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One World with Zain Asher
New York City Officials Hold A Presser On The Earthquake; Earthquake With 4.9 Magnitude Hits New York City; Two officers Removed From Duty Following The World Center Kitchen Attack. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired April 05, 2024 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:00]
VOICE-OVER: This is CNN Breaking News.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Breaking News just into CNN. We have just, about an hour and a half or so ago, felt quite a significant
earthquake here in New York City. There was a bit of rumble. Things started to shake. Pretty much other states across the Northeast also experienced
the same earthquake, again, about 90 or so minutes ago.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah, to be honest, I didn't feel it.
ASHER: I felt it.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. You're one floor above me here.
ASHER: I called you.
GOLODRYGA: My husband called me -- everyone. And this is something that we are definitely not used to here in New York City. Of course, we are all
shaken from this earthquake. The mayor of New York will be holding a news conference shortly. We will bring that to you live when it happens.
Meantime, ONE WORLD begins right now.
ASHER: All right, once again, we begin here in the Northeast, which, again, has just been affected by a 4.8 magnitude earthquake. Again, about a
couple of hours ago, we do expect to hear from the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams. But worth noting that we heard from Governor Kathy Hochul just
a short time ago, there's been no reports of any significant damage across the city, which, of course, is important to know.
GOLODRYGA: And this was felt wide beyond New York City alone. It was felt in New Jersey, where the epicenter was, in Washington, D.C. There were
reports in Massachusetts, as well. There are images from a coffee shop in New Jersey that were just shared on social media where customers ran to the
front of the store in confusion as that building shook.
The epicenter of this quake was the northeast of Lebanon in New Jersey. That is less than 50 miles west of where we are here in New York City. Now,
this quake was relatively shallow at five kilometers in depth.
ASHER: All right, let's check in with Jason and Carol. He's following the latest on this. So, Jason, I understand that you're from California, right?
So, you are used to this kind of thing. I'm certainly not. I'm from London. In England, we do not get earthquakes.
I did live in California once upon a time, and so I do know this feeling. But I can tell you that in New York, I never, never expected to feel this
sort of shaking here. My office began to shake quite significantly, and I thought it was sort of construction.
JASON CARROLL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, yeah.
ASHER: But then I did feel afraid because I'm on the 21st floor. You were on the 18th floor. Just walk us through what you felt.
CARROLL: Sure, 18th floor. And, again, because, you know, I'm from California, it is something that, you know, I'm accustomed to feeling. But
being in New York City, you sort of turn that sort of seismic sort of -- you turn it off, you know.
And I was at my computer, and I noticed that it was moving ever so slightly. And I thought to myself, could we be having an earthquake? But
then you remind yourself, no, I'm here in New York City. But the minute I walked outside of my office and everyone was sort of gathering about, other
producers, some of my co-workers, correspondents as well, realized immediately it was, in fact, an earthquake.
And just to review some of the details that we've just been getting in over the past hour, it was, in fact, a magnitude 4.8, happened at 1023.
Epicenter is Lebanon, New Jersey. That's just about an hour or so outside of Manhattan, outside of New York City. The mayor has already indicated
that there have been no major impacts or injuries reported at this point, as well.
We heard from the governor, Governor Hochul, just over the past few minutes or so ago. And it's important to note from her perspective and from the
state's perspective, what needs to happen now is a full assessment of all of the infrastructure in and around New York City. And so, what that means
is structural teams, engineering teams are doing a full review of everything that you can imagine.
That includes a check of the structural integrity of the subway system. The structural teams are going to be checking out the bridges in the area, as
well. Some of the airports for a period of time are under a ground stop. So, the structural integrity of everything going on at the airport could be
checked in on as well.
In terms of how widespread this was felt, it's felt as far north as Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Also felt all the way down there in Washington,
D.C., some of the strongest places. It was felt out of Long Island, about an hour and a half to two hours outside of New York City, depending on
traffic, where one of our producers said that she felt her water heater, felt it shaking very, very strongly.
In terms of some of that strong shaking, according to the USGS, the U.S. Geological Survey, some 9000 people felt strong shaking, 300,000 people
felt moderate shaking.
[12:05:00]
Moderate shaking can be breaking of windows, dishes breaking, that sort of thing. And 23 million felt light shaking. So, this was felt over a wide
area.
And again, being from California, just to put this in perspective, a 4.8 magnitude is the type of earthquake that might not get, quite frankly, a
lot of attention in a place like Southern California or other parts of the world, for that matter, where they're used to experiencing earthquakes at a
much greater magnitude.
But when you think of an area of the eastern seaboard of the United States and you think of a place like New York City, where there is a lot of old
infrastructure, quite frankly, a lot of infrastructure that's built beneath the city, this is something that definitely raises a few eyebrows when you
realize that there are fault lines on the eastern coast of the United States, and they do move. Guys, back to you.
