Current:Home > InvestEast Coast earthquakes aren’t common, but they are felt by millions. Here’s what to know -AssetLink
East Coast earthquakes aren’t common, but they are felt by millions. Here’s what to know
View
Date:2025-04-14 05:57:38
DALLAS (AP) — East Coast residents were jolted Friday by a 4.8-magnitude earthquake centered near Lebanon, New Jersey, with weak rumblings felt as far away as Baltimore and the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border. No life-threatening injuries or major damage have been reported.
Here’s what to know about earthquakes on the East Coast.
How often do New York City and the East Coast get earthquakes?
Earthquakes large enough to be felt by a lot of people are relatively uncommon on the East Coast. Since 1950 there have been about 20 quakes with a magnitude above 4.5, according to the United States Geological Survey. That’s compared with over 1,000 on the West Coast.
That said, East Coast quakes like the one experienced Friday do happen.
“There’s a history of similar-sized earthquakes in the New York region over the last few hundred years,” said Jessica Thompson Jobe from the USGS’ Earthquake Hazards Program.
When was the last big East Coast quake?
In 2011, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake near Mineral, Virginia, shook East Coast residents over a wide swath from Georgia to Maine and even southeastern Canada. The USGS called it one of the most widely felt quakes in North American history.
The quake cost $200 to $300 million in property damages, including to the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.
What’s the difference between East and West Coast quakes?
The West Coast lies on a boundary where sections of Earth’s crust rub together, causing stress and slippage along fault lines that generate earthquakes relatively often.
East Coast quakes like Friday’s are caused by compression over time of hard, brittle rock deep underground, according to Robert Thorson, an earth sciences professor at the University of Connecticut. “It’s like having a big block of ice in a vise and you are just slowly cranking up the vise,” he said. “Eventually, you’re going to get some crackling on it.”
These East Coast quakes can be harder to pinpoint. And they tend to affect a broader area. That’s because colder, harder East Coast rocks are better at spreading the rattling energy from an earthquake.
The distribution of cities across the East Coast also means that more people are around to experience the effects of a quake.
“We also have population centers over a large part of the northeast,” said Leslie Sonder, a geophysicist at Dartmouth College, “So a lot of people around here feel the earthquake.”
How do you stay safe during a quake?
USGS experts say there is a risk of aftershocks for weeks to months, which are expected after any earthquake. They recommend paying attention to emergency messaging from local officials.
To keep safe from shakes while sleeping, remove any furniture or objects that could fall and injure you or others.
If you feel shaking, drop where you are. Cover your head and neck with one arm, crawl under a table for shelter and hold on. If there’s no shelter nearby, grasp your head and neck with both hands until the shaking stops.
___
AP writer Pat Eaton-Robb contributed to this report from Storrs, Connecticut.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
veryGood! (661)
Related
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- Schiaparelli’s surreal fusion of kink and history kicks off Paris Couture Week
- Massachusetts police officer shot, injured during gunfire exchange with barricaded man
- Lions vs. Bucs highlights: How Detroit topped Tampa Bay to reach NFC championship game
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Why Vice President Harris is going to Wisconsin today to talk about abortion
- Marlena Shaw, 'California Soul' singer, dead at 81: 'Beloved icon and artist'
- Man arrested near Taylor Swift’s NYC townhouse after reported break-in attempt
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Taylor Swift’s NFL playoff tour takes her to Buffalo for Chiefs game against Bills
Ranking
- Oklahoma parole board recommends governor spare the life of man on death row
- Check in on All the Bachelor Nation Couples Before Joey Graziadei Begins His Hunt for Love
- Pakistani security forces kill 7 militants during a raid near the border with Afghanistan
- Ancient temple filled with gold and silver jewels discovered in Greece
- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear ready to campaign for Harris-Walz after losing out for spot on the ticket
- Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, Diagnosed With Skin Cancer After Breast Cancer Battle
- 4 Las Vegas high school students indicted on murder charges in deadly beating of schoolmate
- Gaza doctor describes conditions inside his overwhelmed hospital as Israeli forces advance
Recommendation
Immigration issues sorted, Guatemala runner Luis Grijalva can now focus solely on sports
Poland’s prime minister visits Ukraine in latest show of foreign support for the war against Russia
Report: US sees 91 winter weather related deaths
Mary Weiss, lead singer of the Shangri-Las, dies at 75
Mega Millions winning numbers for August 6 drawing: Jackpot climbs to $398 million
Burton Wilde: Operational Strategies in a Bull Stock Market.
Military ends rescue search for Navy SEALs lost in maritime raid on ship with Iranian weapons
11-month-old baby boy burned to death from steam of radiator in Brooklyn apartment: NYPD