11:00 a.m. eastern. i'm jose diaz-balart. we begin with that breaking news from the northeast just in the last couple minutes. a 4.8 magnitude earthquake in new jersey. it was centered in new jersey. rattled residents from philadelphia all the way up to boston. any injuries as a result are unknown at this time. in new york city where it was felt and felt pretty intensely, governor kathy hochul said her team is assessing impacts and damage that may have occurred. i want to dip into wnbc our coverage in new york. let's listen in. >> this morning in the area of new jersey. what we're waiting for is secondary information about how shallow or deep this earthquake was because certainly it was felt far to the east, far to the north, to the south and southwest around our area and, of course, certainly within the five boroughs of new york. the last quake in new jersey was at white house station on march 14th. that shows you how often we feel some sort of earthquakes in the tri-state area with little to no effect and certainly no headlines. what makes this different is this is a rather strong earthquake for our area. we are going to continue to get you information, but keep in mind -- i want to remind you 2.5 to 5.4 earthquakes are often felt, but rarely cause major damage. typically on the minor damage. the estimated number of earthquakes between a 2.5 and 5.4 are 500,000 a year. it gives you an idea this is not exceptional when you look at this number or occurrence from a global standpoint. certainly in our area -- an emergency reminder going off right now from new york city saying residents are advised to remain indoors. call 911 if injured. we don't anticipate that's the case for most. we're keeping an eye open on all the situations around the tri-state and we'll get that information on how deep this earthquake was and more technical information for you as we dispatch crews to new jersey and also get more seismic information as well. back to you. >> dave, thank you. we got that alert on our phones. most of you did. urging people to stay indoors. no major impacts from this earthquake, magnitude 4.8 earthquake as of now. again, that emergency alert asking people to remain indoors at this time. let's go to andrew siff live at the office of emergency management in downtown brooklyn with what we're learning from officials there. >> reporter: seconds ago, according to officials here at the department of emergency management, we were told there are no reports of damage across new york city, despite the fact that virtually every neighborhood felt this earthquake. at the moment they're breathing a sigh of relief here. we can tell you one representative sample from what principals are messaging parents, yes, we felt it at the school. we're back in and learning. stop calling the school. phones are ringing off the hook. that's a real time sense of what's going on. everyone is telling everyone they felt the earthquake. it was a notable earthquake, but at the moment it hasn't registered any damage. this is watch command. they've assembled representatives from various agencies as well as emergency management techs. they're monitoring on video screens, getting real time data and designating whether other agencies like the fire department, like con edison, anyone that needs to respond. so far there are no reports of power outages or damage across the city. we can tell you that mayor eric adams is on his way here to emergency management. he's planning to brief the city at noon. we understand that governor hochul will join the briefing remotely from albany. that's the level at which this is being taken very seriously. at the moment no emergency response to speak of. that can obviously change because this was so vastly spread out. there may be ultimately some kind of damage report or emergencies that we're not aware of yet. so far not ringing off the hook in terms of an emergency. we heard the warning tone you all heard around 11:00 a.m. that's been signalled from here. for now they're monitoring minute by minute without an emergency response. andrew siff news4 new york. >> comforting to hear that. andrew, thank you. let's go to the phone. steven holler is a seismologist from fordham university. steven, thanks for joining us. big picture here, everyone's saying, wow, i never felt something like this in new york city. how rare is this kind of earthquake in this area? >> this is pretty large for the east coast. this isn't something typical. we haven't been geologically active. >> something that was not typical clearly. it was felt in new york city and in many areas of the tri-state area. i want to bring in our weather producer in midtown new york. katherine, as of right now 4.8 on the scale. that's rather high. >> yes. good morning, everyone. i'm in west midtown. i felt the earthquake from my apartment on the 25th floor. everything shook there for a few minutes and my sister we conferred with each other and all the reports came in. we're sitting at a 4.8 magnitude. just from history here, for perspective, we heard the seismologist say 4.8 is pretty, you know, high up there for this region. new jersey, by the way, is no stronger to earthquakes. we have a fault nearby. that's often where these things occur. again, it's the magnitude. it can often be revised up and down. it went down to 4.7 and back up to the 4.8. this is the strongest earthquake in new jersey history that i could find. newjersey.gov has a nice historical page to reference. the next strongest was in the late 