NEW YORK – A magnitude 4.8 earthquake recorded in New Jersey on Friday morning shook residents of surrounding states and New York City, making it one of the largest earthquakes in the state's history.
The earthquake was reported around 10:23 a.m. Friday about eight miles north of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The epicenter was about 45 miles (72 kilometers) from New York City, and residents reported their furniture and floors shaking.
“While earthquakes in this region are unusual, they are not unexpected. People near the epicenter are likely to feel the aftershocks of this earthquake, in the magnitude 2 to 3 range, and , it is unlikely that an earthquake of equal or greater magnitude will occur after that,” said seismologist Paul Earle. USGS Earthquake Hazard Program told reporters. “From the perspective of our work, this is an everyday earthquake. We quickly realized that this was of interest and importance to people who don't often feel earthquakes.”
After the quake, people reported feeling shaking as far north as Maine and as far south as Norfolk, Virginia, according to the USGS. Scientists said residents in affected areas should listen to local emergency officials and be prepared to evacuate in case of aftershocks.
“If you feel a tremor, drop it, cover it, and hold it down,” Earl says.
No major disruptions or damage were reported in New Jersey or New York.
“We have activated our state emergency response center. Please do not call 911 unless you have a true emergency,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said.
President Joe Biden has spoken with Murphy about the earthquake, and the White House is monitoring the situation.
“He thinks everything is under control,” Biden told reporters before leaving the White House for a trip to Baltimore. “The governor of New Jersey isn't too worried, so it's okay.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the quake was felt across New York and officials were assessing the impact and potential damage.
Mayor Mike Spano of Yonkers, New York, said City Hall was shaken but no injuries were reported.
“A few minutes ago, the whole house shook for about 25 seconds here in Mendham, New Jersey,” said former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
The USGS is still investigating the exact fault line at the center of Friday's quake, and said it occurred in an area with dozens of fault lines that were more active millions of years ago.
The earthquake was felt across Massachusetts.
In Auburn, Massachusetts, more than 320 miles from the quake's epicenter, Jerry Steinhelper was on a video call for work when his house started shaking. His dog Maze started barking and books and decorations fell off the shelves. When he looked out the window, he saw the trees swaying.
“At first I thought it might have been ice falling from the roof. But it continued and the whole house shook,” he told USA TODAY. “That's when I realized it was an earthquake.”
Steinhelper, 55, lived in San Diego in the 1980s and experienced earthquakes there, but he has never felt one in Massachusetts, where he has lived for more than 25 years.
“It was an interesting 10-15 seconds,” he said.
Man who underwent vasectomy during earthquake shares his experience
A man in Horsham, Pennsylvania, shares his unusual experience with an earthquake, saying he was in the middle of undergoing a vasectomy when the tremors hit him.
“The surgeon froze up and we all seemed a little confused,” Justin Allen told USA TODAY. “Even when the surgeon said, 'It must be an earthquake,' I thought he was kidding.”
Fortunately, Allen's doctors were able to resume the procedure after a short pause, and the rest went off without a hitch. Allen, who is currently recuperating at her home, said it was an experience everyone involved will never forget, especially since social media posts about the incident went viral afterward.
“My wife says, 'This is a clear sign that we shouldn't have any more children,'” Allen said.
Near the epicenter: “It felt like a plane crashed outside.''
Nicole Kravitz, 33, was baking muffins at the cafe she co-owns with her husband in New Jersey when the floor began to shake. She and her cook looked at each other for a moment, then she stared at the stack of plates and glasses that began to vibrate.
Their eatery, Branchburg's Best, is located in Somerset County, New Jersey, near the epicenter of Friday's earthquake.
“It felt like a plane had crashed outside,” she said. “No one knew what was going on.”
While she checked the basement for damage, several employees ran out the door to see if anything had hit the building. Meanwhile, her husband Patrick Tucker, who had come to pick up beef from a nearby farm, was visibly shaken by the earthquake and watched as excited chickens and cows ran around in cages.
Kravitz said the intensity of the earthquake made him feel like he was back in Southern California, where he lived for several years before returning to his home state in 2016.
The earthquake was one of the strongest ever to impact New Jersey
Friday's quake was the most significant in New Jersey since 1884, when an Aug. 10 quake near Jamaica Bay, New York, toppled chimneys and toppled homes from their foundations as far as 30 miles away in Rahway, New Jersey. It became.
According to the New Jersey State Department, three other earthquakes have affected the state in modern history: 1737 (in New York City), 1783 (in western New York City), and 1927 (on the New Jersey coast near Asbury). only. Crisis management records.
The December 19, 1737 earthquake is believed by modern experts to have been a magnitude 5.2 earthquake. There are also reports that the epicenter was near Weehawken. State records say he threw it down a chimney. The earthquake of November 29, 1783 also threw away the chimney. The magnitude of the outbreak in what is now Rockaway Township was estimated at 5.3 and was felt from Pennsylvania to New England, state records show.
