Science and Technology

[Fox News] Is the East Coast on the brink of a major earthquake — and are we prepared?

The earthquake that struck the East Coast earlier this month was felt by an estimated 42 million people and luckily caused little damage, but what are the chances of a bigger, more powerful quake striking the area? And if it does, what could it look like — and are we prepared?

The April 5 phenomenon was a 4.8 magnitude earthquake centered near Whitehouse Station in New Jersey, which is about 40 miles west of New York City.

Shaking was felt from Washington D.C. to Maine, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and it followed a much smaller, 1.7 magnitude earthquake in New York City on Jan. 2. 

Earthquakes are rare along the East Coast, with the most powerful one in the last 100 years hitting in August 2011, clocking 5.8 on the Richter scale. It was centered in Virginia and felt from Washington, D.C. to Boston.

4.8 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE STRIKES NEW JERSEY, SHAKING BUILDINGS IN SURROUNDING STATES

Before that, an earthquake in South Carolina in 1886 is understood to have measured between 6.6 and 7.3 on the Richter scale. There is no definitive measurement of that quake since the Richter scale has only been around since the mid-1930s, but the tectonic shift still killed 60 people.

Professor John Ebel, a seismologist in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Boston College, tells Fox News Digital that when quakes start breaking 5.0 on the Richter scale, damage begins to occur. 

For instance, the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria last year measured 7.8 and resulted in the death of nearly 62,000 people as tens of thousands of buildings were either destroyed or severely damaged.

California’s Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, meanwhile, measured 6.9 and caused 69 deaths, and the 1994 Northridge earthquake in the Golden State clocked 6.7, killing 57 people. Thousands more were injured. 

“As you go above magnitude five, the shaking becomes stronger and the area over which the strong shaking is experienced becomes wider,” Ebel says. “So if you get a magnitude six, the shaking is ten times stronger than a magnitude five. So had this month’s earthquake been a 5.8, rather than a 4.8, then we would be looking at damage to unreinforced structures in the greater New York City area.”

“Now I have to qualify this and say that in the past few decades, New York City has had an earthquake provision in its building code while New Jersey, New York and Connecticut have all adopted some version of earthquake provisions in their building codes,” Ebel explained. “So modern buildings that are put up today will actually do quite well, even in strong earthquake shaking… If you have a magnitude 6 or even a magnitude seven.”

In terms of the Tri-state area, Ebel says that the region has had smaller earthquakes, but it’s been spared anything that’s been significantly damaging.

An 1884 quake in Brooklyn did cause limited damage and injuries. Seismologists estimated it would have measured in the region of 5.0 and 5.2, while a quake jolted Massachusetts in 1775 in the region of 6.0 and 6.3.

WHAT TO DO DURING AN EARTHQUAKE AND HOW TO PREPARE

“In 1884 there were things knocked from shelves, some cracks in walls that were reported, particularly plaster walls, which crack very easily if a building is shaken,” Ebel said. “There were some brick walls that had some cracks and people panicked because of the very strong shaking.”

A magnitude five earthquake hits the tri-state area once every 120 years, says Ebel, who penned the book “New England Earthquakes: The Surprising History of Seismic Activity in the Northeast.”

“The question is, can we have something bigger? And in my opinion, yes we can,” he said. “We can’t predict earthquakes, and we don’t know when the next one is going to occur, but we do have a low, not insignificant probability of a damaging earthquake at some point.”

Ebel said that the April 5 earthquake has left seismologists baffled since it didn’t occur on the Ramapo Fault zone, highlighting just how hard it is to predict the phenomenon from occurring. The Ramapo Fault zone is a series of small fault lines that runs through New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Spanning more than 185 miles, it was formed about 200 million years ago.

“Right now it’s a seismological mystery,” Ebel said. “We have some earthquakes in our region where we don’t have faults mapped. But that’s even true in California. Not every earthquake occurs on a known or mapped fault in California, so there are still a lot of seismologists have to learn about the exact relationship between old faults and modern earthquakes.”

Ebel noted that buildings aren’t the only thing to consider when earthquakes strike. In the California quakes, overpasses crumbled while the electrical grid can go down too, causing electrical surges and fires.  

