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'Why are our buildings shaking?' Residents terrified as quake that felt like an 'explosion' rocks NY's West Seneca

A Twitter user wrote, 'My sister lives and works near the epicenter in West Seneca NY and it was scary for her'

BUFFALO, NEW YORK: On Monday, February 6, an earthquake of a magnitude of 3.8 rocked Buffalo, New York. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter of the earthquake was claimed to be West Seneca, and the vibrations were 3 km deep. USGS tweeted while announcing the news, "Good morning Buffalo! More on this morning's M3.8 earthquake at 2 km ENE of West Seneca, New York."

Although the description of any destruction due to the earthquake or injury is still unknown, earlier Governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul revealed in a statement that, “the Buffalo area experienced an earthquake this morning. No damage has been reported at this time. My team is in touch with local officials and we will provide any support needed.”

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'F**king terrifying': Internet reacts as 'explosion' like quake hits New York

As the earthquake hit, several people came out on social media to express their fear due to it. One person wrote, “Waking up to a 4.2 earth with living on the east coast was not how I expected to wake up....that was f**king terrifying.” Someone appears to be still in shock as a user wondered, “Why did our building here in west seneca NY shake felt like an earthquake?” Someone noted, “My sister lives and works near the epicenter in West Seneca NY and it was scary for her.” “Felt it in West Seneca, definitely not wind. An explosion somewhere?” another added. 

Earthquake is very rare in the area 

It's been a while since the New York area saw an earthquake the size of the one that struck Buffalo on Monday, February 6. Rochester experienced a 2.6 magnitude earthquake nearly three years ago. Moreover, there were fewer reports of shaking at the time, according to Buffalo News. The strongest magnitude earthquake was recorded at 4.9, which caused minor damage near Attica, New York in 1929. The recent earthquake was initially reported as a stronger 4.2 earthquake, however, the intensity level was later reduced. 

Turkey was hit with two consecutive earthquakes on the same day

It is worth noting that these shocks in New York happened on the same after two major earthquakes struck Turkey earlier in the day. Early Monday, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, killing over 900 people and wounding thousands. Hours later, another 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Elbistan area of Turkey's Kahramanmaras province. It is still unknown if these two events are interconnected or not.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.