ASHER: I did feel a tinge of fear, if I'm completely honest. It wasn't anything sort of significant just in terms of shaking. I still felt it, but
I was afraid for a few minutes.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah.
ASHER: Then it stopped.
GOLODRYGA: I mean, it is relatively rare on the East Coast.
ASHER: Yeah.
GOLODRYGA: The last time I think was 2011. I remember being at home when that happened, and I did feel that when the governor noted that, as well.
It is a relief and reassuring to hear that as of now, and again, this is a preliminary stage. It's very early.
It's just about less than two hours ago since this occurred, but it does appear that there aren't massive consequences yet. We don't know of any
fatalities or serious injury and structural damage, as well, but you're right to point out that though they're rare on the east coast, also the
buildings here are very, very old.
ASHER: Also, by the way, being on the 21st floor, I mean, I don't know how you felt, Jason, obviously experiencing this growing up in California, but
being so high up is one of the reasons that made me somewhat nervous for obvious reasons, right?
GOLODRYGA: This is a new building.
CARROLL: And can I just say, you know, when you are from California and you come to a place, any of some of these big cities, I have to tell you,
just to be honest, there have been many times I've walked around Manhattan, and I thought to myself, I wonder what would happen if there was an
earthquake here, a significant earthquake.
How structurally sound would some of these buildings hold up when you move from a place like California and you move to a place like New York? It's in
the back of your mind, and being up on the 18th floor, when I did initially feel, you know, I felt it, you know, up on the 18th floor. It wasn't a lot,
but I definitely felt it. You start thinking about what are some of the things that you can do.
And it's always, it bears worth reminding, because you're taught this as a young child when you grow up in a place like California, that sort of, you
know, duck and cover when the ground starts to shake. And when the ground starts to shake in a place like Southern California --
GOLODRYGA: Did you duck and cover?
ASHER: Did you duck and cover?
CARROLL: I second-guessed myself.
ASHER: Yeah, I did, too, by the way.
CARROLL: Did I have enough to eat? I thought I was maybe lightheaded or something like that. It was only after I came out and started listening to
some of my other colleagues that I realized it was an earthquake, but it was over by then.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, this is a relatively new building, though, so I would imagine, I would hope that it was built up to accordance with the
earthquake code. But you do wonder, this building relative to the Empire State Building, much older, and I think you're right to have some of those
concerns as a California resident, Jason, to walk the streets of New York and wonder what would happen if we had a quake here. Thank you so much.
We'll check back in with you later.
ASHER: Thank you, Jason.
CARROLL: You bet.
GOLODRYGA: Well, we want to bring in seismologist Maureen Long, a professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Yale University. Thank you so
much, Professor, for joining us. So, obviously, you can't compare the scale of this earthquake and the damage to what we've been covering earlier in
the week and what we saw in Taiwan.
But that is a part of the world that is more accustomed to and used to these types of events, unlike the East Coast here in New York City, so you
can understand why in a 21st-story building here in the city, when we get shaken, it is alarming. Can you just walk us through what a 4.8 means on
the East Coast? And also, what is the significance of a shallow earthquake?
MAUREEN LONG, PROFESSOR OF EARTH AND PLANETARY, SCIENCES, YALE UNIVERSITY: Yes, the comparison, I think, with the Taiwan earthquake earlier in the
week is very instructive. That was a much larger earthquake. That was a magnitude 7.4.
This one was a magnitude 4.8. And when we think about earthquake magnitude scales, every time you go up one point on that scale, it's actually a 10
times larger event. So, this was really a significantly smaller earthquake. And as you said, you're right, in a part of the world that is not as used
to earthquake shaking as places like Taiwan or places like California.
So, the significance of the earthquake being shallow, it does mean that for an earthquake of a given size, for shallower earthquakes, we expect to have
stronger shaking, just because we're closer to that earthquake location, to that earthquake hypocenter.
[12:10:00]
And just in terms of, you know, what's on everyone's mind right now. Guys, do we have the mayor? Is the mayor about to -- okay. Okay, we're
monitoring. Okay, we're monitoring it. We know that Mayor Eric Adams is about to speak. But let me just ask you this. One of the things that's on
New Yorkers' minds right now is the potential, of course, for aftershocks. And also, whether this was a foreshock. Whether this perhaps could be
foreshadowing something even bigger. That was one of the first things that crossed my mind. I know that the chances are very, very small. But it is
worth knowing what we should do in case, right? In case that were to happen.
LONG: Absolutely. And I think it's always very empowering to understand, number one, what to do if you encounter, if we encounter more earthquake
shaking. But also to understand, you know, what the most likely scenario is. So, the USGS puts out an aftershock forecast after earthquakes like
this.
