New Yorkers are freaking out about and poking fun at the 4.8-magnitude earthquake that rocke

July 2024 · 3 minute read
2024-04-05T16:21:43Z

You're not the only one who ran to social media to confirm you weren't imagining the quake.

East Coast residents were shaken up on Friday morning by an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 4.8. When the initial panic subsided, the jokes — and disbelief — ensued online.

From genuine confusion about what just happened to clever jabs at the rivalry between the East and West coasts, here are some of the best reactions we've seen from social media following the unusual earthquake.

You OK, hun?

While New York and New Jersey residents' first thought probably wasn't, "Is the Empire State Building still standing?" the famous landmark (or the humans behind its social-media account) reassured people on X.

I AM FINE

— Empire State Building (@EmpireStateBldg) April 5, 2024

Meantime, a prolific unofficial local weather account apologized for failing to see the quake coming:

I forgot to include scattered earthquakes in today’s weather rating. My bad.

— New York Metro Weather (@nymetrowx) April 5, 2024

No word as of yet from the Statue of Liberty.

Wait, was that the subway I just felt?

If you were surprised to feel tremors in the usually nonseismic Big Apple and rushed to look up "earthquakes in New York" to see when was the last time this happened, you're not the only one.

Me googling “history of earthquakes in New York” pic.twitter.com/dGKBvjpTPq

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 5, 2024

And, of course, there were those who couldn't help compare NYC with its unofficial rival Los Angeles, a city known for its proximity to the San Andreas Fault.

"Nyc having earthquakes now LA is over," one X user (in New York, according to their bio) wrote.

Another post pointed out that NYC had an earthquake before even getting a branch of the popular LA-based grocer Erewhon. Sorry, New Yorkers, still no $20 Hailey Bieber smoothie for you.

can you imagine how humiliating this would be for us if the californians were awake

— Walter Hickey (@WaltHickey) April 5, 2024

Meantime, Business Insider's sister company Morning Brew pointed out that the quake epicenter was actually in New Jersey, not New York.

Earthquake        World Cup Final 
   🤝
         Things happening in New Jersey
       that New York is taking credit for

— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) April 5, 2024

No doubt the "Sopranos" memes are incoming.

Ugh, really? An earthquake?

Some people handled the event in true New Yorker fashion — being annoyed by the inconvenience and finding a way to complain about their living situation.

"Yelling 'I'M WALKING HERE' at a tectonic plate," one user posted.

Others refused to meet their end in a tiny home in the city.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE IN A STUDIO APARTMENT," a post said.

And commuters simply didn't have the patience for a natural disaster holding up the subway — even if the quake lasted only about a minute or so.

Train just stopped in the middle of a tunnel and sat for a second. Somebody said “There was an earthquake.” Nobody said anything for a second as the train kept sitting and a guy goes “Man, fuck this. I’m late for work.”

— Jason Diamond (@imjasondiamond) April 5, 2024

On the bright side, at least we've all learned that New Yorkers can manage to find humor when facing a natural hazard. Unfortunately, memes aren't exactly the best way to spread awareness.

The next earthquake might not happen for another 10 years, but it's best to be prepared with more than just your smartphone.

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