Earthquake in Bergen County shakes parts of New Jersey, New York
An earthquake in Bergen County shook parts of New Jersey and New York on Saturday night. This is the second earthquake in New Jersey in less than two weeks.
At 10:18 p.m., an earthquake registering 3.0 on the Richter Scale was recorded in Hasbrouck Heights.
The Richter Scale ranges from 1-9, with 1 being the weakest, and 9 being the strongest.
New Jersey earthquake felt in New York City, Lower Hudson Valley
Though relatively weak, the quake was felt as far away as 65 miles, reaching into western Connecticut and the Lower Hudson Valley. Numerous residents in and around New York City have reported that they felt the rumbling as well.
No damage has been reported so far, though aftershocks may occur throughout the next few days.
This latest quake comes on the heels of a series of small quakes centered around the Morris Plains area in New Jersey on July 21 and July 22.
The initial quake during that round registered at only a 1.6 in magnitude on July 21. However, five aftershocks followed into the day and night of July 22, with the fourth aftershock registering higher than the initial shock, coming in at 2.0 in magnitude. Little to no damage was reported from that round.
Past earthquakes in the Tri-State Area
Although New Jersey is not known to be a hotbed of seismic activity, such as places like California or Japan, it does have a rather active fault line that traverses the north central part of the state. This fault line, known as the Ramapo Fault line, is responsible for producing several quakes a year. These quakes are usually small, and are not felt far from outside their epicenters in northern New Jersey.
There are exceptions to this though. One example was just last year, when a 4.8 magnitude quake centered in Tewksbury, New Jersey, shook office buildings across New York City, and was felt as far away as Maine and Virginia on April 5, 2024. That recent quake did produce some damage to homes in New Jersey, and was estimated to be felt by 42 million people, according to the USGS.
Over 205 aftershocks carried on for weeks and even months after the initial quake. The strongest had a 3.7 magnitude, which occurred seven hours after the first quake.
The earthquake of April 5, 2024, was also the second strongest earthquake in New Jersey history. The strongest quake recorded in the Garden State occurred on Nov. 29, 1783, and registered a 5.3 in magnitude.
