On April 5, 2024, at 10:23 EDT (14:23 UTC), a 4.8

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

occurred in the U.S. state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, with the epicenter in Tewksbury Township. While it was felt across the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...

Delaware Valley The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...

, the Washington D.C metropolitan area, and other parts of the northeastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

between

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, it had a relatively minor impact, with no major damage reported. There were dozens of

aftershock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousand ...

s throughout the rest of the week and into the next.Conklin, Eric (April 7, 2024
"N.J. earthquake aftershock tally climbs to 34 after Friday’s big tremor. More expected."
'' NJ Advance Media'' It was the strongest earthquake to affect New Jersey since the 5.3

1783 New Jersey earthquake The 1783 New Jersey earthquake occurred on November 29 in the Province of New Jersey. With a magnitude estimated at 5.3, it stands as the most powerful earthquake to occur in the state. Damage Shaking was felt from New Hampshire to Pennsylvani ...

, and the strongest to hit New York City since an estimated 5.0 magnitude earthquake on August 10, 1884.

Tectonic setting

The causative fault for the earthquake was likely in the area of the

Ramapo Fault The Ramapo Fault zone is a system of faults between the northern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont areas to the east. which extends from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Sykes, L.R., J.G. Armbruster, W.Y. Kim, and L. Seeber (2008), Observations and Tectonic Setting of Historic and Instrumentally Located Earthquakes in the Greater New York City–Philadelphia Area, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 98(4), 1696–1719. and was formed by the break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea during the

Late Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch (geology), epoch of the Triassic geologic time scale, Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch ...

. Another possible origin is the Flemington Fault, a younger fault in the same area. The Whitehouse Station, New Jersey area had previously experienced an earthquake on March 14, 2024. The USGS considers this to be part of the event sequence.

Earthquake

The earthquake had a moment magnitude of 4.8 and a depth of . Its epicenter was in

Tewksbury Township, New Jersey Tewksbury Township is a township located in Hunterdon County, New Jersey and is located within the New York Metropolitan Areabr>As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 5,993, reflecting an increase of 452 (+8.2%) from ...

, at 40.689°N 74.754°W, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Oldwick and 5 miles (8.0 km) east of

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. Tremors were felt all across the Northeastern United States from

in the north to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, in the south. As of May 1, over 159 aftershocks were reported, the strongest of which had a magnitude of 3.7 and took place about from

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

around 17:59, around 7 hours and 36 minutes after the original quake. Aftershocks have varied in magnitude, ranging from 3.0 to 1.0. The

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

projected a 12% chance of an aftershock with a magnitude greater than 3 and a 1% chance of a stronger earthquake with a magnitude above 4.

Impact

Several buildings in New York City, Philadelphia, and

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

were shaken. The USGS estimated that the earthquake was felt by about 42 million people in the area. The earthquake interrupted a meeting of the Security Council on the

Israel–Hamas war An armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups has been taking place chiefly in and around the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. On that day, Palestinian militant groups launched 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, a surp ...

at the

United Nations Headquarters The United Nations is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States, and the complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1951. It is in the Turtle Bay, Manhattan, Turtle Bay neig ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, while a performance at the New York Philharmonic was briefly delayed by cell phones sounding an alert at 11:02, which was sent about 40 minutes after the earthquakes were felt. Gas leaks were reported in

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

, and an administrative building in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

. In

Huntington, New York The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. ...

, a vehicle was damaged after falling into a sinkhole shortly after the earthquake. Up to 150 buildings were damaged across New York City, and a school gym in East New York sustained damage. Four three-story houses on Seventh Avenue in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. The upper portion of the 264-year old Col. John Taylor's Grist Mill collapsed into a road. Additionally, the earthquake caused water main breaks in Essex County and Morris County. Damage to a

Northeast Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of between 300,000 and 450,000, depending ...

home was the only confirmed report of structural damage caused by the earthquake in

Aftermath

The

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

completely halted flights at

Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Count ...

Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia International Airport is the primary airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The airport served 19.6 million passengers annually in 2021, making it the 21st busiest airport in the United States. The airport is located from t ...

and John F. Kennedy International Airport. Arrivals into Baltimore/Washington International,

LaGuardia LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...

, and Teterboro Airports were delayed. The

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

tower at Newark Liberty International Airport was also evacuated. Five flights bound for Newark were diverted to Lehigh Valley International Airport in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

. The first emergency alert sent to New York City residents came 26 minutes after the earthquake to subscribers of the Notify NYC service. A

Wireless Emergency Alert Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA, formerly known as the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS), and prior to that as the Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN)), is an alerting network in the United States designed to disseminate emergency alert ...

was sent out to the broader region even later, with New Yorkers reporting it arriving 40 minutes after the earthquake. Amid criticism,

New York City Emergency Management New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) (formerly the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM)) was originally formed in 1996 as part of the Mayor's Office under Rudolph W. Giuliani. By a vote of city residents in 2001 it became an ...

Commissioner

Zach Iscol Zach Iscol (born August 18, 1978) is an American civil servant, non-profit executive, politician, and armed forces veteran who serves as Commissioner of New York City Emergency Management. Iscol is a United States Marine veteran and was a Dem ...

defended the delayed response in a press conference, saying that "Twenty minutes is very fast for a public alert," and that they needed that time to confirm that it was indeed an earthquake. The

PATCO Speedline The PATCO Speedline (signed in Philadelphia as the Lindenwold Line and also known colloquially as the PATCO High Speed Line) is a rapid transit route operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO), which runs between Philadelphia, Pe ...

was temporarily suspended for inspection "out of an abundance of caution."

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

train speeds were restricted throughout the Northeast while railroad tracks were being inspected for damage, and NJ Transit trains on all lines was delayed around 20 minutes due to track inspection.

AirTrain Newark AirTrain Newark is a monorail system connecting the terminals at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and trains at Newark Liberty International Airport Station on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), where transfers are possible to Amtrak and ...

at the Newark Liberty International Airport was also closed for inspection while its flights were ungrounded. The Holland Tunnel, a major crossing of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, was briefly closed for inspection between 11:00 and 11:15 local time. The Lincoln Tunnel was also briefly closed, backing up traffic in

Weehawken Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.

. Within hours of the earthquake, a custom T-shirt shop in Manhattan began printing a joke souvenir reading "I survived the NYC earthquake April 5, 2024." The store put it on the shop window and a pedestrian took a photo of it, which was shared widely on social media, causing hundreds of sales.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Jersey earthquake, 2024 2024 earthquakes 2024 natural disasters in the United States

Earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...