Magnitude 4.8 earthquake 7 km north of Whitehouse Station strikes NJ

By Alvin Wu
Domestic Affairs
Magnitude 4.8 earthquake 7 km north of Whitehouse Station strikes NJ

An intensity map, as of 6:14 p.m., of the magnitude 4.8 earthquake seven kilometers north of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, at 10:23 a.m. on Friday, April 5. UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY/Graphic

EDISON, N.J., April 5 (ZFJ) — A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck seven kilometers north of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, at 10:23 a.m. on Friday, April 5, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

ZFJ reporters and residents in Edison, about 25-35 miles out from the epicenter, reported feeling their houses shaking for about 10 seconds. Extraordinarily, the earthquake caused the ZFJ editor-in-chief to wake up before noon.

“M4.8 is not large enough to cause damage, apart from light effects in the immediate epicentral region,” USGS wrote on X (Twitter). “It is large enough to be strongly felt, especially in the east, where earthquake shaking travels through the crust more efficiently than it does out west.”

The earthquake’s cause was oblique reverse and strike-slip faulting at shallow depths in the Earth’s crust, according to USGS. Although there is no nearby plate boundary, faults have been found in the area that “may be reactivated at any time.”

The earthquake was relatively small on a global scale but was widely felt on the Atlantic Coast since the seismic waves were able to quickly travel throughout the region.

Earthquakes in the eastern U.S. are infrequent but can occur. Since 1950, 40 other earthquakes of magnitude 3 and up have occurred within 250 kilometers of today’s quake. In that time range, today’s earthquake is the largest.

N.J. Governor Phil Murphy said on X that he has activated the State Emergency Operations Center. He and New York Governor Kathy Hochul are assessing damage in their states.

The New York City Fire Department is responding to calls and evaluating structural stability and has not reported any major incidents.

Edison Mayor Sam Joshi said on Facebook that there are currently no reported damages or injuries.

NJ Transit reported delays of up to 20 minutes due to bridge inspections following the earthquake.

Hochul reported three smaller aftershocks in New York: a 1.8 M at 12:31 p.m., a 2.0 M at 1:14 p.m., and a 2.0 M at about 2:56 p.m.

USGS forecasts that the chance of at least one magnitude 3+ aftershock occurring in the next week is 45%.

This report is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Update 2024-04-05, 12:46 - Updated epicenter location to Califon, N.J., added aftershock forecast, and added recent tweets from @USGS_Quakes.

Update 2024-04-05, 15:47 - Added aftershock info from N.Y. governor.

Update 2024-04-05, 18:21 - Added tectonic summary (earthquake cause) from USGS and update intensity map (cover photo).

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