A magnitude 4.8 earthquake occurs in New York, New Jersey
Fox Weathers’ Adam Klotz has more on the New Jersey earthquake. Professor John Ebell of the Weston Observatory discusses the possibility of aftershocks and explains why magnitude estimates fluctuated in the minutes after the initial quake.
Just three weeks after an even more powerful 4.8 earthquake struck the Garden State and surrounding areas, a smaller 2.9 earthquake shook New Jersey on Saturday morning.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the natural phenomenon occurred near Tewksbury around 9:49 a.m. this morning. Tewksbury is located in Hunterdon County, approximately 55 miles west of New York City.
It is unclear whether this seismic activity is an aftershock of the April 5 earthquake. The USGS said the event was centered near White House Station, about eight miles south of Tewksbury, and was felt from Washington, D.C., to Maine.
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Just three weeks after an even more powerful 4.8 quake rocked the Garden State and surrounding areas, a smaller 2.9 quake rocked New Jersey on Saturday morning.
Ashley Papa, a Fox News Digital editor in New Jersey, said she felt her house shake during Saturday’s earthquake.
“I was in the kitchen with my toddler and suddenly I started to feel the house shaking pretty strongly and I heard the same rumbling noises as on the day of the incident. [April 5] It’s an earthquake,” said Papa.
More than 130 aftershocks have been recorded in the region since the April 5 quake, and are estimated to have been felt by more than 42 million people in 14 states.
“I have to say it was the strongest aftershock since that day, except that unlike that Friday when I had no idea what was going on, this time I knew exactly how I felt,” Dad said. Told.
Two Bourbon Street Wine and Spirits employees in New Jersey had shelves full of alcohol on hand during the April 5 earthquake. (Chris Beardori)
4.8 magnitude earthquake hits New Jersey, shaking buildings in surrounding states
“I think we’re all just in shock that this is still going on. We thought we wouldn’t feel anything like this again for another 100 years, but here we are for about a month. Even after all this time, I’m still feeling strong aftershocks and wondering what all this is about.” And of course our dog is scared and will probably never be the same again. ”
Earthquakes are rare along the East Coast, and in August 2011, the most powerful quake in the past 100 years occurred, registering 5.8 on the Richter scale. It was felt from Washington, D.C. to Boston, centered in Virginia.
The recent quake followed a magnitude 1.7 earthquake that struck New York City on January 2nd.
People walk in lower Manhattan moments after a magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck parts of New York City and New Jersey on April 5, 2024. (East Coast Earthquake)
Professor John Abel, a seismologist at Boston University’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, recently told Fox News Digital that an earthquake greater than magnitude 5.0 on the Richter scale typically occurs once every 120 years.
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“The question is, can we build something bigger? And in my opinion, it can,” he said. “We can’t predict earthquakes, and we don’t know when the next one will occur. However, there is a small to no chance that a damaging earthquake will occur at some point.”
Ebel said the April 5 quake puzzled seismologists because it did not originate in the Ramapo fault zone, underscoring how difficult it is to predict the occurrence of this phenomenon.
The Ramapo Fault Zone is a series of small fault lines that run through New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. It spans more than 185 miles and was formed about 200 million years ago.