1800s when a 5.2 earthquake occurred. >> it's unusual, but as you point out, it's an area that has some faults and fault lines, the whole tri-state area. i'm thinking back to 2011, august i think it was, when i happened to be in washington, d.c. and an earthquake there was felt 80 miles southwest of d.c. at the time, but that was 5.8 back then. i remember the washington monument was closed for a couple years as a consequence to that. no injuries, but there was structural damages. i'm wondering if we heard anything from our folks in the tri-state area that have seen or heard of any damages. the governor of new jersey has talked about emergency services being out. certainly the governor of new york is going to be speaking shortly i understand on what -- things that the city and state are doing as a consequence and reaction to this 4.8 earthquake that was centered around new jersey. i'm wondering, have we heard anything, any reports of any structural damage or anything else? >> fortunately -- you know, i'm combing social media. we've got the lines open internally and haven't seen any damage yet. however, it still pretty early. it happened within the hour. while no major damage, at least not visibly, we haven't seen reports. a lot of times you have to check structures after an earthquake like this to check for any, you know, hidden weaknesses that may have occurred. i was also in virginia like you with the 2011 earthquake that struck virginia. i happened to be subground in an office when that happened and felt it there as well. that one, like you said, did do damage. 4.8 versus what happened in virginia, it's a good reminder that the magnitudes of earthquakes are exponential. >> as a matter of fact, i may be mistaken, but i recall from covering so many earthquakes over these last decades, is that each point is essentially 100% more intense. so a 5.8 would be 100% more intense than a 4.8 and then either forward or backwards depending on how intense they are. no doubt the fact that it's a 4.8 in the tri-state area, a densely populated area as well. katherine, thank you very much. stay with us. i want to continue monitoring this. i want to bring in my colleague katy tur on the phone in brooklyn. good morning. did you feel it? >> reporter: i did feel it. i was in a coffee shop by my house and the whole bar -- the counter of the coffee shop was shaking. it was so unusual. the level of shaking was so much stronger than we usually feel from a subway or a truck. i pointed it out to the woman behind the counter. she said, no, it's a truck. then i looked at my phone and realized that 20 seconds of shaking was an earthquake and a relatively strong one for this region. the people in the coffee shop, though, they took it in stride. we're so used to in new york city the rumbling of the ground. we're used to the subway going past. we're used to big trucks going by. the buildings usually sway here. a lot of the structures are built to withstand a certain amount of movement, whether wind or on the ground. it's the older structures people are more worried about, the brick structures, the townhomes that have been standing from in some cases 1830. i did some checks of my neighborhood. i spoke to my neighbors. they said the walls are fine, no cracks to be seen. we've experienced earthquakes here before that have caused some damage. this one so far is not the same. there's certainly a sigh of relief for that. when i walked outside, jose, and realized there was an earthquake, i looked around and people were coming out of their doorways, coming to the street, looking at each other saying, did you feel that? how scary is that? are you okay? my daughter was in the kitchen of our house. she yelled by, is that a truck going by? she's just 2 years old and she felt it. it's an unusual experience in new york city where you quick to write-off the rumbling as just regular movement from the subway or a truck. this was a little stronger. >> katy, tough to think back to specifics. did you feel for what 10, 15 seconds, how long was the period you felt that shaking? >> reporter: it was an extended period of time. when i thought it was a truck, i wrote it off and kept on talking. i'm from los angeles, jose. i grew up experiencing some crazy earthquakes, the 6.7 earthquake woke me up out of my bed. my parents were news reporters. i saw incredible damage and felt severe aftershocks from that. anything less than massive shaking of the ground i kind of write-off because of my experience with it. it definitely shook in a different way now looking back on the movement of the counter than we're used to experiencing here. again, because it was so -- not any damage and nobody's been reported hurt, a lot of new yorkers are worried there might be an after shock. should we be concerned about something else? what should i do in a earthquake? it's not a normal occurrence here. beyond the worry there's a feeling of novelty to it. oh, this is what it's like to live in a place where the ground shakes beneath you. oh, this is what californians must experience. again, i mean, you know, jose, new yorkers, they take a lot of things in stride. >> katy tur, always nice hearing from you. always a treat to speak with you. thank you for the opportunity to talk on this very unusual morning. katy tur, thanks. we'll bring in nbc news erin mcloughlin in midtown new york. erin, what are you seeing? are you hearing anything about aftershocks, anything? >> reporter: not at the moment, jose. we understand from our weather