When was New York City’s last earthquake? History of tremors as 4.8 quake rattles buildings across the city
While tremors in the city are not unheard of, it is rare to experience any measuring over 4.5
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Your support makes all the difference.New York City is not necessarily thought of as a place which experiences earthquakes, but they are not especially rare.
While there have been many smaller quakes registered over the decades, before Friday morning’s 4.8 magnitude quake, there have not been many recorded tremors measuring over 4.5 on the “M Scale”.
One was the Cornwall-Massena earthquake in 1944 measuring 5.8, while another in 1884 measured 5.3.
The United States Geological Survey says that the 10 August 1884 quake’s effects were felt as far as Cleveland, Ohio, over 450 miles from NYC.
“Chimneys were knocked down and walls were cracked in several states, including Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania,” observations from the time said.
“Many towns from Hartford, Connecticut, to West Chester, Pennsylvania, reported fallen bricks and cracked plaster.”
In 2011, a stretch of the east coast of the US was hit by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake, which originated in Virginia and was felt by residents in Washington DC and NYC.
It is important to note that data on earthquakes in the New York City area vary, with the city feeling the effects of some many miles away or quakes originating within close proximity.
The New York Times reported that Friday’s event was “the third strongest within 250 miles of New York City since 1950”.
The most recent quake before Friday’s 4.8 was much smaller in scale.
In January 2024, a 1.7 magnitude quake was reported in Queens. It shook buildings and cut off power for some.
The last to measure at least 2.5 on the “M scale” came in 2020.
According to the United States Geological Survey, that event on 9 September, registered in Marlboro, New Jersey, measured at 3.1.
"It woke me up like a freight train coming down the tracks, it sounded like a sonic boom," NJ local Mike Page told NBC News at the time.
As for the last event over that threshold to originate within New York City itself, that came in Manhattan on 27 October 2001, measuring 2.6.
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