4.8 magnitude earthquake in New Jersey was area's strongest on record, USGS data shows
The earthquake was centered between the towns of Whitehouse Station, Califon and Lebanon.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit Hunterdon County, New Jersey on Friday morning. That makes it the strongest quake on record in the area, at least going back to when USGS data began in 1957.
It was centered between the towns of Whitehouse Station, Califon and Lebanon. That area is about 60 miles northeast of Philadelphia. It had a depth of about 3 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
It happened around 10:23 a.m. An earthquake between 4.0 and 4.9 is considered to be minor to moderate. There are an estimated 13,000 earthquakes in that range worldwide every year, according to a chart from Penn State University.
The next-strongest earthquake in the Philadelphia area was 4.6 magnitude, in Sinking Spring, Berks County on Jan. 16, 1994.
The closest earthquakes to Philadelphia in the last year were all under 2.5 magnitude, meaning they were likely not felt much and didn't cause damage.
Here is a closer look:
- 2.2 magnitude in Whitehouse, New Jersey on 3/14/24
- 1.7 magnitude in Woodside, New Jersey on 1/2/24
- 2.3 magnitude in Rockville, Maryland on 1/2/24
- 1.7 magnitude in Alburtis, Pennsylvania on 9/2/23
- 2.2 magnitude in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York on 5/19/23
The last earthquake above 2.5 magnitude in our region was 3.1 magnitude in Marlboro, New Jersey Sept. 9, 2020. Before that, there hadn't been a quake above 2.5 in our area since 2015, when there were two 2.6-magnitude quakes.
While a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in August 2011 wasn't centered in our area - but rather near Richmond, Virginia, it was still felt in Philadelphia and across the northeast.
Over 120,000 people reported feeling Friday's earthquake to USGS, all the way south to Delaware and north to Connecticut and upstate New York.