According to state records, the estimated magnitude 5.2 earthquake on August 10, 1884 was the last earthquake of magnitude recognized by the state and was felt from Virginia to Maine. Read more about New Jersey's earthquake history.
-David M. Zimmer, NorthJersey.com
New Jersey business owner says it was the worst earthquake he's ever felt, but he quickly got back to work
It was a busy day at La Bella Salon & Spa in Lebanon, New Jersey, when an earthquake struck near the rural town.
About a dozen stylists and customers, some getting their hair dyed, others getting manicures or eyelash extensions, all froze as the building rattled for about 30 seconds.
“People started to feel the shaking and things just got worse and worse. We were like, 'Oh my God, what's going on?'” store owner Roseanne Drexel said. “I thought a truck had hit a building or something,” he said.
Once the shaking subsided, Drexel, 61, said nearly everyone in the building began receiving texts and calls from friends and family.
There was no damage or injuries, but Drexel, who was born and raised in New Jersey, said it was “the worst earthquake ever” he had ever felt.
“We all went back to work and completed our commitments,” she said. “Customers are now calling to see if we are still open and if they can still make reservations later today.”
'It was scary': Earthquake rattles shelves in Brooklyn wine cellar
In Brooklyn, residents said they felt buildings shaking and many went outside to check on their neighbors after the rumbling stopped.
Julio Melo, a deli worker, said he thought the quake sounded like a large truck driving down the street. But when Melo, 32, looked around and saw beer bottles rattling on store shelves and potted plants swinging under the counter, it wasn't much bigger than that. I thought so, he told USA TODAY.
“When I looked at the employee, he had the same tragic look on his face that I had. It was scary,” he said at Genesis Grocery Corp. in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
-Claire Thornton
Where did you feel the earthquake?
The quake was felt across New York, as well as in New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, residents and officials said. It was also felt in Cambridge, Massachusetts, about 400 miles from the reported epicenter.
Charita Wolcott, a 38-year-old resident of New York's Bronx, said the quake “felt like a violent rumbling that lasted about 30 seconds.”
“The vibrations were like being in a drum circle,” she said.
Earthquakes are common in this region, but their scale is unusual: experts
Dr. Chuck Ver Straten, a geologist and curator of sedimentary rocks at the New York State Museum, told USA TODAY that it's not surprising that the quake occurred where it occurred.
“New York, the area from around New York City to New Jersey has historically had a lot of earthquakes. It happens every year,” he said. However, reaching such a large scale is less common. It's no wonder so many people felt that way, he says. Earthquakes in this region are typically of lower magnitude and less likely to be felt.
Bar Straaten said the real question now is whether this is just a precursor to a bigger quake.
“We never know what the earthquake is, what the pre-earthquake is, what will happen after the main shock. We just have to see,” he said. “Once you start sliding along a fault in the rock, the rest of the area around it starts to tense up and start sliding. And then it slips again, and then it slides again.”
However, he added that it was unlikely that another large earthquake would follow this one. In the Northeast, it is more common for one large earthquake to occur followed by smaller aftershocks, rather than a series of increasing tremors.
Ground stops issued at local airports
The Federal Aviation Administration is suspending departure stops at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York until 11:30 a.m. ET, according to aviation tracking website FlightAware, JFK. Stopped at International Airport (EWR) until 12:30 p.m. As of 11 a.m. ET, there were approximately 32 departure delays and approximately 41 EWRs.
The FAA said there is a “moderate” chance that the ground suspension period will be extended.
What does magnitude mean in an earthquake?
Magnitude is a unit that expresses the strength of an earthquake. Officially called the moment magnitude scale. This is a logarithmic scale, meaning each number is 10 times stronger than the number before it. In other words, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake is moderate, while a magnitude 6.2 is a strong earthquake.
According to Michigan Technological University, the magnitude and impact of the earthquake are as follows:
- Less than 2.5: Usually not felt
- 2.5 to 5.4: Minor damage or no damage
- 5.5 to 6.0: Minor damage to building.
- 6.1 to 6.9: Severe damage
- 8.0 and above: massive damage, can completely destroy the community
The intensity scale, measured in Roman numerals, is used to express how strong an earthquake was felt by people in the area.
According to the California Earthquake Authority, Intensity I is typically felt only under particularly favorable conditions. The drip, which causes mild tremors, is felt by many people indoors, but is usually not felt outdoors. Some people may wake up in the middle of the night feeling like a truck is crashing into a building. Parked cars will shake. Intensity VI and higher is strong and frightening and felt by everyone, and the damage increases up to X, where the shaking becomes more intense. Some well-built wooden buildings will be destroyed, and most masonry and frame structures will be destroyed, including their foundations.
You may have heard the term “Richter scale” used to describe earthquakes, but this term was only valid for certain seismic frequencies and distance ranges, so it is no longer common. Not used.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Contributed by: Reuters
