New Jersey and surrounding states have faced a rare magnitude 4.8 earthquake, the strongest in more than 240 years. It was followed by 11 aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 1.8 to 2.0.
The 11 aftershocks shook parts of New York City and surrounding areas after a magnitude 4.8 quake struck the region on Friday, shaking buildings across the East Coast, a region that rarely experiences notable seismic activity.
The magnitude 4.8 quake was the third largest earthquake recorded in the area in the past five decades and the strongest in New Jersey in more than 240 years, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The initial quake hit just after 10:20 a.m. local time at a depth of 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles). A 2.0 magnitude aftershock occurred west of Bedminster, New Jersey, an hour after the initial shock, followed by a 1.8 magnitude aftershock around 12:30 p.m., another 2.0 magnitude aftershock at 1:14 p.m., and another 2.0 magnitude aftershock shortly before 3:00 p.m. The aftershock was felt just after 10:20 a.m. local time.
At the United Nations building in midtown Manhattan, the CEO of Save the Children abruptly stopped speaking to the Security Council about the conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip as the cameras began to shake. Moreover, flights were suspended at local airports following the quake but had resumed by 12:30 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The quake comes just months after the US Geological Survey warned that nearly 75 per cent of the United States population could face devastating earthquakes in the next 100 years. Noteworthy, the 1989 earthquake that shook San Francisco had a magnitude of 6.9, which still would make it more than 1,000 times more powerful than Friday’s quake.
