New Jersey Earthquake Vibrates Through the Berkshires
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — An earthquake in northern New Jersey this morning could be felt all throughout the Northeast, from Augusta, Maine, to Washington, D.C., to Buffalo, N.Y.
The magnitude 4.8 quake was registered by the U.S. Geological Survey at 10:23 on Friday morning near Tewksbury Township, a town of about 6,000 west of New York City. There are reports the epicenter was in Lebanon, a smaller nearby community.
The vibration in North Berkshire went on for about 20 seconds and was strong enough to shake the leaves on the office plants in the iBerkshires office.
Responses to the USGS were piling in within 15 minutes of the quake, with more than 110,000 in less than an hour. News reports in Philadelphia said it shattered a pane of glass in Center City and sent hundreds into the street. The mayor's office in New York said the there were no immediate reports of any major impacts.
The USGS reports the quake occurred about 3 miles below the surface.
The last major earthquake felt in the Berkshires was on June 23, 2010, when a 5.0 centered new Ottawa sent a shudder along the Atlantic Coast and as far west as Cleveland. That one had rattle bottles at Billmont's Country Store in Stamford, Vt., and shook up town employees in Williamstown.
A smaller quake, a 4.0, hit in 2012 in Hollis Center, Maine, and sent a shiver through the Berkshires.
News12 in New Jersey spoke with Bret Bennington, chair of the Geology Department at Hofstra University, who said the quake was an uncommon but not unexpected event and typical for this region.
"We actually live in a little bit of a seismic zone so we can expect a 5 earthquake once every 100 years or so," he said, speculating the quake occurred along the Ramapo Fault, a major fault line along the Appalachians. He did not anticipate any major damage.
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