What to Know
- Emergency crews received 911 calls just before 6 a.m. Tuesday from residents on Roosevelt Island saying they felt shaking and heard small explosions from the Main Street area.
- FDNY crews responded and searched the area, including several buildings, and did not find a fire or a likely source of the reports. FDNY listed the situation as "unfounded" and turned the scene over to Con Edison, which has emergency crews looking into a possible source of the shaking.
- The USGS is now reporting a magnitude 1.7 earthquake in the Astoria, Queens area at 5:45 a.m. but officials have not specifically confirmed the earthquake was the source of the early morning concerns.
Firefighters responded to reports of small explosions on Roosevelt Island early Tuesday morning, then declared the scene under control with no clear cause, according to fire officials. But now the mystery might be solved thanks to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The USGS is reporting a magnitude 1.7 earthquake occurred at 5:45 a.m. Tuesday near Astoria, Queens.
Residents in both Manhattan and Queens called to report what they said sounded like small explosions coming from Main Street, south of the Roosevelt Island Tramway, just before 6 a.m. Tuesday. The situation was resolved within about an hour. FDNY crew said the cause of the loud booms couldn't be determined.
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One building was said to be shaking.
Local
911 operators received calls from Roosevelt Island and Astoria leading to a large firefighting effort, involving 60 fire and medical personnel, before dawn Tuesday but the NYPD reports that no fire was found.
"I heard, it was like a big boom, and then the room shook," one Roosevelt Island resident told NBC New York.
No injuries were immediately reported and no rescues were needed.
The FDNY declared the scene "unfounded" and turned it over to Con Edison after declaring it safe. Con Ed reported no power outages on Roosevelt Island at the time and had emergency crews on the scene investigating.
Local officials have not confirmed that the earthquake in Queens was in fact the cause of the reported shaking and explosion sounds.
During a media availability, Mayor Eric Adams' chief of staff said the mayor's office was waiting to get more information after the USGS announced that an earthquake occurred. Adams said he did not feel the earthquake.
“I was living in California for the past five years and I’m used to the earthquakes and come here and I was like wait what. I was like that’s a new one to wake up to," said Stephanie Gertsch from Astoria Park.
Experts tell NBC New York the earthquake here was not related to the recent massive earthquake in Japan.
There are fault lines on the East Coast but New York residents have nothing to fear.
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much. The east coast has been geologically stable for millions of years," Stephen Holler, an associate professor of physics and engineering at Fordham University, said.
Holler said there are fault lines across the city and one today released pressure, but there is no cause for alarm.
