Lifestyle Travel East Coast Earthquake Temporarily Shut Down Holland Tunnel, Grounded Flights New York and New Jersey officials announced that infrastructure inspections would occur around the area following the 4.8-magnitude quake By Charlotte Phillipp Charlotte Phillipp Charlotte Phillipp is a Weekend Writer-Reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2024, and was previously an entertainment reporter at The Messenger. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on April 5, 2024 04:33PM EDT The New York City area is facing travel complications after a rare earthquake struck the East Coast. Following the 4.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the New York City, Boston and Philadelphia areas on April 5, the Holland Tunnel was temporarily closed for inspection and flights at New York-area airports have been grounded. According to an update shared to X (formerly Twitter) by the New York and New Jersey Port Authority, the Holland Tunnel was being held from both the N.J. and N.Y. sides after the quake. Just a few minutes later, the agency announced that the tunnel would be reopened. Additionally, flights at both John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport were temporarily grounded with no planes taking off, according to N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul and a Port Authority official. Airport officials would take the time to inspect runways while the flights were grounded. “This is one of the largest earthquakes on the East Coast to occur in the last century,” Hochul said at the State Capitol in Albany according to the New York Times, adding that infrastructure inspections would be taken "extremely seriously." Per the Times, the Port Authority official announced several hours later that John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia were cleared. N.J. Gov. Philip D. Murphy added that Newark was also cleared for flights, but the airport's AirTrain system had been shut down for inspection. A map showing the epicenter of an earthquake on the East Coast of the U.S. on Friday, April 5, 2024. U.S. Geological Survey via AP The quake, which struck just before 10:30 a.m. local time, was centered near Lebanon, New Jersey, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said earlier Friday. The Fire Department of New York said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) that there were “no major incidents at this time," but they were “responding to calls and evaluating structural stability.” 4.8 Magnitude Earthquake in New Jersey Jolts the East Coast — Here's the Latest Information Around 11 a.m., emergency phone alerts stated, "A 4.7-magnitude earthquake has occurred in the NYC area. Residents are advised to remain indoors and to call 911 if injured." Initially, the USGS reported a 4.8-magnitude quake, according to CNN. It was then adjusted to 4.7 before being revised back to 4.8. The agency said earthquakes are "uncommon but not unheard of along the Atlantic Coast." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Vehicles approach the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City, New Jersey. Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty NBC News reported that the earthquake was the strongest in the state in almost 250 years, per state data. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a news conference, per CBS News, that while there are concerns about aftershocks, "New Yorkers should go about their normal day. First responders are working to make sure the city's safe." Later in the day, Murphy advised N.J. residents during a video press conference: "Just don’t panic, keep a level head." "If upon an eyeball inspection, you see something that doesn’t look right, make sure a professional knows about that,” he added, per the Times. “Do the common-sense-based thing."