People are already linking the New York earthquake to the impending eclipse

New York has just been hit by a rare earthquake – but conspiracy theorists are already coming out of the woodwork.

The city has been rocked by a 4.8 magnitude earthquake, with an epicentre in Lebanon, New Jersey.

Kaz Daughtry, deputy commissioner of the NYPD, said the force is assessing the impact of the tremors – although they ‘do not have any reports of major impacts at this time’.

The quake, which hit at around 10am local time, was reportedly felt as far as Boston, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

An emergency alert was sent out to phones in the New York area, advising residents to remain indoors and to call 911 if injured.

But one natural phenomenon is being linked to another, as a total solar eclipse is set to be seen across North America on Monday.

The two events taking place in quick succession is leading to speculation that the world is ending.

We can assure you that this isn’t the case – but that won’t stop us enjoying some of the memes already being shared on social media.

Research looking into the potential links between eclipses and earthquakes has found that increased tidal stresses during a new moon, which is required for a solar eclipse, could slightly increase the likelihood of a large earthquake.

An article published in Nature Geoscience in 2016 found large subduction zones are highly sensitive to tidal changes.

After analysing and simulating changing tides in the two weeks before large earthquakes such Sumatra in 2004, Chile in 2010 and Tohoku in 2011, they found the earthquakes tended to occur at times of maximum stress – during full or new moons.

However the report stresses that their findings only apply to large magnitude earthquakes, meaning today’s earthquake in New York is unlikely to have been impacted by the tides.

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