off the shelves? Was there any damage? And forgive me for asking questions. People might say, oh, in California, we -- you should come out here. But I -- just curious, did anything fall off a shelf or anything?

DOLAN: Nothing fell off the shelf. Things were shaking on my desk that I was working at. You know, on the windowsill, things were shaking, but they didn't fall off the ground. And I did make a clip to my neighbor that, you know, welcome to L.A., but I'm sure they think this is nothing, so. But for us, it would definitely something. This is not something you feel any day.

I mean, this is -- you know, growing up here, I'm -- you know, with Gen Xer, as all my colleagues now.

ACOSTA: Right.

DOLAN: To feel an earthquake at this point, it's pretty shocking for those of us who have lived here on the East Coast for a while.

ACOSTA: Yes, and I remember the one in D. C., about a decade or so ago, and you felt it and you knew exactly what it was, and I was at all places, Mount Vernon when that happened. And you could hear all the antiques inside George Washington's house shaking back and forth.

[10:50:00]

And so -- I mean, it does kind of catch you by surprise and take your breath away a little bit. And Laura, you were just getting to the question I wanted to ask you next, which is, I know you're a lifelong New Yorker. I mean, did you -- have you ever felt anything like this before in New York?

DOLAN: Nothing. Not even close.

ACOSTA: Wow. Wow. I mean, that shows you how rare this is. All right. Laura Dolan, thank you so much for calling in. Again, I feel like I'm getting --

DOLAN: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: -- to talk to all my longtime friends in the New York bureau, Jason and Laura and Andrew.

I just want to update our viewers, the governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, has tweeted about this. She's obviously going to be updating folks throughout the day. She did tweet earlier that an earthquake did hit west of Manhattan, felt throughout New York. She says, her team is assessing the impacts, any damage that may have occurred. We will update the public throughout the day.

And of course, to our viewers who are watching all of this at home, if you happen to have caught some of this on video on your Ring doorbell camera, that sort of thing, feel free to e-mail me or anybody here at CNN about this. And I should also note, just a -- on a lighter note, I know an earthquake is a serious situation wherever it happens. But on a lighter note, the Empire State Building also tweeted, "I am fine". So, that from the Empire State Building there. And the Empire State Building also saying, we are business as usual at the Empire State Building.

I want to go to Pete Muntean, our aviation correspondent. Pete, any flight interruptions at this point? I -- obviously, this had to have been felt over at LaGuardia, JFK or perhaps over at Newark. And I have to think, it shook people up at those airports as well.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: It seems like they have pared down on the ground stops here from the FAA. Here's the latest. There's a ground stop at Newark Liberty International Airport, Big United hub until 11:30 eastern time. In JFK until 11:30 eastern time. BWI in Philly now just deleted from that list. Also, White Plains where there's commercial service. And Teterboro, a big hub for business jets and corporate aircraft coming into and out of the New York area.

It is interesting though that this is already impacting air travel. It seems like flights are moving again at Newark, according to CNN Producer Gregg Wallace It seems like things are starting to get back to normal. Here's the latest from FlightAware, the cancellations and delays relatively low. Cancellations in the U.S. right now only 79. So double digits delays in the U.S., 1061. We could see that number go up, though, if these ground stops do stick.

Of course, a lot of caution here. And we know that the FAA was on an operations planning called just a little bit ago following this earthquake. Earthquake can't be felt in the air, of course, although it can be felt on the ground.

ACOSTA: Right.

MUNTEAN: And we know that earthquakes have been felt in some major metro areas like the D.C. earthquake of 2011.

ACOSTA: Right.

MUNTEAN: That wasn't all that far away from the major airports of the D.C. area, Dulles, BWI, and Reagan National. So, we will see if there is any response here from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates those airports around the New York area. And whether or not there is any damage there on the ground.

Obviously, these airports, in many cases --

ACOSTA: OK.

MUNTEAN: -- are built on --

ACOSTA: Pete, let me jump in there.

MUNTEAN: Sure.

ACOSTA: Let me jump in there, because I do want to go to Dorothea Macmanus. I understand she is on the phone to talk to us about what she felt. Dorothea, what can you tell us?

DOROTHEA MACMANUS, FELT EARTHQUAKE: So, I work at the New York College of Science in Queens, and we were in our offices preparing for a big event that we're having on Monday to celebrate the eclipse. And all of a sudden, everybody kind of froze where they were. And we were looking around like, is this an earthquake happening?

ACOSTA: Right.

MACMANUS: And at the time, we also had over 800 students in the building for a field trip. So, it was a little bit of a OK, where do we go from here moment? And our fire alarms started going off -- evacuate everyone. As you can imagine, trying to get that many people out of a space can be a little bit chaotic. But I think we got everyone out in about the first two minutes. So, we still are standing outside, kind of, waiting for an evaluation before we go back in. But we have quite a few children out here.

ACOSTA: Wow. And Dorothea, I mean, did anybody catch this on camera by -- just by accident? By happenstance? That happened to be recording any of this? And what were the reactions of everybody around you when you were all going through this?

MACMANUS: You know, everybody was just kind of surprised. And I think the children who were making their way out, for them, it was actually a bit exciting too because they have not experienced something like this before and weren't really sure what that feeling was. So, that was that was interesting today.

ACOSTA: All right. Dorothea, thank you very much. We appreciate it. Hope everybody is feeling OK after that.

Again, want to recap our top story for our viewers. A 4.7 magnitude earthquake has been felt in the northeastern United States, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

[10:55:00]

I do want to point out, we did mention that there was a tweet from the New York Governor, Kathy Hochul. There's also been a tweet from Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey. He is also saying, our region experienced an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.7. We've activated our state emergency operations center. Please do not call 9- 1-1, the governor is saying.

And the other thing I want to mention, our team in New York is telling us that the Philadelphia Police Department is aware of reports of seismic activity. They're urging people not to call 9-1-1 unless it's an emergency. So, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, I know a lot of folks are probably watching right now. Please don't call 9-1-1 because you heard an earthquake. The authorities are asking you not to do that. You might tie up those emergency lines when they're needed for actual emergencies. This is just something we're all going to be talking about. Pete Muntean, I understand, is standing by. I can go back to Pete one last time. If you've got a quick thought, add it up. And tell us what you got. I'm being told we've got to wrap and go to a break, but what do you got?

MUNTEAN: Big thing here is to see if the airports are damaged. We know that flights are going to be delayed, according to the FAA and our Gregg Wallace. The latest is that 30 to 45 minutes into Newark, LaGuardia and JFK. There are ground stops at JFK and Newark.

ACOSTA: Pete Muntean, thank you very much. And Elisa Raffa and the CNN Weather Center, thank you very much for your assistance during all of this. And to Jason Carroll, Laura Dolan, Andrew Kaczynski, everybody else, thanks for chiming in so quickly during this breaking news.

Again, the top story, earthquake felt in New York and its surrounding areas. We're going to stay on top of all of that. My colleague Wolf Blitzer is coming up at the top of the hour. Thank you very much for joining us. We'll take a quick break and be right back with more in the breaking news. Have a good day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:00]