A 3.8-magnitude earthquake shook western New York state early this morning and alarmed people in an area unaccustomed to such tremors, but did not cause significant damage, the Associated Press reported.
According to preliminary data from the US Geological Survey, the epicenter was east of the city of Buffalo, in the suburb of West Seneca. The tremor was recorded at 6:15 a.m. local time. Seismologist Yaareb Altawell said it was the strongest earthquake in the area in at least 40 years.
The shaking lasted for several seconds. Alarmed, people looked for information about what was happening on the Internet and social networks.
“I felt like I heard a car hit my house. I jumped out of bed,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncartz tweeted. County emergency officials confirmed the quake was felt in a radius of at least 50 km, including in the city of Niagara Falls, about 30 km north of Buffalo, he said.
The Seismological Service of Canada reported an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.2 on the Richter scale and reported that it was felt weakly in the southern part of Ontario, BTA reported.
Weak earthquakes are not uncommon in New York State, but strong ones are less common. Today’s quake followed two other severe weather events in the region: a blizzard in November that dumped up to 7 meters of snow, and a blizzard in December that killed 47 people.
