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Did you feel that? Lancaster County residents report feeling earthquake [update]

A person walks through an alley in Lancaster in this photo taken Aug. 5, 2019.

 Ian Sterling for WITF

A person walks through an alley in Lancaster in this photo taken Aug. 5, 2019.

Residents in Lancaster County are reporting their houses shaking amid reports of an earthquake in the New York City area.

The 4.8-magnitude earthquake happened in Lebanon, New Jersey, about 50 miles west of New York City, according to U.S. Geological Survey. That’s about 100 miles northeast of Lancaster County.

According to the Pennsylvania State Seismic Network, the seismometer at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster registered the quake at approximately 10:24 a.m., shown by a brief burst of squiggles in this seismograph.

According to the Pennsylvania State Seismic Network, the seismometer at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster registered the quake at approximately 10:24 a.m., shown by a brief burst of squiggles in this seismograph. (Courtesy of the Pennsylvania State Seismic Network)

According to the Pennsylvania State Seismic Network, the seismometer at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster registered the quake at approximately 10:24 a.m.

As of 11:30 a.m., the self-report system on the USGS website included five reports from Lancaster County of feeling the earthquake.

One report of light shaking came from Columbia, just over 100 miles from the epicenter. Another came from Mount Joy, also about 100 miles from the quake’s origins.

Two were filed from Lancaster, about 95 miles from the epicenter, and another from New Holland, about 80 miles from the epicenter.

No damage was reported to USGS from Lancaster County residents using the agency’s self-reporting system.

A dispatcher with Lancaster County Wide Communications said they have had a series of calls from residents asking about an earthquake, but there has been no reported damage.

Officials with the East Earl Police Department said they have not received any reports related to the earthquake.

Residents in Terre Hill so far have reported feeling their homes shake. The spouse of a LancasterOnline reporter said she felt it in Smoketown.

Emilie Ash, 32, of Terre Hill works from home and said it is not uncommon for passing trucks to rattle her home. She said looked outside and did not see any vehicles, and then she heard the cans in her recycling bin rattling. She said her cat, who was sleeping, got spooked and jumped up from where she was curled up.

“I’ve never experienced anything like that before,” Ash said. “I can definitely see why the people of Lancaster, even though it was small, we’re all like, this is just not normal for where we live.”

Deanne Moore, 76, who lives on Main Street in Conestoga, said she was sitting at her kitchen table on hold with her doctor. She noticed the earthquake when she began feeling the vibrations in her hand that was resting on the table.

“Well, that caught my attention quick,” Moore said. “I heard just a little bit of a rumble sound … It felt creepy.”

She said trucks occasionally shake her home, but this lasted longer and felt much different.

Moore said the vibrations lasted a few seconds. Her husband in the next room and daughter who lives up the street also felt the tremors.

Meanwhile, residents in Gap have reported feeling the ground shake, as well as people in Baltimore, Philadelphia and other areas in the region.

This macroseismic intensity map from the U.S. Geological Survey shows how far away the 4.8-magnitude earthquake in Lebanon, New Jersey on Friday, April 5, 2024, was felt.U.S. Geological Survey

U.S. Geological Survey

This macroseismic intensity map from the U.S. Geological Survey shows how far away the 4.8-magnitude earthquake in Lebanon, New Jersey on Friday, April 5, 2024, was felt.

This is a breaking news post and will be updated. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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