Earthquake snarls air and train travel in the New York City area

An earthquake centered in New Jersey and felt across the New York City region on Friday disrupted air and rail travel, with ground stoppages at airports in the New York City area and delays in train service. 

Travel operations were momentarily halted Friday morning with ground stoppages at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens and at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, with crews working to resume normal air traffic operations. By early afternoon, the ground stoppage at JFK had been lifted.

The earthquake, which occurred roughly 10:20 a.m. Eastern time, had either a 4.7 or 4.8 magnitude and was centered near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, 40 miles west of New York City,  according to the United States Geological Survey.

Newark airport is experiencing average departure delays of 43 minutes, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Inbound aircraft that are already airborne are delayed by about an hour. Inbound flights that have not yet taken off are being held until 12:30 p.m., according to the site.  

Flights in and out of LaGuardia airport in Queens were also delayed, likely in order for airport staff to check for damage to the airport and runways and clear away any debris. 

The ground stoppages and delays are not expected to last long. 

Additionally, New Jersey Transit said it's experiencing up to 20-minute delays across its entire rail service system, in both directions. NJ Transit said it's inspecting a bridge for damage to ensure train travel is safe. 

—CBS News' Kris Van Cleave contributed reporting.

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• Travel
• Earthquake

Megan Cerullo

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News Streaming to discuss her reporting.