Toxic chemicals were knocked off of the shelves of a chemistry building in 1989 and the building had to be evacuated, Ebel said. 

“And you think about hospitals and some industrial facilities having that situation,” he explained. “So you have these things that are not catastrophic necessarily, but are going to be a real problem.”

And an earthquake doesn’t necessarily have to rattle land in order to cause destruction.

A jolt out at sea could trigger a dangerous tsunami, like the one on the edge of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in Canada in 1929. It was felt as far away as New York City.

Waves as high as 23 feet crashed on the shore, according to the International Tsunami Information Center, with up to 28 people losing their lives. 

“A tsunami is not necessarily a very high probability event, but it’s one that we have to think about also,” Ebel says in relation to the East Coast.

The Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 was triggered by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

Ebel says a tsunami similar to 1929 could cause a storm surge along the lines of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, where 43 people died in New York City. 

“The threat of an earthquake is not as great as in California, but it’s something that we have to take into account and have emergency plans for and have building codes for,” Ebel says. “Our state and local emergency management agencies in all the northeastern states do earthquake planning — what we call tabletop exercises — where they pretend an earthquake occurs.”

“So those kinds of preparations are made on a regular basis,” he concludes. “Building codes are constantly being reevaluated and approved, not just for earthquakes, but for fires and chemical spills and all kinds of things. So we’re getting more prepared all the time.”

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Business

[Fox Business] Swiss Air flight takeoff from NYC to Zurich aborted after 4 jets cleared to cross runway: report

A Swiss Air flight traveling from New York City to Zurich last week had to abort takeoff, averting a “potentially dangerous situation,” the airline confirmed.

Flight LX17 from John F. Kennedy Airport left the gate at 4:21 p.m. April 17, according to FlightAware. The aircraft was cleared for takeoff at the same time an air traffic controller on another frequency cleared four other jets to cross the runway, according to audio obtained by NPR. 

“Due to the high level of situational awareness and quick reaction of our crew, a potentially dangerous situation was quickly de-escalated,” Swiss Air said in a statement to FOX Business.

The airline added that the crew of the Airbus A330 reacted professionally and that they regularly undergo simulator training that practices similar situations. 

JETBLUE, SOUTHWEST JETS HAVE CLOSE CALL AT WASHINGTON AIRPORT AFTER ATC MISHAP

“The aircraft had only built up a speed that was just above our maximum taxiing speed when it braked again,” the airline spokesperson said in the statement. 

The flight was carried out as planned a few minutes later from another section of the same runway. Takeoff occurred at 5 p.m., according to FlightAware, which was 35 minutes later than scheduled. It safely landed in Zurich, Switzerland, at 6:26 a.m. Central European Summer Time. 

2 JETBLUE PLANES COLLIDE AT BOSTON LOGAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Similar close calls have been happening at airports across the U.S. Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it planned to investigate a close call involving JetBlue and Southwest aircraft in Washington.

JetBlue Airways told FOX Business flight 1554, which was flying from Washington, D.C., to Boston, had to abort its takeoff because another aircraft had attempted to cross the runway. 

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In February, two JetBlue planes collided on the tarmac at Boston Logan International Airport. 

Aviation news outlet Simple Flying says an air traffic controller shortage could be contributing to the problem, stating a pause in recruiting since the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many working overtime, and the new retirement age is now 56. 

FOX Business’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report. 

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Business

[Fox Business] Walmart backed startup fintech launches buy now, pay later option

The Walmart-backed financial technology company, One, is helping customers to buy now and pay later. 

The payment option is being used in some of Walmart’s stores. The Arkansas-based retailer has over 4,000 stores around the U.S. but it didn’t specify which stores are using One. 

One declined to comment. 

AMERICANS USING BUY NOW, PAY LATER TO AFFORD GROCERIES, OTHER NECESSITIES

According to One’s website, the pay over time feature applies to purchases between $100 and $3,000. It also comes with an annual percentage rate (APR) between 9.99% and 35.99%, which depends on your creditworthiness.

One’s system rivals that of Affirm, which Walmart already uses to help customers purchase products across its stores and online. 

Buy now, pay later services, which let customers pay for purchases over time, have been growing in interest in recent years, especially at a time when Americans are contending with persisting inflation, high interest rates and student loan payments. 

