A new fault line discovered under New Jersey may explain unusual shaking from April's 4.8 magnitude earthquake

Study author Won Young Kim of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory says research has discovered a new fault line under New Jersey that helps explain the unusual spread of shaking during the 4.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked the region in April.

PALISADES, N.Y. — The discovery of a new fault line may explain unusually strong tremors from April's 4.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the heart of New Jersey, yet was felt most powerful miles from the epicenter, a new research study shows.

The earthquake occurred late in the morning on April 5, and its epicenter was in the town of Tewksbury, New Jersey. But the quake sent shockwaves across New York City 40 to 50 miles away and caused some damage in Brooklyn and Newark, New Jersey.

It was the strongest earthquake in the region since 1884, and shook about 42 million people, according to US Geological Survey estimates. The US Geological Survey said 184,000 people reported feeling the quake, a record number to fill out a report.

A moderate-magnitude earthquake struck New Jersey on Friday morning, and tremors were felt across New York City and much of the Northeast.

New Jersey's strongest earthquake in 240 years was felt across New York City, NE

However, researchers who went to the epicenter were puzzled when they found that there was only minimal shaking and no noticeable damage reported.

“We expected some property damage — chimneys knocked down, walls cracked or plaster falling off, but there were no obvious signs,” Wong Young Kim, a study co-author from Columbia College’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, said in a press release announcing the study’s findings. . “We talked to police officers, but they weren't very excited about it. It was as if nothing had happened. It was a sudden response to a 4.8 magnitude earthquake.”

Tremor intensity map from the USGS of a magnitude 4.8 earthquake that struck New Jersey on April 5, 2024.

(Fox Weather)

Kim's study said that based on current models, the quake should have caused significant damage at the epicenter. Kim said surface motion caused by earthquakes is measured on the 10-point Modified Mercalli intensity scale, and this quake should have generated level 7 or “very strong” shaking 6 miles from the epicenter.

However, no one in or around the epicenter reported shaking intensity 7 or anything close to it, according to the statement. The damage was limited to minor cracks in some of the drywall and some items falling off the shelves.

A 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck north-central New Jersey on Friday, but the tremor was felt by millions in more than a dozen states.

Instead, three homes were damaged in Newark, about 20 miles away, New York City residents reported tremors equal to Level 4 on the Mercalli scale, and about 150 buildings reported minor damage. Even New Hampshire reported Level 3 shaking about 280 miles away, the statement said.

“So, there's a lot of confusion as to why so many people felt it in the Northeast, (but) much less felt it south to Philadelphia and south to Virginia — much less than people in the Northeast,” Kim told FOX Weather on Friday. “As well as very little damage around the epicenter area.”

The earthquake waves went in a different direction

A typical earthquake would send much of its energy directly to the surface, making the epicenter usually the most dangerous place, Kim says.

But in this case, the energy was sent down until it reached the boundary between the Earth's crust and mantle about 20 miles underground. There the energy wave bounced back, and appeared under the New York City area to cause the big tremor there.

Three homes in Newark, New Jersey, were evacuated after a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck the area on April 5, 2024.

(Fox 5 New York)

After another downward cycle, the wave reappeared a little weaker in New England, and the cycle repeated until the energy dissipated.

Kim's team's analysis indicates that the quake occurred on a previously unidentified fault running from south to north. But unlike traditional faults that run vertically, this one dips eastward into the Earth at about a 45-degree angle, sending energy in unusual directions.

“In this case, on the 45-degree tilt of the fault, the energy was directed to the northeast and deeper,” Kim told FOX Weather.

Northeastern earthquakes are different from California earthquakes

Unlike earthquakes that rock California and the West Coast with relative frequency and are caused by the movement of tectonic plates, the Northeastern quakes are remnants of ancient fault zones that extend back 200 million years, the researchers said.

The study said that was the time when what is now known as Europe separated from North America. Some areas are still settling and adapting after all these years, occasionally causing earthquakes.

Kim's colleagues estimate that an earthquake as strong as April occurs about once every 100 years, but they point out that the region could see quakes up to magnitude 6 every 700 years, and magnitude 7 every 3,400 years.

A Queens resident filmed things in her apartment shaking when a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck the New York area on Friday morning. Elizabeth Page is shown here sitting on the floor as she suspects an earthquake is affecting her New York City apartment.

“No one knows whether such earthquakes have or could have occurred in human time,” wrote Kevin Krajicek, author of the press release. “But if that happened, it would be disastrous.”

In the quake's aftermath, researchers placed a temporary network of dozens of seismometers near the quake's epicenter to measure dozens of subsequent aftershocks, hoping to better map the region's faults.

New Jersey earthquakes and aftershocks from the main magnitude 4.8 earthquake on April 5, 2024.

(Fox Weather)

The data may lead to the need to reevaluate how future earthquakes will affect the country's densely populated northeast.

“Some (earthquakes) that are not that strong may focus energy toward population centers,” Kim said. “if [the April] If the earthquake had been a little stronger, or a little closer to New York City, the impact would have been much greater. “We need to understand this phenomenon and its implications for ground motion prediction.”

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