If you were on the northern East Coast Friday morning, odds are — you felt it. And then, because it’s not that common an occurrence in this part of the country, you likely spent the rest of the day talking about the 4.8 magnitude earthquake that hit New Jersey and rocked the entire region.
Here’s everything we know so far about the quake.
Where and when it happened
The quake occurred shortly before 10:25 a.m., about 4 miles north of Readington Township’s Whitehouse Station in Hunterdon County. The area is a mostly rural section of Central Jersey.
The impact
The earthquake was felt by about 42 million people along the East Coast. Residents reported feeling the shaking from the quake across New Jersey, New York City and Long Island as well as some parts of Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
So far, the furthest area to feel the affects of the earthquake was Amherst, Massachusetts, which is located about 165 miles away from Readington Township, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Residents who spoke to NJ Advance Media said they felt their houses and offices shaking for about 10 to 20 seconds, with windows rattling, light fixtures moving and floors feeling like they were shifting. Some reported hearing loud rumbling noises similar to the sound of large trucks or low-flying helicopters.
A business owner in the Oldwick section of Tewksbury Township, adjacent to the earthquake’s epicenter, said he only felt the shaking for about 5 seconds, but that it “sounded like a bomb went off.”
Stephen Bonanno was opening the doors of his antique store, Julian Gage Home Collection, when he felt the affects of the boom. After the impact, he spent about an hour picking up paintings that had fallen off the wall and merchandise that was thrown around. Nothing in the store was damaged.
In the video below, customers can be seen getting up and fleeing from a coffee shop in Morris County’s Boonton Township after some shaking occurred inside the cafe.
There were no immediate reports of injuries across the state on Friday.
Aftershocks, which are a series of smaller earthquakes that occur after the initial boom, were also reported across the Garden State. The largest so far, with a magnitude of 4.0, hit the region at about 6 p.m., and had people wondering whether a second earthquake had hit.
At least 10 smaller aftershocks were reported as of Friday evening, with magnitudes ranging from 1.8 to 2.2:
- Magnitude 2.2:About 2 miles northeast of Whitehouse Station (Hunterdon) at 1:32 p.m.
- Magnitude 1.9: About 1.8 miles southeast of Long Valley (Morris) at 1:22 p.m.
- Magnitude 2.0: About 1.8 miles southeast of Long Valley (Morris) at 1:19 p.m.
- Magnitude 2.0:About 1.8 miles northwest of Gladstone (Somerset) at 1:14 p.m.
- Magnitude 1.8:About 3.1 miles southwest of Bedminster (Somerset) at 12:50 p.m.
- Magnitude 1.8: About 3.7 miles northeast of Whitehouse Station (Hunterdon) at 12:32 p.m.
- Magnitude 2.0: About 3.7 miles southeast of Long Valley (Morris) at 11:49 p.m.
- Magnitude 1.8: About 2.5 miles east-southeast of Califon (Hunterdon) at 11:37 a.m.
- Magnitude 1.9: About 4.3 miles north of Whitehouse Station (Hunterdon) at 11:33 a.m.
- Magnitude 2.0: About 3.7 miles northeast of Whitehouse Station (Hunterdon) at 11:20 a.m.
The U.S. Geological Survey, which tracks earthquake activity across the world, says there is a 40% chance the region can continue to feel aftershocks from the Friday morning quake for up to seven days.
What is a 4.8 magnitude earthquake?
Earthquake magnitudes are measured with a tool called a seismometer, which directly records the shaking of the ground.
A magnitude of 4.8 is considered moderate, usually only causing some shaking and possible light damage close to the epicenter. An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 or higher would be strong enough to cause structural damage, according to the U.S.G.S.
Response from public officials
In the wake of the earthquake and aftershocks earlier on Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy advised those inside buildings with damage or unstable structures to evacuate. The governor also said in an interview on ABC News that he was in contact with President Joe Biden, who assured him that the White House would provide help to the Garden State if needed.
“He (the President) is in touch with his team who are monitoring potential impacts. The White House is in touch with federal, state, and local officials as we learn more,” a statement from the White House said.
In what became a controversial post on X on Friday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul alerted her state about the earthquake and avoided specifying that it occurred in New Jersey, stating that it happened “west of Manhattan.”
How often do earthquakes occur in New Jersey?
Earthquakes are less common in New Jersey because the East Coast does not lie on a boundary of tectonic plates, which are parts of the Earth’s crust that slide past each other and build pressure when they get stuck.
The biggest quakes usually occur along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which extends through Iceland and the Atlantic Ocean.
In recent years, New Jersey has experienced earthquakes ranging from a 1.7 magnitude quake southeast of Trenton in 2014 — weak enough that some people didn’t notice — to a 2.0 magnitude earthquake near Ringwood after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and a 2.8 magnitude event near Bernardsville in 2015.
Mild temblors like those are typical of New Jersey earthquakes and mostly result in little damage.
NJ Advance Media staff writers Anthony G. Attrino, Len Melisurgo, Linda O’Brien, Katie Kausch, Jackie Roman, Brianna Kudisch, Nyah Marshall and Katherine Rodriguez contributed to this report.
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Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com.
