Earthquake Rattles New Jersey
Updated 8:09 AM EST, Tue, Feb 3, 2009
A small earthquake was reported in New Jersey late Monday night.
Won-Young Kim, a seismologist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Obervatory in Palisades, N.Y., said an earthquake of magnitude 3.0 was recorded at 10:34 p.m. Monday, centered in the Morris County communities of Rockaway, Dover and Morris Plains.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, and Kim said it was unlikely that a quake of that magnitude would be a damaging event. Quakes of magnitude 2.5 to 3 are the smallest that can generally be felt by people.
Police said the quake triggered a flood of 911 calls, with residents reporting a sound like an explosion and houses shaking.
Rockaway resident Les called News4 during the 11 p.m. news and said it didn't feel like a typical earthquake.
"I'm a native Californian and I've been through several earthquakes," he said. "At the very second the floor shook, we heard a big boom, an explosion type of noise. It was like one, quick impact."
Kim said small earthquakes are not unusual in that area of New Jersey.
Click here for information on the history of earthquakes in New Jersey.
Forty-seven earthquakes have rattled the New York City area since 1974, with the largest being a 4.0 in 1985.
First Published: Feb 2, 2009 11:16 PM EST
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