© Chopper 10
People were out on the sidewalks as emergency vehicles blocked off streets -- everyone trying to figure out what caused loud bangs in Northeast Philly Friday night.
A loud bang in Northeast Philadelphia on Friday night was caused by a 1.7 magnitude earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.


Comment: Interesting. Considering U.S. Geological Survey's claims, we have to ask how come Japan's 9.8 magnitude earthquake wasn't followed by terrible and deafening explosions? And we are not talking about the consequences of the devastating tsunami. Is it really too hard to consider the possibility that the earthquake was caused by the "loud bang" and not the other way around?


The USGS reports that the depth of the quake was 4.2 km (2.6 miles).

The site also says that it hit 2 miles from Cornwells Heights-Eddington, PA, 4 miles from Beverly, NJ, 5 miles from Riverton, NJ and 10 miles from Philadelphia.

People all over the Northeast and in nearby places like Bensalem, Pa. were reporting having heard an explosion or boom in the area of Knights and Fairdale Road around 9:35 p.m., according to the Philadelphia Fire Department.

Some witnesses even claimed to feel their houses shake.

"The house vibrated several times," said witness Phil Steinman.

As of midnight there was no apparent damage or signs of an explosion.

Its not the first time a quake hit the area this month. A magnitude 1.9 quake was reported by the USGS near Mount Holly, N.J. around 4:20 a.m. on May 10.


Comment: Then, was it also followed by a loud explosion?


Chopper 10 caught dozens of emergency vehicles rushing towards and in the area of the scene -- near the Franklin Mills Mall -- but there were no visible signs of any explosion despite the reports.

As of 11 p.m. PGW had found no leaks, officials said. And PECO had no reports of power outages in the area.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.