A 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck New Jersey on the morning of Friday, April 5th, with many New Yorkers feeling the effects.
At approximately, 10:23 a.m., the students of Cardozo High School were in their designated classes, when suddenly, the ground started to shake as if there was construction going on below. Many students were shocked, some didn’t believe it, and some didn’t even notice what was going on until Principal Colby announced on the loud speaker at 10:34 a.m.
“Good morning Cardozo, this is Principal Colby, an earthquake hit the New York Ciy area,” she relayed.
Starting 4th period, at 10:35 a.m., that was the topic of the all conversations around the school. Many students murmured about the earthquake, “We just survived our first earthquake,” cheered a band class student.
Some students expressed in the hallways, “That’s crazy though, New York doesn’t have a lot of earthquakes, 4.8 is a lot for New York.”
Another added, “I felt it on the 2nd floor, everything was swaying.”
One other shared, “I was talking to the girls, and I felt a shake, I thought I was the only one, but then I asked ‘Do you feel that shake’? and my friend said ‘Yeah.’ , “This is the shake around the world.”
Depending on where students and staff were in the building, some did not feel the earthquake at all. A security guard expressed, “Oh no, I was in another school and even there, I didn’t feel it.” Many students expressed that they did not feel the shaking, and some didn’t feel it in the basement of the main building.
A Cardozo junior said, “I was in the weight room at the time and I didn’t feel anything, I was so confused, everyone looked scared and I thought it was just a joke, it wasn’t until I got to the first floor I heard what happened.”
A freshman expressed, “I was in the Annex, but I didn’t feel it too much.”
The earthquake was a huge shock for many students and staff at Cardozo. A staff member, Ms. Gomes stated, “I was on the second floor in my office. It was very scary because it came from nowhere, and the reaction was so quick, felt it pretty bad, I thought it was kids running in the hallways, like, a lot of them and then everything started shaking so we felt it really bad.”
The recent earthquake is the second largest earthquake in New York’s history, according to CBS news, the biggest earthquake that New York has ever faced was in 1884 and was at 5.0 magnitude “That was the largest earthquake felt in New York City in more than 100 years.”
The earthquake was a huge surprise to many students and staff, do your diligence and learn about earthquakes and how to stay safe during an earthquake, to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. To learn more about how to stay in the event of an earthquake, this website is here to help you.
