An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 struck New Jersey, becoming the third strongest earthquake in the region in the past five decades, and the most powerful earthquake New Jersey has experienced in over 240 years. As earthquakes tend to be uncommon in the East Coast region, this rare phenomenon that was felt by Americans ranging from Southern Virginia to Maine quickly became a viral topic on the internet.
On April 5th around 10:23 a.m, thousands of Americans across hundreds of miles reported shaking furniture and homes. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), more than 42 million people in the region could have been affected by the earthquake. The origin of the earthquake is reported to be near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, a small town in Hunterdon County, approximately 46 miles away from New York City.
“Earthquakes in this region are uncommon but not unexpected. It’s likely people near the epicenter are going to feel aftershocks for this earthquake in the magnitude 2-3 range, and there’s a small chance there can be an earthquake as large or larger, following an earthquake like this. In terms of our operations, this is a routine earthquake … Immediately we knew this would be of high interest and important to people who don’t feel earthquakes a lot,” USGS Earthquake Hazards Program seismologist Paul Earle said.
Earthquakes on the East Coast tend to be low-risk compared to the West Coast, as Eastern America is notably further away from the tectonic plate boundaries- the parts of the Earth’s crust responsible for earthquakes. The majority of earthquakes near the East Coast occur across the mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is around the middle of the Atlantic ocean. However, according to Gary Solar, a geoscientist, ancient faults that exist from Philadelphia, the Appalachian Mountains, and through New York City may be to blame for the earthquake. Theoretically, these ancient faults are fractures where gravity can cause rocks to slide, which would cause the ground to shake, thus an earthquake. Although the Northeastern tectonic plates are no longer active today, scientists believe that they were 250 to 300 million years ago, which may be the reason these fractures were created.
“If we had the same magnitude quake in California, it probably wouldn’t be felt nearly as far away,” USGS geophysicist Paul Caruso said.
According to USGS scientists, rocks in the Northeast are able to spread seismic waves further than rocks in the West Coast. As there is normally much less seismic activity in the East Coast, geologists have said that this inactiveness has caused the underlying rock to become cold, and dense. These traits theoretically make it easier for seismic waves to travel, which is expected to be the reason for why the earthquake was felt across multiple states.
“I didn’t feel the earthquake, which honestly makes me sad. I feel like I missed out on something, because I keep seeing so many videos on TikTok about it,” NHS freshman Maria Souza said.
Only minutes after the initial earthquake, millions of Americans swarmed to the internet to share their experience on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. A satire trend quickly arose on TikTok, involving people posting about the small damage they witnessed such as a cup falling over or a small object being slightly moved. Other social media users began to create theories about what caused the Earthquake, many including passages from the Bible that relate to the eclipse that occurred 3 days after the earthquake.
“I think it’s pointless how much attention the media is giving it. I mean, we all know what happened, so there’s no need to post about it constantly,” NHS sophomore Elle Musen said.
At approximately 6 p.m, 8 hours after the initial earthquake, an aftershock with a magnitude of 4.0 struck New Jersey. Unlike the other earthquake, the epicenter of this aftershock was near Gladstone, New Jersey- 14 miles west from the previous epicenter. However, this aftershock was only one out of the multiple aftershocks reported by USGS. Scientists at USGS have even stated that there may be more possible aftershocks in the following weeks.
Fortunately, no serious damage has been reported from the earthquake. Although many people reported their house shaking, no known buildings have been destroyed, and no lives have been lost. Regardless of the fact that this earthquake didn’t have an extraordinarily high magnitude, this rare event will likely be remembered by many who endured it.