Dahianara Polanco, 12th grade, was on a school trip when the earthquake struck. “I only felt it a little bit,” she said. “I thought it was the train going by because we were underground.”
Friends of hers inside the school experienced anxiety. A friend had to go home due to being incredibly freaked out.
New York City faced a 4.8 magnitude earthquake on April 5 at 10:23 in the morning.
The earthquake came as a shock to New York City students because they are uncommon for the East Coast. The last time New York City faced an earthquake was over a decade ago on Aug 12, 2011, with a magnitude of 5.8.
Emergency alerts went off on phones for two to three hours after the earthquake occurred.
This disrupted numerous classrooms and sent many students into a frenzy.
Fatoumata Drame, 11th grade, said, “My first thought was to get out my phone and film it, because I knew right away it was an earthquake.” She also recalled that other students were visibly scared and freaked out.
Students with anxiety disorder could have been severely impacted by the event. According to SAMHSA, anxiety disorders in children and adolescents are likely to develop after experiencing disasters.
Some students wonder if New York City schools should have earthquake drills so students can be prepared.
Mr. Paris, the earth science teacher, said, “There are fire drills to try to get as many people out of the building. The safest spot is the field. The biggest risk with an earthquake are things falling on top of people.”
Mr. Weiss, the Spanish teacher, said, “My initial reaction was that I was a little shocked and confused.”
He also said, “So were other teachers that were in the hallway at the time.”
Mr. Weiss grew up in Pennsylvania and experienced mild earthquakes earlier in his life, but recounted this one to be a cool experience. “We very rarely ever get earthquakes in New York. So when it does happen, everyone just kind of looks at each other like, ‘Is that an earthquake?’”
On social media, there were videos of people dramatizing the earthquake by inputting sad music over small things in the room that the earthquake had shifted with the caption “I survived the NYC earthquake.”
