One of New York's largest earthquakes in more than a century, with a magnitude of 4.8, shook city skyscrapers on Friday and was felt across the north-eastern region of the US.
“This is one of the largest earthquakes on the East Coast to occur in the last century,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a press briefing.
It was the strongest in the area since 1884, Bloomberg reported, citing the US Geological Survey.
Ms Hochul said officials were taking the incident “extremely seriously”, given the possibility of aftershocks.
An aftershock earthquake was experienced at around 6pm local time, local residents shared on social media.
Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy posted on X, "we just felt what we assume is a small aftershock" and "we are waiting on confirmation from USGS".
There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage from the quake, which was centred in Lebanon, New Jersey.
US President Joe Biden told reporters that he had spoken with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and said "things are alright".
People as far away as Boston to the north-east and the nation's capital of Washington to the south felt the shaking.
The USGS measured the quake at a magnitude of 4.8, while the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre recorded it at 5.1 at a depth of 10km.
“My computer monitor started shaking and the water in my glass was moving like the scene from Jurassic Park,” Tim Schraeder Rodriguez, a writer based in Manhattan, told The National.
Many New Yorkers — accustomed to rumblings from subways, road traffic and construction in a noisy city — first thought the quake was something else.
"Initially, I thought there was something wrong with the boiler in the apartment," Lauren Rogers, an events producer in Brooklyn, told The National.
"Quickly, I realised it was not the boiler, but an earthquake. All of our neighbours exited from their apartments to confirm we all felt the quake."
A New York City Police Department representative told Reuters that it had not received any reports of damage.
Mayor Eric Adams recommended New Yorkers to go about their normal days.
“At this point, we do not have any reports of major impacts to our infrastructure or injuries,” said Mr Adams. “But of course we're still assessing the situation, and will continue to update the public.
“Earthquakes don't happen every day in New York, so this can be extremely traumatic.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said normal flights had resumed at New York City airports after ground stops were put into place, though delays may be experienced for the rest of the day.
“While there's many things New Yorkers need to be prepared for, an earthquake wasn't on my bingo card,” Mr Schraeder Rodriguez said.
Ms Rogers shared the same sentiment, searching online for "what to do in case of an earthquake" afterwards.
"As a forever New Yorker, we don't ever think about earthquakes, but now, I have to add it to my list of worries," she said.
"Mother Nature isn't playing around!"
Reporters at the UN building in Manhattan felt the building shake and proceedings at the Security Council, which was discussing the situation in Gaza, were halted briefly while officials determined what was happening.
Moment earthquake shakes UN in New York – video
“You're making the ground shake,” Palestine's ambassador Riyad Mansour told the head of Save the Children, whose remarks were interrupted by the quake.
Friday's tremor comes after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan on Wednesday, the strongest in the island in at least 25 years.
Lebanon sits in north-western New Jersey, with the area's name probably derived from the Bible, according to website Living Places.
The first settlers in the area were from Germany and they founded a German reformed church in the 18th century.
Authorities halted travel in the Holland Tunnel, a major Hudson River crossing between the city and New Jersey, to inspect it for any possible damage.
New Jersey Transit warned commuters that there may be delays due to bridge inspections.
Amtrak also enacted speed restrictions in the North-east corridor.
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Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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