GOLODRYGA: Professor, I'm so sorry. I don't mean to interrupt. Please hold on. We're going to go to the New York City Mayor, Eric Adams, now.
(LIVE COVERAGE BEGINS)
ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK MAYOR: We felt, in some way or another, the earthquake that hit our city around 10:23 A.M. We felt the impact of this
4.7 magnitude earthquake. The epicenter was in Lebanon, New Jersey, about 50 miles from New York City. And as you know, this is a developing
situation we're always concerned about aftershocks after an earthquake.
But New Yorkers should go about their normal day. First responders are working to make sure the city is safe. And one thing we do so well in our
city is bring together all of the agencies that are involved and our partners and other entities. Everything from the MTA to the Department of
Buildings, the parents who are concerned about their school children. Chancellor Banks would be here to report on that. But we say over and over
again, the safest place for our students, we believe, will continue to be in school.
At this point, we do not have any reports of major impacts to our infrastructure or injuries. But of course, we're still assessing the
situation and will continue to update the public. We're in touch with the White House, the governor's office and local elected officials. And I
encourage New Yorkers to check on their loved ones to make sure that they are fine, not only from the infrastructure damage, but this could be a
traumatic moment for individuals going through an earthquake.
And if you feel an aftershock, drop to the floor, cover your head and neck and take cover under a solid piece of furniture next to an interior wall or
in a doorway. So, I want to thank the emergency staff and First Responders for their work to keep New Yorkers safe. Earthquakes don't happen every day
in New York. So, this can be extremely traumatic.
The number of text calls and inquiries that people sent out to not only our administration, but to family members checking on them. We know how this
can impact you, but we're ready for the unexpected. This is New York City and we respond accordingly. We will continue to update New Yorkers as we
get more information. I would now turn it over to Commissioner Iscol.
ZACHARY ISCOL, NY COMMISSIONER: Thank you, Sir. Thank you all so much for being here today. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you to my colleagues for
their quick and speedy response to this. I'm pleased to report that there are currently no major impacts or safety events related to this earthquake.
We're asking all New Yorkers to call 311 to report damage or any issues that you're having. Also, if you have any need for disaster assistance due
to damage or anything like that, please call 311. That is the best place to refer those needs. If you have a life safety issue, please use and call 911
immediately. But preserve 911 for those life safety events.
The team acted immediately. We convened our emergency response teams and issued guidance to the public. The likelihood of aftershocks remain low,
but we do remain vigilant and we ask all New Yorkers to remain vigilant, as well. We activated our protocols for this earthquake.
We immediately started coordinating with all city, state, federal and our utility partners. Public notifications were sent out both by NotifyNYC and
our wireless emergency alert system. You can hear some of the phone buzzings and delays from that that have been issued.
[12:15:00]
As soon as it happened, we convened here at New York City Emergency Management in order to be able to send out guidance. As soon as it
happened, we convened here at NISIM to send out our guidance for what happens during an earthquake, including on the possibility of aftershocks.
We contacted our city hall and agency commissioners, as well as all of our partners at the federal and state level. That also includes all of our
utility partners, our transportation partners at the MTA, Port Authority and the airports.
While there is a low likelihood that there will be aftershocks, we always want to be on the safe side. So if you are outside during an aftershock,
please move to an open area away from buildings, trees and power lines.
If you are driving, pull over to a safe location. We're asking people to check in on their relatives, on their loved ones, neighbors, especially the
children and their other individuals. I think that this is also an incredible time just to remind us all to make sure that we're prepared.
So, if you are a New Yorker, if you're visiting New York, we encourage you to sign up for NotifyNYC. This is available in 14 languages, including
American Sign Language, over a million subscribers. You can sign up by calling 311.
You can call up by downloading the app or by going to NYC.gov backslash notify. We also encourage people to make sure that they have an emergency
kit and to make sure that they know the guidance for earthquakes, which, as the mayor said, to drop, cover and to get under furniture, sturdy furniture
or in a doorway to make sure that you are safe.
Please also make sure that you're checking your utilities, that you know how to turn them on and off, especially if you are a property owner. With
that said, who am I turning it over to? Chancellor Banks. I'll turn it over to Chancellor Banks for an update on the schools. Thank you.
DAVID BANKS, NEW YORK CITY SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR: Thank you, Zach. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Good afternoon, everyone. So, the earthquake was felt across the
entire city and across many of our schools, across all five boroughs. In fact, I was at LaGuardia High School at an event this morning when the
earthquake hit. I did not personally feel it, but many people in the room felt it.
So, first and foremost, what's most important to understand is we want to emphasize that we've received no reports of any injury to staff or
students. And that's the most important thing. And safety is our top priority in ensuring that everyone is safe in our schools. Immediately
following the earthquake, our teams, both within New York City Public Schools and across the city, immediately jumped into action. We've been in
close and constant communication with City Hall, the Office of Emergency Management, School Construction Authority and other agencies, as well.
