On Saturday night, a 3.0 magnitude earthquake struck New Jersey, with residents from both New Jersey and nearby New York City noting they felt the tremors.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) indicated that the earthquake was centered around Hasbrook Heights and occurred at approximately 10:18 PM.
According to the USGS, this earthquake resulted from faults at shallow crustal depths. Notably, a magnitude 4.8 earthquake was reported near Tewkesbury, New Jersey, in April 2024.
On August 3, 2025, the M 3.0 earthquake near Hasbrook Heights also stemmed from shallow crustal faults. While it was not situated near a plate boundary, internal earthquakes like this can happen. Although small on a global scale, such earthquakes tend to be felt widely due to how seismic waves spread in the area.
Though eastern US earthquakes are rare, they aren’t completely unexpected. The April 2024 4.8 magnitude quake was approximately 60 km from the August 3, 2025 event and was felt widely in the northeastern US. I mean, it’s interesting—these two earthquakes are not an aftershock relationship, yet the impact of the April quake still lingers. Since 1950, there have been 43 earthquakes of magnitude above 3 within 250 km of this latest quake, with the Tewkesbury event being the most significant from April 2024. As for August 3, it took place in regions with previously identified fault lines that could, theoretically, reactivate at any moment.
Reports from New Jersey and New York City mention feelings of “slowly shocked” and “a sudden jolt,” as noted by various sources.
Residents in northern New Jersey described a sharp but brief shaking. Social media lit up with concerns about gas lines or trees potentially falling.
In Harlem, Bradford Billingsley recounted watching TV with a friend when their coffee table started to rattle. “We both felt a sudden shock and looked at one another, wondering if it was an earthquake,” he said.
New York City’s emergency management confirmed via social media that a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was reported “in or near New Jersey.” They noted that parts of NYC may have also felt some tremors and that they were coordinating with partners to assess the situation.
NYC Emergency Management also urged residents to “prepare for possible aftershocks.”
Many took to social media to verify whether they had indeed felt an earthquake, likening it to “the world’s biggest truck hitting a pothole.”
One user questioned, “Did we have an earthquake in New York? Did it feel like my building was shaking?”
Another post described a significant sensation felt in Montclair, New Jersey, about 15 minutes prior, comparing it to the earth bouncing and rumbling “like the world’s biggest truck hitting a pothole.”
In another social media comment, a journalist expressed surprise, asking if anyone else had felt the earthquake. “I felt an earthquake here in the Bronx,” another user mentioned, describing how her floor and sofa were shaking, bewildered by the event.
Multiple individuals chimed in, questioning whether others felt the tremor as well, reflecting on the shared experience across the region.
