Get the latest tech news

The rare NYC earthquake underscores concerns about infrastructure

The quake didn’t cause any major damage.

Infrastructure in the US has always been a sore subject, but when a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck the New York City region on Friday, many people were rightfully nervous about the structural integrity of the surrounding bridges, tunnels, and buildings. “When you look at that, in terms of this scale, it’s a pretty minor event,” Magued Iskander, a professor and chair of the civil and urban engineering department at New York University, tells The Verge. But, as pointed out by Borys Hayda, the managing principal at DeSimone Consulting Engineers, the designs of most buildings in the area “are controlled by hurricane or Northeastern wind loads” rather than earthquakes.

Get the Android app