So, at this moment, there is no indication that any of our buildings were compromised. And our facility staff at the School Construction Authority
are quickly and thoroughly inspecting buildings to ensure safety. And out of an abundance of caution, we've assembled all of our building response
teams, as well.
So, we've instructed all of our school principals to continue operations and dismissal as normal. We ask the school staff and families to remain
calm and to model that for all of our students, all of our children. Parents do not need to pick up their child early as a result of today's
earthquake.
Additionally, all after school programs will continue as planned. If conditions change, our schools will communicate directly with families. We
also will post updates on our social media pages, which can be found at NYC Schools.
I want to thank all of our school staff and our facility staff for keeping our students safe during times like these. Their professionalism in the
face of an emergency is a role model for all of our students. Again, the top lines, all of our students across the school system are safe.
All of our staff are safe. We have no reports of any structural damage to any of our school facilities. While many schools have felt, in fact, felt
some tremors from the earthquake. Thank you so much.
UNKNOWN: Thank you, Chancellor. Next, we'll hear from Buildings Commissioner Jimmy Oddo.
JIMMY ODDO, COMMISSIONER, NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS: Thank you, Deputy Mayor. Let me say right at the outset that we at the Department
of Buildings have not seen an influx of calls regarding building damage.
[12:20:00]
But we want all New Yorkers to know that our team is ready. We are putting on additional construction and engineering professionals from this point on
over the weekend. So, if reports do come in, we will be ready to respond.
Our construction enforcement unit is out doing inspections similarly -- similar to what we do prior to big storms. There are 1.1 million buildings
in the city, which means we need cooperation from construction professionals.
We've messaged that to them. But let me take this opportunity again to remind all of our construction professionals. You need to go out and check
on your buildings, even if those sites are closed and determined that the sites are secure. And if you see any conditions that are troublesome,
please reach out to the department.
This is a time for that tried and true saying, if you see something, say something. So, to New Yorkers, we at the Department of Buildings are
concerned about some of the downstream possibilities, cracks that you might see that may materialize and manifest in a week or a month or scaffolding,
retaining walls. If you see something that is problematic, please call 311
This weekend, we will have an increase in our emergency response team. We've mobilized our borough operations and our special ops folks so that if
our sister agency, the fire department or any of our partners in government or the public report an increase in locations, we are at the ready to
respond.
UNKNOWN: Thank you, Commissioner. Next, we'll hear from Con Ed President Matt Ketschke.
MATT KETSCHKE, CON ED PRESIDENT: So, thank you. So, for our energy delivery system, energy infrastructure, there were no impacts from this
event. We continue to monitor them. Our critical energy infrastructure is continuously monitored during the course of the event. We saw no change in
status for our energy infrastructure.
We do have a series of protocols for -- after an earthquake event. We have initiated those. Those involve inspecting our critical facilities and
working through all our facilities for inspection. Those inspections are on-going. We haven't identified any issues.
In the case of an earthquake, one of the things that from the energy side we would be concerned about is the potential for gas leaks. So, I encourage
if you smell gas, either call 911 or 1-800-75ConEd and report the gas leak. Do not assume that somebody else has reported. So, if you smell gas, call
us or call 911 immediately. Otherwise, we'll continue our inspections and all looks good.
UNKNOWN: Thank you.
UNKNOWN: Thank you, Matt. Next, we'll hear from MTA CEO General Lieber.
(LIVE COVERAGE ENDS)
ASHER: All right, you've just been listening to a live press conference led by the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, talking about this 4.8
magnitude earthquake that we experienced here in New York. And it wasn't just in New York, by the way. It was felt as far away as New Jersey,
Connecticut, Pennsylvania as well.
No reports of damages. Thank goodness. But the priority for officials in the city is to make sure the infrastructure in the city -- 1.1 million
buildings in New York City, nine million people, densely populated. You want to make sure the infrastructure is sound.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, we mentioned that this building where we currently work is a new building. And in per New York City code, any new structures that
have gone up have to be in accordance with earthquake guidelines. Anything that was built after 1995.
So, that is reassuring. But we should note that so many New York City buildings were built prior to that. I believe the majority. And in fact,
there are one hundred thousand buildings in New York City, the majority of them residential buildings that are pre 1930s, which is why it's so
important to take precautions now.
Clearly, it is reassuring to hear that there's been no damage as of yet. But we heard that from the mayor to stay cautious, to stay aware. Some tips
for what to do in an aftershock, because this is so rare for New York City residents and residents on the East Coast. But they said schools will stay
open. That that's business as usual.
I got a note from my children's school that everything is fine there. The mayor said that the schools are the safest place to keep your children.
