New Jersey Hit by 4.8 Magnitude Earthquake, Aftershocks Raise Concerns for East Coast

A small 2.9 magnitude earthquake shook New Jersey on Saturday, just three weeks after a more powerful 4.8 quake hit the region. The tremor occurred near Tewksbury at approximately 9:49 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Tewksbury is situated in Hunterdon County, approximately 35 miles west of New York City. It remains uncertain whether this seismic activity was an aftershock from the April 5 earthquake, which originated near Whitehouse Station, about five miles south of Tewksbury. The April 5 earthquake was felt from Washington D.C. to Maine, affecting over 42 million people in 14 states.

Ashley Papa, a resident of New Jersey, described feeling the tremors in her home. She recounted, "I was in the kitchen with my toddler and all of a sudden we started feeling the house shake pretty strongly and we heard that same rumbling sound from the day of the [April 5] earthquake."

More than 130 aftershocks have been recorded in the area since the April 5 earthquake, leaving residents on edge.

Earthquakes are infrequent along the East Coast, with the most potent one in the last century occurring in August 2011, measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale. It was centered in Virginia and felt from Washington, D.C. to Boston. This recent seismic activity follows a 1.7 magnitude earthquake in New York City on January 2.

Expert Opinion

Professor John Ebel, a seismologist at Boston College, expressed his view that earthquakes above 5.0 on the Richter scale generally occur once every 120 years. He added, "The question is, can we have something bigger? And in my opinion, yes, we can."

Ebel highlighted the unpredictability of earthquakes, emphasizing the challenge in foreseeing when and where they will occur. The recent seismic events have left seismologists perplexed, particularly the occurrence of the April 5 earthquake, which did not take place on the Ramapo Fault zone, a series of small fault lines running through New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, spanning over 185 miles and formed about 200 million years ago.

As the region continues to experience aftershocks, residents remain vigilant, pondering the underlying cause of these seismic events that have defied expectations and raised concerns about the potential for a major earthquake.