NEAR EAST FREEHOLD, N.J. (NewsNation Now) — A preliminary magnitude 3.1 earthquake was felt in New Jersey and into New York City early Wednesday morning.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake at 2 a.m. (ET) with an epicenter near East Freehold, New Jersey, which is located west of Long Branch. The preliminary depth was 3 miles, according to USGS.
Residents took to social media to express their shock at the rare occurrence. Hundreds of people as far away as Philadelphia and Long Island, New York, contributed to the USGS “did you feel it?” map, reporting only weak or light shaking and no damage.
“It would be very surprising for us to see anything more than you know, damaged shelves or picture frames falling off of windows,” said Robert Sanders, a geophysicist with the survey.
According to a report from the state, New Jersey isn’t known to get many earthquakes.
“That’s a fairly uncommon event magnitude for quakes in this area,” Sanders said. Since 1970, there have been two other quakes within 10 miles of this location, a 3.5 in 1979 and a 3.1 in 1992, he said.
There have been no official reports of damage.