Also, other officials noting to be aware of gas, any sort of electrical incidents in your surroundings. This is obviously something that's quite
unusual for New York City residents.
ASHER: Yeah, and listen. And I will say that New Yorkers are a resilient bunch, right? You've lived here. You and I both lived here for a long time.
You get used to a lot here. Kathy, Governor Kathy Hochul said, listen, "We are masters of disasters in the city."
GOLODRYGA: Yeah.
ASHER: But we are still rattled, you know? Experiencing an earthquake in New York City, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake that a lot of people felt. What I
think is interesting is that you had people in the same building.
[12:25:00]
You and I work in the same building. I felt it. My desk shook. You didn't feel it.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, I'm one flight below you. I was walking. So, perhaps maybe that's why I didn't feel it. My husband called me and asked if I felt
it. We should note that the previous earthquake that we mentioned in 2011 was a 5.8. So, slightly larger in magnitude.
But no doubt this was a significant earthquake. One that was shallow in scale, which from what everyone tells us, all the experts tell us,
seismologists tell us, is one of the reasons why it was so widely felt. The good news is that the chances of an aftershock are relatively low, about
three percent. But it's always best to be cautious.
ASHER: Yeah.
GOLODRYGA: And quite a Friday surprise for us in New York and for all of our viewers.
ASHER: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: We will be back with more analysis from some of our guests following this developing story of 4.8 earthquake on the East Coast. More
after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: All right, back more now with our breaking news story. The shaking from an earthquake along the northeast U.S. has been felt from New
England to Washington, D.C.
ASHER: Yeah, the epicenter about 45 miles away, but we still felt it here in New York City. No significant reports of any damage here in the city.
But Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is warning of potential aftershocks following that 4.8 excuse me, magnitude quake.
[12:30:00]
The chances, though, of aftershocks we're hearing is relatively low at this point.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, about three percent. But we heard from city officials -- and what's so striking here is that it's rare to have an earthquake of this
magnitude on the East Coast in New York City with such a large population. So, it's so important that we heed the warnings that we heard from
officials. This has a pretty wide span, as you see on your graphic right there. The epicenter in Lebanon, New Jersey, as Zain said, about 45, 50
miles from New York City.
We want to bring in our seismologist, our guest from earlier this hour, Maureen Long, who's been patiently waiting along and listening to city
officials give updates to residents here in New York City. This is a city that's resilient, Professor, and has lived through a lot. These things are
very rare for us.
So, walk us through what you heard from officials, if you agree with the assessments that they provided, that schools are safe, children are safest
at schools, the infrastructure appears sound, thus far. But it's important to keep an eye open and to be very aware of our surroundings.
LONG: Absolutely. There was a lot of great advice, of course, in that in that press conference. And it's very heartening to know that, you know,
emergency managers are ready for these kinds of situations. You know, we do not get earthquakes of this size in eastern North America that often, but
they do happen and we all need to be prepared for them.
So, knowing what to do if you do experience shaking from an aftershock, the advice is always to duck, cover and hold on, get under a table or
something. But I do think the advice for New Yorkers and others in the area to go about their day with some caution and knowing what to do if there is
an aftershock, that's excellent advice.
ASHER: And the way -- just in terms of what I was reading before I came on air just a few hours ago, I was reading that essentially we do experience
earthquakes in New York more often than we realize. We just don't -- we just don't feel them, right? This time we obviously felt it.
I was saying to Bianna when I called her immediately that my office was literally shaking. My question to you is just in terms of people's
concerns, what is the likelihood based on fault lines, based on your own expertise, that we actually could see a really significant earthquake in
New York City in our lifetimes?
LONG: You know, that's an excellent scientific question and one that scientists are really still working on. This is an area of very active
research and seismology to understand the earthquake hazard in this part of the world. And I certainly, you know, I felt the shaking in my office in
New Haven, Connecticut, as well. And we don't -- we're not used to feeling that here in this part of the world.
Having said that, we do have a record of moderate sized earthquakes in eastern North America. We experienced the magnitude five point eight
earthquake in Virginia back in 2011. And even going back historically, there was, you know, a large earthquake in Charleston, South Carolina in
the 1880s.
So, we know that it that moderate sized earthquakes can happen here, even though we don't have the same level of hazard as a place like California or
Taiwan or Japan. So, it's something that we need to be aware of. It's part of living in eastern North America.
GOLODRYGA: And listen, it's your expertise. So, it's something that you focus on. And I'm not saying that it makes you giddy, obviously, but it's
wonderful that we can turn to experts like you. I was not pointing at you earlier. We had a split screen where we were showing people's reactions.
ASHER: They were on air.
GOLODRYGA: There was -- yeah, a sports network live on air where they were just caught off guard. So that's why we call experts like you who can
reassure us and walk us through exactly what is happening. Professor Maureen Long, thank you so much for joining us. Hope we can reach back out
if needed.
