# New York City Earthquake (this AM). Any more info? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 17, 2001, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-city-earthquake-this-am-any-more-info/50530 "2001-01-17T16:30:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-city-earthquake-this-am-any-more-info/50530/1 "2001-01-17T16:30:53Z")
I saw on a USGS site that there was, indeed, an earthquake here in NYC this morning. Anyone have any more info.? Like it’s magnitude, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-city-earthquake-this-am-any-more-info/50530/2 "2001-01-17T16:44:49Z")
From the USGS Earthquake center: [http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/010117123420.HTML](http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/010117123420.HTML) Magnitude 2.5. Which is nothing really. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-city-earthquake-this-am-any-more-info/50530/3 "2001-01-17T17:00:26Z")
Speaking as a Californian, I would say that if you felt a 2.5 magnitude earthquake, you must be very sensitive to motion. Either that or you live in a building built entirely on fill. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-city-earthquake-this-am-any-more-info/50530/4 "2001-01-17T17:11:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobT \* > \*\*Speaking as a Californian, I would say that if you felt a 2.5 magnitude earthquake, you must be very sensitive to motion. Either that or you live in a building built entirely on fill. \*\* You know, I saw that “2.5 Lg” and didn’t know what the heck it was. Now I see that it’s some local (Eastern U.S.) version of the Richter Scale. Weird. As for how I felt it… Well, it felt like someone very big and heavy fell down on my roof. (I live on the 4th floor.) That same kind of stumbling crash. I wasn’t entirely sure that it wasn’t just a lot of air in my radiator pipes, until the newscasters on our local Fox station mentioned half an hour later that they had felt it, too, and that it might have been a minor earthquake. Building built entirely on fill? Well, IIRC, all of Long Island (I live in Queens) is just glacial till–gravel dropped by the glaciers when they melted. So the effect may be the same. ---
**Author:** ![soulsling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@soulsling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulsling)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-city-earthquake-this-am-any-more-info/50530/5 "2001-01-17T17:51:06Z")
Ok, so there I was, going to work this morning, standing on the platform of the N train in beautiful Astoria, Queens, and then I hear I was right at the center of an earthquake. WOW! How cool! I didn’t feel a damned thing. I’m just kidding, I didn’t feel anything really at all, but it’s interesting, I did a search on [New Yorks history of Earthquakes](http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/current/us_ne.html), and we’ve never apparently hit over a 5.8 here. The city itself barely every reached higer than 3 apparently. I’m not so worried about falling into the ocean anytime soon, how are you Californians doing out there 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-city-earthquake-this-am-any-more-info/50530/6 "2001-01-17T18:22:55Z")
Ahh, I see a 2.5 Lg quake is different from a 2.5 on the Richter Scale (whichever version is used.) You need to wait to see what the Mercalli map looks like. That will show how the earthquake was perceived by people throughout the area. Then everyone will have an idea of what went on. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-city-earthquake-this-am-any-more-info/50530/7 "2001-01-17T18:26:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobT \* > \*\*Speaking as a Californian, I would say that if you felt a 2.5 magnitude earthquake, you must be very sensitive to motion. Either that or you live in a building built entirely on fill. \*\* Or you’re in a building much taller than usually found in LA, and high up in it, thereby vulnerable to sway. There are reasons why LA built out and NY built up. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-city-earthquake-this-am-any-more-info/50530/8 "2001-01-17T19:24:11Z")
Just to finish off this thread: [http://1010wins.com/homepage/viewstory.pl?r=20559&l=level2](http://1010wins.com/homepage/viewstory.pl?r=20559&l=level2) You can probably close this now, Manhattan. (Presuming that you survived the quake without injury.)