Watch: UN meeting on Gaza disrupted by earthquake in New York

A United Nations Security Council meeting convened to discuss the Gaza situation was briefly interrupted when a 4.7 magnitude earthquake struck New York City on April 5.

In the video shared by UN News, mild tremors were seen momentarily interrupting the Security Council briefing on the situation in war-torn Gaza.

When Janti Soeripto, the President and Chief Executive Officer of "Save the Children" organization, paused for mement amidst the tremblor, a fellow member said, "You're making the ground shake!".

She then continued further after the tremors subsided.

The US Geological Survey reported a quake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.7, centered near Lebanon, New Jersey, or about 45 miles west of New York City and 50 miles north of Philadelphia. The Fire Department of New York said there were no initial reports of damage.

In midtown Manhattan, the usual cacophony of traffic grew louder as motorists blared their horns on momentarily shuddering streets. Some Brooklyn residents heard a booming sound and their building shaking. In an apartment house in Manhattan's East Village, a resident from more earthquake-prone California calmed nervous neighbours.

People in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Connecticut and other areas of the East Coast unaccustomed to earthquakes also reported feeling the ground shake.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul posted on X that the quake was felt throughout the state.

“My team is assessing impacts and any damage that may have occurred, and we will update the public throughout the day,” Hochul said.

The shaking stirred memories of the August 23, 2011, earthquake that jolted tens of millions of people from Georgia to Canada. Registering magnitude 5.8, it was the strongest quake to hit the East Coast since World War II. The epicenter was in Virginia.

That earthquake left cracks in the Washington Monument, spurred the evacuation of the White House and Capitol and rattled New Yorkers three weeks before the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.

(With AP inputs)

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