LONG: Pleasure.
ASHER: All right. Now, for more on the earthquake and just in terms of what we're likely to see going forward, let's bring in Elisa Raffa, who's
at our weather center in Atlanta. So, Elisa, my phone has been blowing up, right? I'm obviously from London. Yes. And my family and friends in England
are like, oh, my goodness, I heard that was an earthquake in New York. Are you okay? My friends in L.A. are like East Coast feeling West Coast
problems.
GOLODRYGA: That's just like a song.
ASHER: Just walk us through what we can expect in terms of the likelihood of aftershocks at this point in time.
ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, I'm born and raised in New York. My family has been -- I called my mom before I was on T.V. I was like, mom,
what's going on? I'm running on T.V. And everyone is just feeling the shaking, right? And what's crazy is this is not an area that we expected,
right?
We were covering the earthquake in Taiwan earlier in the week. That's an area where we expected has a lot of seismic activity. This area, not as
much -- 4.8 eight magnitude in the heart of New Jersey. They are felt by millions. I mean, the map just stretches, you know, where we had about 9000
people really feel the strong shaking.
[12:35:00]
But 23 million people felt some sort of shaking. This is an intensity map and it's where we call it citizen science. People are able to just kind of
put what they're feeling and look how far reaching it is. I mean, pretty much all up into New England, down to Philly and D.C., just so many people
up and down the East Coast.
And on the East Coast, the feeling of the shaking can spread farther because that rock is older. The fault lines, you know, wherever they're at,
they're older. So, it just can spread farther. And our infrastructure is not really set up for earthquakes. So, that's where more people can feel
it.
We also do know our team has been doing so much digging to figure out how big this is for the New York, New Jersey area and for near that epicenter
in New Jersey. It looks like this is the third largest, the strongest earthquake that New Jersey has felt. So, again, it is rare, especially for
this magnitude of four point eight. You just don't typically see earthquakes.
Now, when we talk about aftershocks so far, we haven't had any that are over two-point in magnitude. So, New Yorkers haven't really felt too much
in the way of aftershocks. But when you have 4.8 magnitude, you could get at least one aftershock, that's 3.8. You could get at least ten, that's 2.8
and a hundred that are 1.8.
So, you might not feel some of the smaller ones, you know, and I know that the officials have been saying that the threat for aftershocks is low. But
these are the numbers of where you know what type of aftershocks those can be. And as we've also been hearing, the economic impact of this, you know,
is on the low side. You could see the green showing from the USGS data, which is good, right?
So, four-point magnitude usually is enough for you to feel it. But we're not talking about, you know, some of the damage like we saw earlier in the
week, you know, in Asia, you know, and it's good that we're not really seeing the infrastructure problems and the reports of damage there.
But, yeah, very light and shallow. Shallow is also the reason why we're able to feel it when it's deeper into the earth and it's a little bit
harder to feel. So, very light and shallow shaking felt New York City, Philadelphia, D.C., and the seismic waves again can travel farther on the
East Coast because the rock is just older and different.
On the West Coast, you're more prone to earthquakes because you're closer to the fault lines. You're kind of on that ring of fire on the West Coast
from Alaska down through California. So, they're more common. But the rock and the fault lines are a little bit fresher and newer. So, the shaking
doesn't travel, as far.
But on the East Coast, with that older rock, that shaking can travel really far. Again, pretty shallow here. If it were deeper, then fewer people might
have felt it. But with it being so shallow, that's where people, you know, really feeling the shaking, 4.8 magnitude, just very rare for this part of
the U.S.
And being in the biggest city, the biggest population center in the country, millions of people, you know, just kind of scratching their heads
with confusion this morning, wondering what was that. And like you said, we've got all the e-mails and the texts to prove it of everyone just
wondering, you know, what happened?
ASHER: I mean, this was not the breaking news that I expected to cover today.
GOLODRYGA: That's why we're in this business. You never know what breaking news is going to happen. But Elisa Raffa, thank you for joining us. Very
smart of you to always take your mom's call no matter what you're doing, even if you have to go on air and reassure her that you are okay. Thank
you.
ASHER: Thank you, Elisa.
GOLODRYGA: We'll be right back.
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[12:40:00]
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GOLODRYGA: All right, welcome back. Well, obviously, there's other news to bring you. And, of course, we'll continue following any developments
following that 4.8 earthquake on the East Coast. In the meantime, we do want to go overseas now to the Middle East, where mistaken identification
and errors in decision-making are just some of the key findings in a newly released Israeli military report on that deadly strike on aid workers in
Gaza.
ASHER: Now, just to remind our viewers, seven World Central Kitchen employees were killed in Monday's strikes. The IDF say they believed they
were targeting Hamas operatives. Israel calls the tragedy a grave mistake. Two Israeli officers have now been fired.
