Earthquake shakes North Jersey communities Friday morning. What we know

North Jersey residents were rattled Friday morning by a 4.8 magnitude earthquake that quite literally shook everybody up from New Jersey to New York, Washington D.C., Boston and the surrounding areas.

The earthquake was reported by the United States Geological Survey as a magnitude 4.8 with an epicenter near Tewksbury. The quake occurred at 10:23 a.m.

Following the initial earthquake, multiple aftershocks were reported, the first occurring in Bedminster at 11:20 a.m. with a magnitude of 2.0. Other reported aftershocks included a magnitude 2.2 near Whitehouse Station, a magnitude 2.0 near Califon, a magnitude 1.8 near Chester and a magnitude 2.0 near Chester.

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As of Friday afternoon, the U.S. Geological Survey’s aftershock forecast predicted a 38% chance of 3.0 magnitude or higher aftershocks, a 9% chance of aftershocks magnitude 4.0 or higher, and a 1% or less chance for aftershocks at a magnitude of 5.0 or higher over the next week.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey tectonic summary, the earthquake occurred because of “oblique reverse and strike-slip faulting at shallow depths in the crust.” However, scientists do not yet know the exact fault that caused the earthquake. One well-known fault system in the area is the Ramapo Fault System.

“The Ramapo fault is one of several known mapped faults in that area. These faults are all much older, hundreds of millions of years old and our current knowledge is that they are not active, although they may have small earthquakes on them from time to time,” said Jessica Thompson Jobe, research geologist with U.S. Geological Survey, during a press briefing Friday afternoon. “There are a number of faults in that region that could potentially be reactivated, we just don’t yet know which one, and our scientists are working on that to try and determine that in the coming days.”

Regardless of its origin, this earthquake was a once-in-a-lifetime event as it was the strongest earthquake centered in New Jersey since 1783, when a 5.3 magnitude quake originated in modern-day Rockaway Township and was felt from Pennsylvania to New England.

New Jersey residents and those in surrounding states who felt the quake on Friday were quick to turn to social media with #earthquake trending number one on X, formerly Twitter, all day after the event.

The state’s emergency alert system sounded shortly after the quake was over, confirming to residents that there was in fact an earthquake and asking that no one call 911 to report the earthquake unless there was an emergency.

Police departments, fire departments and emergency management offices from all over the region received so many calls that they posted requests on their Facebook pages for residents to call with specific emergencies only. The Andover Township Police Department reported receiving more than 100 calls in under seven minutes right after the earthquake.

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Local school districts sent alerts to families such as one from the Teaneck school district, which said: “This earthquake was felt in Teaneck. We want to reassure all our families that our students and staff are safe. We are currently assessing the safety of our district structures and will keep you updated.” A follow-up email was sent out to inform parents that there was no damage found.

While minimal to no serious damage and no injuries were reported, many said they were unsettled by the event, just days before a solar eclipse is to take place.

Rita Weiden, an East Brunswick resident who works in New York City, was at 377 Broadway, a 12-story pre-war building located three blocks south of Canal Street. She was on the eighth floor when the earthquake hit.

"The floor was shaking under our feet and once we realized that it is possibly an earthquake, all of us used the staircase to get outside," she said. "Once outside I saw many people on their phones. I think everybody relaxed once they read that the earthquake measured 4.8 and the aftershocks are usually less, and most returned to their offices."

Sharon Girvan of the North Branch section of Branchburg near Raritan Valley Community College, about 9 miles from Lebanon, was in her basement when she heard a loud boom.

"I mean a really loud boom," Girvan said. "Then the house started to shake, everything was shaking and rattling on the shelves. I thought the house was going to come down. I was so scared."

At first, some believed it was the sound of the wind, a loud truck passing by their house, or even the familiar sound for many Morris County residents of quarry explosions, but the sound kept building and the ground shook.

In videos posted to social media from the area surrounding the center of the quake, picture frames can be seen rattling on walls, trinkets falling off shelves and loud explosive sounds heard.

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Brief delays and speed restrictions were reported by NJ Transit and Amtrak rail services as they inspected tracks and bridges for damage.

Traffic into the Holland Tunnel to New York City was held for inspection but was shortly reopened.

Debra Vial, the director of communications with Veolia Water said within minutes of the earthquake, engineers were mobilized to check the condition of its dams in New Jersey. "There was no damage to the dams or any of our facilities and all of our systems are functioning as normal," she said.

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Newark Liberty International Airport held inbound flights at their origin for a short period. By 4 p.m. Friday, Flight Aware was reporting arrival delays of approximately 38 minutes for inbound airborne aircraft, departure delays of about 1 hour 22 minutes, and inbound flights delayed at their origin for about 2 hours.

In the event of an aftershock or another earthquake, the USGS recommends that you drop, cover, and hold on if you feel shaking. Nobody can predict the exact time or place of any earthquake, including aftershocks.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: New Jersey earthquake shakes houses with 4.8 magnitude