unit this is the strongest earthquake to hit new jersey in 250 years. here in midtown manhattan, it's very much business as usual. about 30 minutes after the quake, though, our team received alerts, emergency alerts on our cell phones alerting the public to the 4.8 quake, urging people to stay indoors and call 911 if they're injured. we know that across the tri-state area officials currently are assessing any potential damage we heard from the mayor of new york, his spokesperson saying so far no damage has been reported. that assessment continues. i did, in fact, feel the quake. i was at 30 rock on the 6th floor. frankly it was mild. it felt like a rumbling underneath. it felt like the subway had gone through underneath the new york bureau. some of my colleagues didn't even feel it at all. nevertheless it's unsettling. in that moment it was a bit heart stopping as you're trying to figure out what happened considering earthquakes are unusual for the tri-state area, although not unheard of. again, this is the largest quake in some 250 years that hit new jersey. >> that's the really kind of unusual aspect of it, the intensity of it which is, erin, rare. thank you, erin, for being with us. i want to continue our conversation. i want to bring you up to what we have been learning as of right now. we expect the governor of new york, kathy hochul, to be giving a news conference from albany later this hour, as well as the governor from new jersey, governor murphy, who's expected to speak in the next hour we understand. both have been, of course, organizing a response to this earthquake that struck the tri-state area. right now and listening to erin mcloughlin there seems to be no aftershocks, which is usual and expected after an earthquake of any magnitude, a 4.8 certainly as erin was saying unusual in its intensity for that area of the country. remembering the 2011 earthquake just outside of washington, d.c., caused structural damage to the national cathedral, to the washington monument closed for three years while they rebuilt that structure. as of right now, we have no reports of any damage. we'll continue monitoring the situation. there has been some understanding that there had been some flights that have been temporarily delayed in the tri-state area, arriving to either newark or the different airports in new york. that is at most a temporary pause. everything seems to be back to normal and, erin, i don't know if you're still with us. at least where you are, which is on 6th there, 6th avenue between 50th and 51st, everything seems back to normal. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely, jose. it's very much business as usual here in midtown manhattan. the streets are full of traffic. tourists are out taking photographs, admiring the surroundings. so while this happened just over 30 minutes ago, things seem to be pretty much back to normal. of course when there's an earthquake of this magnitude in this area, the concern is that these buildings -- many of them were very old. they were not built with earthquakes in mind. that has to be playing on the minds of city officials at this point as they assess the impact of this particular earthquake going forward. >> and indeed that's really with all this news coming in, the good news is there seems to be very little or if any at all major damage to any structure. of course, this is still breaking as we're on air. we'll, of course, continue monitoring this thing. 4.8 is what at least preliminarily the authorities are describing this earthquake centered in new jersey, but being felt throughout the tri-state area and even in different parts of the northeast of the country. new york city, back, as katy tur was saying. people just go back to their regular lives after experiencing this. about 15 to 20 seconds is what katy was saying she felt. we'll keep monitoring this. please stay with us. we'll be right back. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. because when you experience europe on a viking longship, you'll spend less time getting there and more time being there. viking. exploring the world in comfort. ♪♪ ugh! nope! try my old spice you can use it on your pits, chest, and even, your... toes? 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shaking was felt. the usds puts out information. we're seeing reports of folks who felt the shaking as far as new england, northern vermont, northern new hampshire for example. i also came across two seismographs, one in massachusetts just outside the boston area and one in southern connecticut that also registered the shaking. >> yeah, and it's -- again, we have no reports as of right now of any damage. certainly we're in all the tri-state area canvassing all of the areas. as we say, thank you very much, the governor of new york is expected to have a news conference shortly. we'll, of course, bring that to you as soon as she begins. i want to go now to nbc news correspondent tremayne lee in sullivan county, new york. what can you share with us? what did you see and feel? >> reporter: i'm in sullivan county, not very far from the border where new york, new jersey and pennsylvania come together. there was this kind of short burst. the house was shaking so much so i thought there was either a massive truck, construction crew outside and then i thought there was something wrong with the furnace. it seemed so odd. i came outside. folks were looking around to see what was going on. that rattling that folks felt all the way up here -- again, we're