New York, New Jersey experience earthquake aftershocks

Officials said multiple aftershocks occurred in the New York and New Jersey area after Friday morning’s magnitude 4.8 earthquake.

“New Jersey just experienced an aftershock,” said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. Said “Please follow the emergency guidance below and avoid calling 911 unless there is an actual emergency,” a post on the X Platform, formerly known as Twitter, said around 6 p.m. Friday. did.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported Friday evening that a magnitude 4.0 aftershock occurred in New Jersey at 5:59 p.m., with the epicenter just over four miles southwest of Gladstone.

A large aftershock occurred in the evening, and a smaller aftershock occurred earlier in the day.

“After this morning’s magnitude 4.8 earthquake, three much smaller aftershocks hit the area: a magnitude 1.8 at 12:31 p.m., a magnitude 2.0 at 1:14 p.m., and a magnitude 2.0 a few minutes earlier. ” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul (Democratic). He posted X early Friday afternoon.

“Aftershocks of this magnitude are normal and are not expected to cause further damage,” Hochul continued.

The morning earthquake of the 4.8th was felt as far as Philadelphia and Boston, and both Newark Liberty International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport were grounded due to the quake.

Earthquakes are rare on the east coast of the United States, but they occur more frequently in the west due to the proximity of places like California and Washington to tectonic plates, where their movement often causes shaking.

The New York City Emergency Management Agency said in a post on X in response to Friday night’s aftershocks that there were “no reports of major damage.”

“Please call 911 for life safety issues and 311 for non-emergency situations,” the agency said in the post. “Family and friends, especially people who are vulnerable and have accessibility or functional issues.”

Updated at 6:50pm EST.