If you just felt the room shake a little, it’s not just you. The US Geological Survey (USGS) just confirmed that an earthquake hit north of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, around 10:23AM ET, with people located in New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania feeling its effects.
The USGS says it was a “notable quake” at 4.8 magnitude, with the agency’s map showing people feeling weak or light shaking along the coast of the Northeast, with some reports reaching as far north as Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, upstate New York, and even Maine. It looks like some people felt the quake in Maryland and Delaware as well.
“It lasted just long enough to be unsettling,” said one Verge staffer who experienced it in Jersey City. Others based in New York noted it felt like a particularly large truck driving by, with most agreeing it lasted about five to six seconds. An emergency alert went out to mobile devices in New York more than half an hour after it occurred “for awareness.”
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25374684/usgs_map_updated.png)
Image: USGS
“At this point, we do not have any reports of major impacts to our infrastructure or injuries,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during a press briefing on Friday. “But of course, we’re still assessing the situation.” New Jersey Transit says rail service “is subject up to 20-minute delays in both directions” due to bridge inspections caused by the quake. The Holland Tunnel in New Jersey was also briefly held for an inspection.
“Earthquakes are uncommon but not unheard of along the Atlantic Coast,” the USGS writes in a post on X, adding that it’s “a zone one study called a ‘passive-aggressive margin’ b/c there’s no active plate boundary between the Atlantic & N. American plates, but there are stresses.”
Earlier this year, a 1.7 magnitude earthquake hit near Astoria, Queens. While no injuries were reported, local news outlets said it caused explosions, leading to power outages in the area.
Update April 5th, 12:16PM ET: Added a quote from Mayor Eric Adams.