not terribly far from new jersey even though we're in a rural part of upstate new york, the very western edge of the catskills. >> how long would you say you felt it? >> reporter: it was about 20 seconds, 20 to 25 seconds. so much that i had enough time to gather myself and wonder what it was, look outside, go downstairs and it was still rattling. a good 20 seconds. >> interesting. you know, we were talking to katy tur about how many in the city of new york think, oh, maybe it's the subway passing by or a truck. they oftentimes do cause shaking, but this was different. >> reporter: very different. again, i'm in a rural area. the only thing it could be was a construction crew. if you're in new york, you might be able to mistaken it might have been a subway or something. to have it out here and in a very wooded area where trees are known to fall -- fortunately this was only a 4.8, not very bad. you can imagine if it was stronger. there's huge old trees here that have fallen down in storms. >> it's very difficult if you're in a wooded area to think it's a subway. tremayne lee, thank you, my friend. i want to go back to erin in downtown manhattan. erin, any new information? >> reporter: yeah, well, we're hearing from some authorities with respect to potential travel impacts in the tri-state area. we've heard that there has been a ground stop at jfk international airport as well as newark airport. from united a few flights have been diverted to other airports as a result of this quake. the faa tweeting that the quake had impacts on air traffic in new york, new jersey, philadelphia and baltimore and that air traffic operations resumed as soon as possible. we're also hearing about potential bridge impacts in new jersey. the inspections causing reduced speeds and delays on new jersey bridges. we heard from the new york chief of transit. at this time in new york city there's been no reports of structural damage or service disruptions in new york city itself. then we're also hearing from the white house, that the president has been briefed on the earthquake and is monitoring potential impacts. jose? >> erin, thank you very much. just as we take a look at the things around the country and around the world, there was also an earthquake 5.0 just a little while ago in the gulf of -- little while ago, 5.0. it was in the gulf. no damage reported there. it's just something that happened a little while ago in mexico. we're going to take a short break. we're expecting any minute the governor of new york to be speaking. we'll bring you that live. we'll take a short break and be right back. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. i'm too old if you're under 45, you're not. for most 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using our brand new grocery outlet app. it's been really fun seeing what everyone's doing with the extra money they save. a butler? super nice guy. with our new grocery outlet app, you can see the store's inventory. so you guys really have mangoes and stuff? yup. 34 past the hour. more on our breaking news in morning. a 4.8 magnitude earthquake centered in new jersey rattled residents from philadelphia to boston. any injuries as a result of the quake unknown at this time. in new york governor hochul said her team is assessing impacts and any damage. we're expecting her to speak any minute now. until we do that, i want to talk more about this with science educator bill nye. bill, good morning. what are your thoughts on what we in the tri-state experienced today? not unusual, but certainly rather intense one. >> well, any time -- in my experience any time you get over 4, there's a lot of -- there's a lot of earthquake scales and there's an argument that the richter scale is old fashioned. any time you get over 4 and stuff starts falling off the shelves -- i would be surprised if things haven't fallen off the shelves in new york. in general this is a local effect. the north america tectonic plate is huge. so it's spreading out in the mid atlantic and moving east to west, but out west where you have yellowstone national park there's volcanic activity and i bet you there will be some giant ripple that made its way across north america to shake new york. it just shows everybody the importance of being prepared. the old saying is earthquakes don't hurt people. buildings hurt people. you want things to be as secure as reasonable where you can still live your life. you know, you want cabinet doors that hold themselves shut during earthquakes. the other thing is just -- everybody talks about this. just have flashlights, food and water in case electricity goes out for a couple days. that's very common. power lines start falling over or get disturbed and safety systems shut things off and it takes a while for them to be turned back on. >> yeah, and i'm just thinking, bill, back to the many earthquakes i covered over the 40 years of my career. certainly a lot -- >> you look fabulous. 