NJ/NY Metro Area hit with 3.0-Magnitude Earthquake

The New York metropolitan area was struck by a 3.0-magnitude earthquake Saturday evening, its tremors felt throughout parts of the boroughs, Westchester County and Northern New Jersey.

Hasbrouck Heights, NJ, the quake’s epicenter, which is about eight miles from Manhattan, was hit around 10:18pm EST with a depth of 10.0 kilometers, or 6.2 miles from the earth’s surface.

While the earthquake was relatively mild and there have not been reports of serious damage or injuries, more than 10,000 people reported feeling the quake, according to the United States Geological Survey’s “Did You Feel It?” page. People also quickly took to Reddit to make sure the shake they felt wasn’t their neighbor or just in their heads.

“Anyone else feel that just now? It wasn’t strong but still noticeable. Think it was an earthquake?” asked akaenragedgoddess.

Pretty immediately, folks began corroborating the message.

“Felt it too up here Inwood/Washington Heights. Thought it was a big truck outside but didn’t see anything,” wrote bay-to-the-apple. “Felt it in Astoria!” said Asleep_Net5458. And, “Felt it in the Bronx. The whole floor shook for about 2 seconds,” reported wholevodka.

Although residents in the northern parts of Jersey and NYC felt it the most, the shakes were still noticed by some farther south.

“Felt it in Clinton Hill,” said Used_Apartment_5982. “In Brooklyn myself and I did feel it,” wrote kzrmer_41.

While Northeast earthquakes are infrequent and usually mild, they aren’t unexpected. Since 1950, 43 other earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.0 or higher have struck within 250 kilometers (around 155 miles) of Hasbrouck Heights. The largest of the 43 was the 4.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Tewksbury and the metropolitan area just last April.

The low magnitude of Saturday’s earthquake makes it difficult for scientists to predict the possibility of an aftershock.

“At just 3.0, the chances are there will not be another felt event,” said seismologist Lucy Jones, according to AP News. She also estimated that there’s about a 50-50 chance that there will be no activity that can be recorded. “Most likely is an unfelt, magnitude 1 or 2 aftershock.”

The Empire State Building’s social media team took to X at 10:34pm to play at the mildness of the earthquake, reporting in all caps, “I AM FINE.”