A 'rare' earthquake has shaken thousands of homes and buildings across New Jersey in the early hours of the morning.
Many took to social media alarmed by the reportedly rare location of the quake in the US state.
One homeowner said it felt like their house shook for three seconds.
The quake measured 3.1 in magnitude and occurred at a depth of 5km.
It was and was recorded at around 2am local time and reportedly could be felt in parts of New York, including Brooklyn.
Another said: "Just felt a low rumble, then a solid 'boom' then rumbled away. Thought it was a furnace."
Some said it is so uncommon for an earthquake to hit the east coast state, they had no idea what to think at first.
Natalie Torchia wrote: "From central New Jersey, it's so uncommon no-one really knew what to think at first.
"I'm from Old Bridge New Jersey, apparently my friends all the way from Brooklyn just felt it too."
Some said it sounded like something had expoded.
One resident wrote: "Wasn't sure what it was till we saw our friend in Manalapan say her whole house shook.
"At first, I thought something exploded nearby or a car hit our apartment building or something."
East coast America is 100 times less active than West Coast California that sits right over a boudary of two tectonic plates making up the earth crust.
