Officials: Earthquake Hit Off Long Island Coast

NEW YORK (CBS 2/1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- A minor earthquake was reported off of eastern Long Island Tuesday morning. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

1010 WINS' Terry Sheridan reports

WCBS 880 reporter Peter Haskell with details

WCBS 880's Peter Haskell on the risk of earthquakes in the Tri-State

The quake hit some 122 miles east/southeast of New York City and was felt by some residents in Riverhead and other communities throughout Suffolk and Nassau Counties, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

"I felt my table started to rock for about three seconds -- it did it twice," a West Hempstead resident told 1010 WINS.

The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York told CBS 2 the quake was of 3.9 magnitude. It happened around 10:45 a.m. The epicenter was at a depth of 4.1 miles, according to the USGS website.

The Observatory received calls from people in Bergen County who also said they felt the quake. Geologists were going to continue examining the quake.

Columbia Research professor Leonardo Seeber described the location of the quake to WCBS 880's Peter Haskell.

"Offshore at the shelf bridge...where the continent starts thinning out and the depth of the water gets much deep quickly," Seeber explained.

While a 3.9 earthquake might sound like a big number, Seeber said it was not that unusual for the area.

"We have that kind of earthquake scatter around fairly frequently," he said.

Southampton Town Police Sgt. Andrew Ficurilli says the police station shook for a few seconds. He said "two or three'' calls came in from town residents wondering what had happened.