40 years, come on. >> it's true. i'm thinking of the earthquake in september of 1985 in mexico. >> oh, wow. >> that was 8.0. and then the next day a 7.5 that hit another time. i was thinking about the earthquakes in haiti in 2010 and chile in 2010, the mexican earthquake years later on the same day in mexico. there are always strong aftershakes and sometimes earthquakes. it's not uncommon either. >> yeah, exactly. the earth's crust is relieving some tension, some slipping perhaps, spreading some bowing or bending of the plate. so it doesn't all get relieved at once. this is the business of aftershocks. those earthquakes you just referred to, in general, were caused along the pacific rim or the ring of fire where the pacific plates bumping up against -- these are tectonic plates with geographical names. here having one on the atlantic side is a little unusual. it happens from time to time. you know, the washington monument in washington, d.c., was closed -- has been closed for several years as a result of the damage done by an earthquake. it's a stone, masonry structure not set up for earthquakes. >> just by happenstance i was in washington, d.c. and the washington, d.c. area on that day in august of 2011 i believe. i certainly felt it, but it was -- i'm looking at the notes here. i think it was a 5.8 on the scale back then. you're absolutely right, bill, a 5.8 in the washington, d.c., area, it was centered about 80 miles from washington, d.c., in virginia. but the washington monument closed for three years. the national cathedral was damaged. it took millions and millions of dollars to replace and repair the national cathedral. the washington monument was closed for three years. these are older structures that are clearly not and were not built thinking of earthquakes. >> well, yeah, and this area doesn't get them very often. when it shows up and you have stone structures, there's potential for trouble. the big thing in my experience is the disruption. like airports have been shut down this morning. >> right. >> you just got to be ready for that and, by the way, everybody, earthquakes have nothing to do with the total eclipse coming. they happen at night. they happen in the day time. they happen any old time. whatever correlation you might perceive is probably almost certainly coincidental. >> that's an interesting point because, yes, the big solar eclipse monday is on a lot of people's minds. i've often thought going back through those 40 years during those different earthquakes, what is it that causes them -- when there's fault lines, there's always the push and pull. what is it that causes them to collide? it's something that, bill, i think that we just can never know. >> well, we're doing our best to know. for example, out west cal tech, california technical institute, has this app for your phone. you know, if you can get 30 seconds of warning, even 15 seconds of warning can make a tremendous difference in public safety. if people have the presence of mind to recognize that the app on the phone is telling you that there's an earthquake, as you mentioned 80 miles away, whatever it would be, if you have 15 seconds to get out of the house, out of the office building, that could really save a lot of lives or prevent a lot of damage. this is something that geologists work very hard on. as we talk about all the time in geology in science education, is this business of deep time. what happens on geological time scales is just so fantastically much longer than what happens on human time scales that we tend to drop our guard and then the organizations that are really interested in this problem are insurance companies that have to assess what damage was done by an earthquake or what damage could be done by an earthquake. we have so many -- >> bill, i can't thank you enough -- sorry to interrupt. let's go to the governor of new york, kathy hochul. >> the epicenter was in central new jersey, about 45 miles west of manhattan. we felt it here in the capital in albany. people felt it on long island. we're taking this extremely seriously and here's why. there's always the possibility of aftershocks. i'll get to that in a moment. we have not felt the magnitude of an earthquake of this level since about 2011. actually i was in washington, d.c., at the time and my apartment when i was in congress was extremely damaged. we felt the effects up to buffalo, new york. these are wide scale possibilities. this is one of the largest earthquakes to occur on the east coast in the last century. i immediately alerted my emergency management team to start doing assessments and finding out if there's any brunches or tunnels compromised. that was the first reaction. i also immediately spoke to governor phil murphy to offer any assistance and to find out what is happening in his state, which again was the epicenter. our teams have been in constant communication with the mayor of new york. we spoke to the mta to assess the structural integrity of the subway systemment right now jfk and newark airports are on full ground stops to assess any potential for after effects. we were in contact with the utility companies to make sure the gas and electric services continue. the mta is on full schedule. no disruption there. i've been in communication with the white house. they reached out for us. the deputy of homeland security secretary -- they're with president biden in baltimore. they called us. i believe they felt the shakes in baltimore. senator schumer offered any assistance. right now it's most important we have our structural teams out, the engineering teams surveying our bridges and roads, any area where there could be a fault line that's not easily detectable to make sure that passengers on our rails and commuters are safe. assessing all state roads. we're making sure our state roads are safe. major transmission lines and dams because you don't always see the effects of a small crack that could develop into a major problem. we're encouraging the municipalities across the state of new york to assess for any structural integrity