GOLODRYGA: World Central Kitchen says that the findings show the IDF deployed deadly force without regard to its own protocols and is now
calling for systemic change and an independent investigation, something echoed by the U.S. Secretary of State speaking in Belgium.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLINKEN: It's also critical that we see an independent, thorough, and fully publicized investigation into the killing of the World Central
Kitchen team who were performing heroic work under the most difficult circumstances in trying to get assistance to people who so desperately need
it. So, we're looking to see that investigation. We're looking to see public accounting. And we're looking to see accountability in its wake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: The report comes after a tense phone call between the U.S. president and the Israeli prime minister on Thursday.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, the White House says President Biden demanded specific, concrete steps to protect civilians and aid workers in Gaza and threatened
consequences if Israel fails to act.
ASHER: Yeah, and the U.N. and the U.N. Secretary General is calling for an independent investigation into the strikes on aid workers and what he
called meaningful change by Israel on the ground in Gaza. A short time ago, Antonio Guterres said he was also deeply troubled by reports that Israel is
using artificial intelligence to help identify targets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: I'm also deeply troubled by reports that the Israeli military's bombing campaign includes artificial
intelligence as a tool in the identification of targets, particularly in densely populated residential areas, resulting in a high level of civilian
casualties. No part of life and death decisions which impact entire families should be delegated to the cold calculation of algorithms.
(END VIDEO CLIP) GOLODRYGA: International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is joining us live from Jerusalem. So, Nic, we spoke with an IDF representative and
spokesperson earlier in this week who said that an investigation would be launched. And, of course, we got word of the conclusions, at least the
initial conclusions from this investigation.
Two officers had been removed from duty. The investigation, they said, will continue. But talk about the consequences of not only this tragic event,
but on a broader scale, what this really means for Israel, given that the world and even its closest allies are watching this very closely and
critically.
Nic Robertson, International Diplomatic Editor: Yeah, it's brought a lot more pressure to bear on Israel. You know, you have members of the
important committees in the British government, for example, saying that the weapons supplies to Israel should be stopped. You have the White House
putting pressure directly on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
President Biden talking with him by phone last night, and then shortly afterwards, the Prime Minister saying that he was going to open the Erez
border crossing in the north of Gaza, which is something that the White House, the State Department have been pressuring the Israeli government to
do for some time. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, when he was here in February, made a point of requesting precisely that border crossing be
opened.
So, that appears to be happening. Ashgard, the port that's about 20 or so miles away from that border crossing, now the Israeli government saying
they're going to open that to bring in humanitarian supplies, although they made a similar decision back in January and then in February.
[12:45:00]
Protesters managed to block the aid that was supposed to come through that port facility and get into Gaza. So, this is why I think we're still
hearing the pressure and the scrutiny from the United States saying that they're going to check this report that the IDF has so far of how the World
Central Kitchen staff were killed.
They're also going to scrutinize carefully what actually happens now this commitment has been made to open this border crossing at Erez. We know that
Israeli government officials were down at that border meeting with World Food Programme officials earlier on today.
But it's how it actually takes effect on the ground. And this is the effect. I think one of the effects of the killing of those seven staff
members this week is that now the International Community is less willing to accept Israel's simple answers and they want to see those answers and
responses followed through on the ground.
So, there's going to be increased scrutiny and that increased pressure that may be beginning to change the humanitarian situation for the people in the
north of Gaza whom the U.N. say are close to starvation.
ASHER: Here's the thing, though. People at this point in time looking at this situation and this gut-wrenching tragedy, people want accountability.
We know that based on this report, the IDF has dismissed two army officers. But beyond that, will there be further punishment? Will more heads roll?
Will there even be a criminal investigation, possibly prosecution? Where do things go from here in terms of accountability?
ROBERTSON: Yeah, none of that is clear. You know, a lot of people are calling for an independent investigation. Just a couple of days ago,
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that there should be an impartial investigation, which really left it down to the Israeli government and
officers and the IDF to do the investigation.
Today, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for an independent investigation. John Kirby at the White House has been sort of explaining
why the Secretary of State may call for an independent investigation. An independent investigation is what a lot of people feel is required to
actually have stronger accountability and to bring about greater changes.
So, where things stand right now with the investigation, with the dismissal of those staff, with a couple of other senior commanders have faced
censure, as well, is perhaps as far as this will go. And I think this is why we heard from the U.N. Secretary General today saying, look, it's not
just enough to say that those people are responsible.
There are systemic issues here. And this is a point the U.N. has been laboring with the Israeli government for many, many months. There are
systemic problems. What we witnessed this week was highlighting how everything can go catastrophically wrong. But these are problems that need
to be fixed. The IDF is talking about having thermal recognition strips, if you will, on the vehicles of aid workers inside of Gaza.
