(CNN) —The US Geological Survey said the 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck at 10:23 a.m. Miami time. The quake was northeast of Lebanon, New Jersey, and tremors were felt from Philadelphia to New York City, according to reports.
The magnitude of the earthquake was revised from 4.7 to 4.8, and the depth of the earthquake was about 5 km (which is shallow).
The New York Police Department reported no damage or injuries.
The New York City Fire Department said the quake struck around 10:30 a.m. local time and the department received reports of buildings shaking.
“We are responding to calls and evaluating structural stability,” the department said in a statement. “There are no major incidents at this time,” he added.
In parts of New York City, shocked residents took to the sidewalks in front of their buildings minutes after the shaking stopped.
“Everything started shaking and then I felt the building shaking,” said David Rodriguez, who lives in Hoboken, New Jersey. “I thought it was a big truck outside until everything started shaking. But it's the sound of something rocking back and forth.”
X's account of the Empire State Building: “I'm fine.”
Long after the quake subsided, residents were jolted again as they heard loud emergency alerts on their mobile phones.
Based on preliminary USGS data indications, small tremors are unlikely to cause damage.
Earthquake in New Jersey. (CNN)
The quake struck northeast of Lebanon, New Jersey, about 50 miles west of New York City, according to the USGS.
The mild earthquake was shallow, about 5 kilometers below the surface, so residents of the affected areas could easily feel the tremors. Initial reports indicated that tremors were widely felt in New York City, Philadelphia and Washington.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, flights to New York's Kennedy, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Newark airports have been grounded.
The air traffic control tower at Newark Liberty Airport is being evacuated, a controller said in a radio broadcast after the quake, meaning flights were grounded while controllers were moved to an alternate location.
“Nobody's going anywhere anytime soon,” said one RF controller.
The runways were under investigation for damage. Shortly after the earthquake, LaGuardia controllers were cleaning planes there.
CNN's Paul B. Murphy and John Miller contributed to this story.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
