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Strongest earthquake in 40 years startles Western New York

An earthquake was felt in much of WNY around 6:15 a.m. on Monday.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Many Western New Yorkers were shook awake on Monday morning by an earthquake.

Earthquakes Canada reported that a 4.2 magnitude quake was detected in the Buffalo region. 

2 On Your Side has heard from viewers from all the way in Wilson to Hamburg who felt the quake.

USGS reported that 3.8 magnitude earthquake was detected and was centered about 2 kilometers northeast of West Seneca around 6:15 a.m.

Seismologist Yaareb Altaweel said it was the region's strongest quake in at least 40 years.

The shaking lasted a few seconds and sent residents first to their windows and then to social media in search of an explanation.

“It felt like a car hit my house in Buffalo. I jumped out of bed,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted. County emergency services officials confirmed the earthquake was felt in at least a 30-mile radius, including in Niagara Falls, about 20 miles north of Buffalo, he said.

Monday afternoon Poloncarz tweeted that engineers went out to inspect roads and bridges and did not find any damage, inspections would continue to get to every county road and bridge. 

Small earthquakes are not unusual in upstate New York but are rarely felt as strongly. The earthquake comes on the heels of two record-breaking weather events in the region: A snowstorm that dropped as much as 7 feet of snow in November and a blizzard in December that is blamed for 47 deaths.

The western New York earthquake occurred hours after a powerful quake killed hundreds in Turkey and Syria. A USGS spokesperson said there is no connection between the two events.

Below is video captured by a camera in Lancaster.

A University of Buffalo earthquake engineer Michael Bruneau, PhD, spoke to members of the media on Monday morning and clarified that this earthquake is an intraplate earthquake because Western New York is not along a major fault line. 

Bruneau said these earthquakes are not as well understood as earthquake along tectonic plate boundaries.

Watch Bruneau's full press conference below:

Aaron Roberts in West Seneca captured video from his backyard:

Daybreak's Patrick Hammer and anchors Melissa Holmes and Pete Gallivan held a Facebook live this morning to share what we know about the earthquake:

Posted by WGRZ - Channel 2, Buffalo on Monday, February 6, 2023

    

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