concerns. at this point we've not identified any life-threatening situations, but we're certainly asking local law enforcement and emergency services teams to be on guard for that. again, we'll be reviewing all potentially vulnerable infrastructure sites throughout the state of new york that's critically important. i have a few safety tips because new yorkers are not accustomed to earthquakes in our state. everyone should continue to take this seriously. if there's an after shock, people are encouraged to drop and cover and hold on. drop to the floor, cover your neck and hold on to something sturdy. take caution near damaged buildings. we don't have reports of damaged buildings at this time. it's early in the assessment process. if there's an after effect, stay away from buildings, especially high-rises. if you hear shifting or unusual noises, leave your home. go outside. you're safer there than in a building that could be crumbling around you. inspect your home for damage. check walls, floors, doors, windows, staircases. if you see any damage, you may need to relocate. check your own gas lines and water lines to make sure your family is safe. stay connected and informed. i'll say this, especially with all the national news about what happened in taiwan with that deadly earthquake just this past week, i think there's a high-level of anxiety around earthquakes. the magnitude which katherine garcia and the commissioner will explain, that was a 7.4 magnitude in taiwan. we're 4.8. they'll explain the difference. we'll continue to take this very seriously and update all new yorkers. katherine garcia, our head of state operations you'll hear from first and then the commissioner of homeland security. >> thank you, governor. i want to reiterate we have no reports of damage at this time and that immediately all of the infrastructure agencies activated their policies and procedures to deal with this because, while highly unusual in the state of new york, we do actually have fault lines. this was significantly bigger than one that is are typically felt in the state of new york or occur and actually are not felt. that is because earthquakes happen on a scale which means that a 3.8 is ten times worse than a 2.8. a 4.0 is ten times easier than a 5.0. in addition, we are also tracking whether or not there's any increase in hospitalizations as well as whether or not there's any increase in vehicle accidents that has not been reported at this time. thank you. >> thank you. commissioner? >> not much to add above what the governor and director covered. we did see an overloading of cell circuits in the new york city area immediately after the event. >> right now it seems as though there are no reports of any structural damage or any significant structural damage, at least in the information that the governor of new york has been able to gather as of right now. clearly she has been in very close contact with the governor of new jersey and that is where the epicenter of this earthquake happened. i want to bring in meteorologist michelle grossman and erin mcloughlin. michelle, what more can you tell us about the quake? 7.8 is definitely significant. probability it will change as the information comes in to the scientist. >> reporter: well, it's a 4.8. >> sorry. >> reporter: that's okay. we'll probably see some changes over the next couple hours. this is the third strongest ever in new jersey. it's notable. it's alarming to many. we're not used to feeling that. you mentioned the one in 2011. that was the first one i ever felt. it's a strange feeling. it's not that shaking that you think it's going to be. it's more of a sliding. that's from those plates sliding over each other. it was right near lebanon, new jersey, felt all the way to southern new jersey, new york city. i live in bucks county. my husband called me. he felt it there. he thought something exploded in the basement it was that significant. we'll keep hearing reports of how far we felt this. this is interesting. it was a shallow earthquake. three miles makes it a shallow earthquake, you get more time for the energy to disperse. this is more dangerous because it's not -- there's not as much time for that to dissipate. i did hear stories where a recliner skidded across the floor, windows broken. there is some damage. hopefully not structural. we will see from reports and engineers going out. there are reports of items falling off shelves. when we look at earthquakes per year, this is the last ten years, there's quite a lot. 10,000 in the range we see at 4.8. we will see if it's higher. then it goes down significantly when you get to 5. jose, a lot of us have not felt this in our lifetime. it is notable. >> you know, speaking about how it is felt and the differences -- i'm not a scientist, but i do have the many years of covering earthquakes in different parts of the world, there's a difference in how they are perceived, depending on how deep they are and what kind of earthquake they are. i remember in the 20th of september 1985, the second earthquake that hit mexico city after the first one that was 8.0 on the scale, but that second one that i was in, it seemed as though the ground was shaking both horizontally and vertically. that is -- there are differences whether it shakes horizontally or vertically. when it's both -- there are few structures that can hold up to that. >> we are not used to that feeling. you are unsure what happened because it's a feeling we never felt before. my 11-year-old, i was pregnant with him in 2011. that was the first earthquake i covered for a long time. he is in school right now. all the little kids in school have never felt it. the school said, we felt it here. the kids are okay. we're going on. don't call. we are taking care of the kids. it's that feeling of that shaking. think of it like two dinner plates going over each other. there's foot on the plates. it goes over each other. things will shift. that's what we experience. you have the plates that are shifting over each other. >> so interesting. erin there in downtown new york city. things are back to normal. