Aftershocks from the 4.8 magnitude earthquake that hit New Jersey and reverberated through the northeast Friday continued overnight, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Officials reported 11 aftershocks in Hunterdon and Somerset counties between 5 p.m. Friday and 4 a.m. Saturday.
Don’t worry — this is normal.
Aftershocks are a series of smaller quakes that follow the larger “mainshock” of an earthquake, and the ones that happened overnight all fell below a magnitude of 2.
While the main earthquake was felt as far away as Massachusetts, the overnight seismic activity was centered closer to the Ramapo fault.
- Magnitude 1.9: About 3.7 miles southwest of Gladstone (Somerset) on April 6, 2024 at 8:16 a.m.
- Magnitude 2.5: About 4.3 miles west southwest of Gladstone (Somerset) on April 6, 2024 at 6:46 a.m.
- Magnitude 1.9: About 2.5 miles east of Califon (Hunterdon) on April 6, 2024 at 3:18 a.m.
- Magnitude 1.7: About 3.7 miles east-southeast of Califon (Hunterdon) on April 6, 2024 at 3:09 a.m.
- Magnitude 1.7: About 2.5 miles west-southwest of Bedminster (Somerset) on April 6, 2024 at 2:11 a.m.
- Magnitude 1.7: About 3.1 miles southwest of Gladstone (Somerset) on April 6, 2024 at 12:07 a.m.
- Magnitude 1.5: About 3.1 miles west-southwest of Gladstone (Somerset) on April 5, 2024 at 7:51 p.m.
- Magnitude 1.8: About 2.5 miles west of Bedminster (Somerset) on April 5, 2024 at 7:39 p.m.
- Magnitude 1.5: About 3.1 miles northeast of Whitehouse Station (Hunterdon) on April 5, 2024 at 6:39 p.m.
- Magnitude 1.9: About 1.9 miles southwest of Bedminster (Somerset) on April 5, 2024 at 6:10 p.m.
- Magnitude 3.8: About 4.3 miles southwest of Gladstone (Somerset) on April 5, 2024 at 5:59 p.m.
- Magnitude 1.9: About 3.1 miles west-southwest of Bedminster (Somerset) on April 5, 2024 at 5:16 p.m.
More earthquake aftershocks in N.J. region are very likely in next 7 days, experts predict
There were nearly 20 aftershocks total between Friday when the quake hit and Saturday morning.
Experts say there’s nearly an 80% chance our region will be hit with an aftershock of magnitude 3.0 or higher within the next week and almost a 15% chance of an aftershock that’s magnitude 4.0 or stronger.
The agency says aftershocks typically become less frequent with time, “although they can continue for days, weeks, months, or even years for a very large mainshock.”
Staff writer Len Melisurgo contributed to this report.
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S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X.
