7.7 Earthquake 8K Miles Away Rocks Parts of New York State

Massive earthquake

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck the South Pacific on Friday sent off tsunami warnings for a number of Pacific island nations, but thankfully, there wasn't any "significant damage" reported.

Felt in New York

And while the epicenter of the quake hit Vanuatu - an island in the South Pacific over 8,000 miles away from us - amazingly it felt in New York State according to several who felt the rumble.

Seismologists said the magnitude of 2.2 was reported in the early hours on Friday morning, with the sound of a "loud rumble" also heard.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake struck around a mile south-south-west of Hastings-on-Hudson.

One of the great things about living in the Northeast is that - for the most part - we don't have the real threat of unpredictable natural disasters that people in other parts of the country or world do.

Rare in New York

For instance, we're not getting many hurricanes, tornadoes, avalanches, landslides, wildfires, and droughts, but if we do, it's relatively mild.  But when the ground starts to shake, it can be a bit unsettling.

But on occasion, Mother Nature can whip up a little Northeast excitement in the form of an actual earthquake, and that was the case on Friday.