4.8 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Philadelphia To NYC In New Jersey

(CTN News) – Friday morning, an earthquake centered in Hunterdon County, New Jersey shook homes from New York City to Philadelphia.

In Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake was reported by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The epicenter is located about 50 miles north of Philadelphia, and the USGS estimates that over 42 million people were affected.

People in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Connecticut and other Northeastern cities reported shaking. The border between New Hampshire and Massachusetts was affected by tremors lasting several seconds.

Around 10:25 a.m., FOX 29 Newsroom staff reported shaking, causing our newsroom to shake. Delaware has been reported to be shaking by viewers.

The quake has not yet caused damage to state or local agencies.

Several aftershocks of magnitudes 2.2, 2.0, 2.0 and 1.8 were reported in the Earthquake e hours following the initial quake, according to the USGS.

Due to the earthquake, some flights were diverted and traffic was snarled on roads and rails for runway, bridge, and tunnel inspections. Officials inspected runway cracks at Newark, New York, and Baltimore airports while flights were held at their origins. Flight tracking website Flight Aware reports at least five flights diverted to Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on the way to Newark.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy took to social media following the earthquake to announce the activation of the Emergency Operations Center.

Unless an emergency exists, Philadelphia police ask people not to call 911 about seismic activity. State officials are monitoring the situation, said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

There are fewer earthquakes on this side of the country because it doesn’t lie along a tectonic plate boundary. East Coast quakes can still be powerful; its rocks are better at spreading the energy of earthquakes.

Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey, believes that if California experienced the same magnitude quake, it wouldn’t be felt nearly as far away.

On X, the agency noted that the 4.8-magnitude quake is not large enough to cause significant damage.

The USGS reports three earthquakes near New York City of magnitude 5 or greater in 1737, 1783, and 1884. The quake on Friday also brought back memories of the shook millions from Georgia to Canada on Aug. 23, 2011. On the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the Virginia earthquake cracked the Washington Monument.

Since World War II, this earthquake was the strongest to hit the East Coast.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and President Joe Biden spoke about on Friday. As a result, the administration said it would provide assistance to state and local officials if they needed it.

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