New Jersey, New York City rocked by rare 4.8 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks

A 4.8 magnitude earthquake recorded in New Jersey that shook residents in surrounding states and New York City on Friday morning was one of the strongest in state history.

Location: The quake’s epicenter was in Tewksbury in central New Jersey, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of New York City. It occurred just after 10:20 a.m. The USGS said ET (1420 GMT) at a depth of 4.7 kilometers (2.9 miles).

“Earthquakes in this region are uncommon but not unexpected. It’s likely people near the epicenter are going to feel aftershocks for this earthquake in the magnitude 2-3 range, and there’s a small chance there can be an earthquake as large or larger, following an earthquake like this,” Paul Earle, a seismologist at the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program told reporters. “In terms of our operations, this is a routine earthquake … Immediately we knew this would be of high interest and important to people who don’t feel earthquakes a lot.”