Just got hit with a 4.8 earthquake.

[woodchucker]

That's the biggest we've had here. The last one which was 2 miles away sounded like a semi rolling over.. This one shook pretty good for NJ.
Gotta go check things, as things were shaking pretty good.

 

[Gaffer]

I'm watching it now. I haven't heard of injuries or damages, and I hope everyone is fine.

 

[OTmachine]

Hope everyone is fine. Watch for aftershocks!

 

[mmcmdl]

Just saw this on the weather channel Jeff . Hope all is well up there .

 

[woodchucker]

everything is good, tis nothing but a little shake.

unfortunately the dog is in full panic. 30seconds of shake can make a dog crazy.

 

[mmcmdl]

Said it was felt from Md to Maine . I felt nothing here but they're reporting it on the news now .

 

[rwdenney]

USGS is reporting felt tremors too light for much damage, so far at least.

New Jersey had a 5.3-magnitude quake in 1783, but even that did little more damage that breaking dishes and toppling a few chimneys. Of course, there was a lot less stuff to damage in 1783.

We didn’t feel this one in northern Virginia—the closest felt reports were around Baltimore.

I recall the earthquake in Virginia a dozen years ago. That was disconcerting to say the least.

Rick “small temblors travel far in the dense eastern-US crust” Denney

 

[Ischgl99]

I just got back from Home Depot and felt it while I was checking out up here in CT, the floor and building shook for a couple seconds. My wife pulled up a map and I saw you are right in the middle of it and came here to see if you posted any updates. My wife’s aunt lives in Millburn and said she had things falling off the shelves. I recall when I think I was in high school in the early 80s when a small quake rocked NJ, we had no idea the area was prone to earthquakes until that happened.

 

[woodchucker]

I wonder how they knew it was a 5.3 before they monitored?

 

[rwdenney]

I wonder how they knew it was a 5.3 before they monitored?

The USGS also reports 5.1 for the 1783 quake, so that gives a spread of reconstructed opinion.

For historical quakes prior to seismology instruments, they apparently estimate it from damage reports, duration of shaking, range of shaking, and similar. There weee lots of diary reports, and farmers in those days apparently kept detailed diaries of natural events.

Rick “a civil engineer but not my field” Denney