But, of course, all of that requires much more detail. How does the IDF make sure those thermal strips don't end up in the hands of Hamas? How do
you administer something like that on the ground? When do they get used? When do they don't get used? Who gets them? Who doesn't get them? All of
those details are just not clear.
And when you look at the IDF's report saying it was a grave mistake, what happened, and it was against the rules of engagement of the IDF in Gaza,
outside of the IDF no one knows those rules of engagement because they're not made public. And so, there is a lot more accountability that could
happen, not clear that in the short term it will.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Nic Robertson reporting live for us from Jerusalem. Thank you.
ASHER: All right. Elsewhere in the Middle East rallies in support of Palestinians have been taking place for the annual Quds Day, which is held
on the last Friday of Ramadan. Quds is an Arabic word that refers to Jerusalem.
GOLODRYGA: This year's rallies coincide with the funerals of seven officials killed in a strike on an Iranian embassy complex in Damascus.
Tehran and Damascus have both blamed Israel. The Israeli military has not admitted carrying out the attack, but a spokesman said that the embassy was
actually, quote, "a military building".
ASHER: All right. We'll be right back with more. More news after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:00]
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GOLODRYGA: We're going to go back to our breaking news story this morning -- this afternoon, a 4.8 -- a rare 4.8 earthquake in New York City and
along the East Coast.
ASHER: Let's bring in our next guest, Dara Goldberg, a research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey. She joins us live now from
Golden, Colorado. Dara, this was bizarre, right? This was bizarre to be in my office at -- early this morning and to experience my office and my
computer shake for just a few seconds, but still shake nonetheless.
You don't expect earthquakes to happen in New York. Just give us your thoughts on this, because some people were scared. You know, some people --
this is not something you experience every day. People were afraid. Give us your take.
DARA GOLDBERG, RESEARCH GEOPHYSICIST, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Absolutely. This is not a common occurrence in New York like it is in, say, California
or even Oklahoma. There have been four other earthquakes bigger than magnitude four within 250 kilometers since 1990. But that just speaks to
how uncommon these are.
And it's a good reminder that earthquakes can happen pretty much anywhere. There are faults all over the continental U.S. And it's important to know
what to do when an earthquake happens, to drop, cover and hold on.
ASHER: And so, should we be prepared for aftershocks then?
GOLDBERG: Yes. All earthquakes are part of sequences of earthquakes. So, the largest earthquake in the sequence, this one is the main shock, and
there are generally aftershocks after that. So, right now, we're anticipating about a 16 percent chance of another magnitude four earthquake
in the next week. There's about a 46 percent chance of earthquakes in the magnitude three range in the next week, and a small three percent chance of
an earthquake in the magnitude five range in the next week.
So, aftershocks tend to taper off in both magnitude and frequency pretty quickly after the earthquake. So, this is something that your viewers
should be thinking about for at least the next couple of weeks.
ASHER: All right. Dara Goldberg, we have to leave it there. We're out of time. Thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: Well, it is hard to believe that this Sunday will mark six months since the horrible October 7th attacks by Hamas against Israel that,
of course, launched this horrific war that we've been covering ever since, over 33,000 dead, thus far. And that brings us to this special programming
note. I actually had the chance to meet a brave woman abducted by Hamas on October 7th.
Over 250 Israeli nationals were kidnapped that day and taken hostage. Currently, 130 remain. This particular woman, Yarden Roman-gat, had been
freed, but at the time she handed her three-year-old daughter to her husband, hoping that he could run faster than her as they tried to flee
Hamas gunmen, her husband and child were able to escape, but Yarden was captured.
[12:55:00]
She spent weeks being terrorized and was finally released by her abductors in late November. Here is more of her chilling story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YARDEN ROMAN-GAT, RELEASED ISRAELI HOSTAGE: Eventually I got to a house, like civil house. Most of the time I was there.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): No other hostages were held with her.
GOLODRYGA: And was someone with you, a terrorist with you, every day?
ROMAN-GAT: Every second. All the time.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Recounting her experience is not easy.
ROMAN-GAT: It's a very difficult feeling to explain.
UNKNOWN: Okay, let's stop for a little while. Sorry.
ROMAN-GAT: What is the meaning of being a hostage? You cannot speak out. There is no certainty. You have to be alert all of the time. It's very deep
aspects of humanity that are taken away.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYG: And her sister-in-law still remains in Gaza, along with over 130 more hostages. We invite you to watch more of this interview on CNN's "The
Whole Story with Anderson Cooper". That is Sunday at 8 P.M. Eastern.
ASHER: It's so important that we don't forget the plight of the hostages and what -- the horrors that they experienced.
GOLODRYGA: Well, that does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. Appreciate you watching. "AMANPOUR" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
