After a brief pause at the end of the weekend, earthquake activity has returned to New Jersey with many mini-quakes shaking the area considered by USGS to be inside the aftershock zone. According to the Northeast States Emergency Consortium, on average there are about 2-3 earthquakes in New Jersey in a year, but according to USGS, New Jersey has now experienced 87 earthquakes since April 5’s magnitude 4.8 event.
Beyond the magnitude 4.8 earthquake, there were moderate aftershocks too. According to USGS, 3.7 magnitude event struck near Bedminster just before 6 pm on April 5, with 10 other earthquakes measuring as a 2.0 or greater magnitude event.
Beyond rattling nerves, the earthquake also damaged the contents of homes and businesses. In Berkeley Heights, Union County, New Jersey, the Berkeley Heights Fire Department reported that the foundation of a home there failed and that the primary earthquake on April 5 was a contributing factor. A Brooklyn middle school gym was deemed unsafe after a Department of Buildings inspection found cracks inside; the rest of the school at 370 Fountain Avenue was determined to be safe. Dozens of gas and water leaks were reported in the region, leaving people without utilities like power or water.
The last 10 earthquakes were all light and while they were recorded by seismographs, it is unlikely most people felt or heard them unless they were right at the epicenter. The earthquakes ranged from a magnitude 0.3 to a 1.3, with the latest being a magnitude 1.0 event which struck at 4:27 am today near Califon.
While odds are the earthquake sequence is over, USGS says there is still a slight chance of more aftershocks over the next 30 days. In their latest aftershock forecast, they report there is a 13% chance that a magnitude 3.0 or greater earthquake will hit again; those odds drop down to 1% for a magnitude 4.0 or greater event. USGS says there’s a 1 in 30,000 chance that there will be a magnitude 7.0 or greater earthquake here in the next 30 days, a highly unlikely event.
