Another minor earthquake struck Central Jersey Monday morning, most likely one of the more than 200 aftershocks caused by the 4.8 magnitude quake on April 5 that knocked items off shelves, shook numerous homes, and damaged some structures, according to experts.
According to Thomas Pratt, a research geophysicist for the United States Geological Survey, Monday’s tremor is the 217th aftershock recorded since the historic quake. There could have been minor aftershocks since then that the USGS missed, he said.
Five people reported feeling the 1.6 magnitude earthquake, which happened at 5:11 a.m. Monday about a mile and a quarter west of Gladstone in Somerset County. According to the USGS, four people noticed weak shaking, while one felt light, slightly greater shaking.
People felt the earthquake on April 5th, at least from Florida to Quebec City.
In the Somerset-Hunterdon area, three more aftershocks have occurred in the last seven days:
- At 6:52 p.m. Saturday, a 1.3 magnitude earthquake struck approximately 3 miles east-southeast of Califon in Hunterdon County. Nobody reported experiencing it.
- A 1.6 magnitude earthquake struck a little less than 4 miles west of Bedminster in Somerset County at 11:50 p.m. on Friday. According to the USGS, five persons one mile distant in North Jersey reported feeling faint and shaking.
- A 1.3 magnitude earthquake struck over 4 miles east of Califon at 1:23 a.m. on September 10. One individual reported experiencing it.
USGS states that the three quakes originated 3 to 4 miles deep. An earthquake occurs when the Earth’s crust experiences stress.
“It’s being squeezed,” Pratt explained.
Pratt stated that several faults under our feet are between 300,000 and 400,000 years old. Some are locked up.
Others are “kind of right on the edge of being ready to go,” according to Platt. “And if some small thing perturbs them, they can pop off.” Those minor things can include reservoirs, fracking, and earthquakes, he noted.
According to the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management, the 4.8 magnitude earthquake, which struck at 10:23 a.m. on April 5, is the second most violent to impact New Jersey since 1783, when the state’s north-central region saw a 5.3 magnitude temblor.
Seismologists cautioned that aftershocks might continue for weeks, if not months, after the first quake.