Over the holiday season, for instance, online spending during Cyber Week was driven in large part by “Buy Now Pay Later” options, according to Adobe. 

CYBER MONDAY SALES REACH $12.4B DRIVEN BY ‘BUY NOW, PAY LATER’

Usage of such services hit an all-time high on Cyber Monday, accounting for $940 million, an increase of 42.5% year over year. Cart sizes also rose 11% annually as shoppers leaned on the service. 

While they help consumers with flexibility, financial experts warn that there are pitfalls. 

For one, customers need to ensure they have the money to cover the payments when due. If a consumer keeps missing payments, they could very easily be handed over to a debt collector, Martha Callahan, certified financial planner at Maryland-based FBB Capital Partners, previously told FOX Business. 

“It’s similar to using a credit card where you make the purchase now, but when it comes time to pay that debt, if you don’t have the cash on hand to make the payment. You’re just digging yourself into a deeper financial hole,” Callahan said.  

Not all payments are interest free either. 

For instance, Walmart noted on its website that Affirm may offer special financing as low as 0% APR but only on select Walmart.com products. 

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Walmart continued saying on its website that “0% APR is a promotional financing offer that is specific to certain Walmart.com products for a limited time.”

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Business

[Fox Business] FTC votes to ban noncompete agreements

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Tuesday approved a regulation that would ban noncompete agreements nationwide on the grounds that they unfairly limit workers’ mobility and lead to lower pay.

The FTC, which currently has a Democratic majority under President Joe Biden, voted 3-2 to approve the final noncompete rule. The agency first proposed the ban on noncompete agreements in January 2023, arguing they unfairly limit competition. 

Noncompete agreements generally prohibit an employee from leaving their current company to work for a competitor and are more commonly used in more senior positions. The FTC’s new rule would ban new noncompetes for all workers, including senior executives, as an unfair competitive practice. 

Existing noncompetes would be treated differently for senior executives – defined as workers in a “policy-making position” who earn over $151,164 annually – as they could remain in effect for senior executives, while noncompetes for other workers would become unenforceable following the rule’s adoption.

FTC PROPOSES RULE FOR NATIONWIDE BAN ON NONCOMPETE CLAUSES FOR WORKERS

“Noncompete clauses keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism, including from the more than 8,500 new startups that would be created a year once noncompetes are banned,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement after the vote. “The FTC’s final rule to ban noncompetes will ensure Americans have the freedom to pursue a new job, start a new business, or bring a new idea to market.”

The FTC estimated that the ban on noncompetes will boost new business formation by 2.7% per year, leading to the creation of more than 8,500 additional new businesses each year. The regulator also estimated that it will raise the average worker’s wages by an additional $524 per year and is expected to lower health care costs by up to $194 billion over the next decade.

An estimated 30 million workers, about one in five Americans in the workforce, are subject to a noncompete agreement, the FTC noted.

FTC MAY TRY TO BLOCK YET ANOTHER BUSINESS MERGER

Business groups and Republican lawmakers have opposed the FTC’s rule, arguing that noncompetes are a critical tool for companies to protect trade secrets and that they promote competitiveness.

“Time and time again, this Administration has failed to consider Main Street’s best interests when imposing new rules and regulations,” House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams, R-Texas, told FOX Business. 

“This proposed rule from the FTC will stifle the innovation coming from our entrepreneurs. Without noncompete clauses, large corporations can poach talent away from trailblazing small businesses,” he added. “We wrote to Chair Khan last month regarding this issue and received a high level response but remain concerned that the FTC is not properly considering small businesses in this rule.”

LAWMAKER DEMANDS FTC PROBE TEMU PARENT COMPANY OVER ALLEGED CCP TIES

The FTC’s rule is expected to draw legal challenges. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest business lobbying group, has said it plans to file a lawsuit to block the FTC’s noncompete rule as early as Wednesday.

Neil Bradley, chief policy officer for the Chamber of Commerce, said on a press call Monday that the FTC lacks authority to advance regulations banning noncompetes or other conduct it deems anticompetitive.

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“There is really no aspect of the U.S. economy that they couldn’t regulate” if the rule is allowed to stand, Bradley said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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