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. nevertheless, we heard the governor of new york there say that this is an unsettling day. this is one of the largest earthquakes to hit the east coast in the last century. as she was speaking, we all received emergency alerts on our cellphones warning of aftershocks. also saying that new yorkers can go about their usual activities. that emergency alert -- telling people to stay inside and call 911 if they were injured. at this point, according to the governor, damage assessments are underway. they are surveying buildings, roads, bridges. there's ground stop at newark, new jersey, airport, as well as jfk international airport. surveys are being done there. no significant damage reported. what they are concerned about, according to the governor of new york, are those aftershocks, urging people if they feel those aftershocks to remain in place and potentially take cover. these are all warnings, of course, that are extraordinarily unusual here on the east coast. >> thank you very much. the fact that jfk and newark are on a full ground stop will have an impact on travel not only towards the northeast but have a ripple affect for travelers going to and from airports throughout the country. we will be right back. we will take a short break. you are watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. ♪ that colonoscopy for getting screened ♪ ♪ is why i'm delaying ♪ ♪ i heard i had a choice ♪ ♪ i know the name, that's what i'm saying ♪ -cologuard®? 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following the latest on the earthquake in the northeast. we are also following developments in the israel-hamas war. the israeli military says the strikes that killed seven aid workers earlier this week, the result of a, quote, grave mistake that led its forces to believe they were targeting hamas gunmen, not world central kitchen team members. the idf says it dismissed two officers from their positions and reprimanded three more. world central kitchen responded saying -- this comes one day after a phone call between president biden and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, the first since the strikes. the president threatened to put condition on future military aid if israel does not respond to concerns about civilian casualties in gaza. this according to two u.s. officials. not long after the call, the white house says israel committed to opening additional routes for aid to be delivered directly into gaza. with us now to talk about this, meagan fitzgerald. what else did the israeli military say? >> reporter: the idf starts by saying that they identified a gunman on one of the eight trucks, then identified an additional gunman. after the vehicles left the warehouse where the aid had been unloaded, one of the commanders mistakenly assumed that hamas operatives were in the vehicle and that they didn't know that this was world central kitchen team and staff. the idf is caming it a grave mistake, stemming from a serious failure. they are taking action. we are told that they dismissed two high ranking commanders on the ground and reprimanded others. the idf also says this shouldn't have happened and they will make sure it doesn't happen again. then, of course, earlier today, we heard from secretary blinken who said the u.s. will fully assess the idf's report and said they are not just looking to see what steps that they are taking, but they are looking for results on the steps as well. we are hearing from world central kitchen as well. they released a statement saying it's clear from the preliminary investigation that the idf has deployed deadly force without regard to its own protocols, chain of command and rules of engagement. it went on to say that they are demanding an independent investigation. there's no doubt about it, we continue to see international condemnation that continues to grow with israel's staunchest allies denouncing this and the way israel is carrying out the war continues to shift around the world. >> this military investigation was carried out almost in record time, it would seem. >> reporter: you are absolutely right. not many days before we got this. also, it's important to note that hours after prime minister netanyahu spoke with president biden, we did see a shift. the israeli government said it would increase humanitarian aid into gaza, which is inclusive of ports and a checkpoint between israel and northern gaza. we don't know exactly when this will happen. we are hearing from secretary blinken who said earlier today that these are positive developments, but the real test is results. of course, that's something we will be keeping a close eye on. >> meagan fitzgerald, thank you so much. that wraps up the hour for me. you can reach me on social media. you can watch clips from our show on youtube. thank you for the privilege of your time. andrea mitchell picks up with more news riw.