The U.S. Geological Survey has confirmed a magnitude 2.7 earthquake occurred near Hillsdale, New Jersey, at 12:11 p.m. Tuesday. It comes after a 3.0 magnitude earthquake in Hasbrouck Heights, about 10 miles away, rattled parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut Saturday night.
John Bellini, a geophysicist with the USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado, says any quake with a magnitude of 3.0 or lower on the Richter Scale is considered fairly weak.
“We wouldn’t even expect it to knock things off of shelves, but it would be like a quick jolt or a boom or a quick shake," says Bellini. "People would experience it differently, but that’s generally how a quake that small is felt.”
According to a USGS map, residents as far north as Albany reported feeling tremors Tuesday, but residents of northeastern New Jersey, the lower Hudson Valley, New York City, Long Island and southwestern Connecticut were more likely to feel it. Officials in Bergen County, New Jersey, say there are no reports of damage or injuries at this time.
Bellini says the Northeast has a lot of smaller fault lines, so it’s not unusual for the region to feel smaller earthquakes from time to time. He estimates the Northeast sees about a dozen or so quakes a year.
In April 2024, a larger magnitude 4.8 earthquake shook northern New Jersey and the surrounding area, and Bellini says the USGS is still seeing aftershocks from that — but he notes that’s farther west in New Jersey, so it’s unlikely the recent quakes are related. Nor does Bellini believe the two most recent quakes are related to each other.
“In the Northeast in general, there’s faults all over the place. They’re just not active the way they are in California," he explains. "So, it could just be coincidence. We wouldn’t expect them to be on the same fault, so we believe they are unrelated.”
Bellini notes most earthquakes in the Northeast tend to be minor or really short — even just a couple seconds — so it’s hard to respond to them in the moment.
During a larger quake, New York City Emergency Management recommends dropping to the floor and covering your head and neck with your arms. Alternatively, it recommends taking cover under a solid piece of furniture or next to an interior wall. It does not recommend getting in a doorway or going outside. If you’re already outside, the office recommends staying away from trees, buildings and power lines.
