No major damage or injuries reported as New York is rocked by earthquake

People wait at a station in Philadelphia while crews check tracks following the earthquake (Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

An earthquake shook the densely populated New York City metropolitan area on Friday with residents across the north east of the US reporting rumbling in a region unaccustomed to it.

The US Geological Survey reported a quake at 10.23am with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8, centred near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, or about 45 miles west of New York City and 50 miles north of Philadelphia.