Did you feel the earth move? Seacoast reacts to earthquake
Did you feel the earth move under your feet Friday morning in New Hampshire?
You weren't the only one. An earthquake, a 4.8 magnitude quake recorded in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, was felt throughout the Northeast, including in New Hampshire communities like Hampton, Exeter, Kingston and Seabrook.
A number of readers reached out to us by email and social media to share their experience.
"I felt the earthquake," said Beth Saltmarsh-Smith of Hampton. "At first I thought the wind was rocking my house again. But no. Earthquake!"
"We live in the condominiums on the Route 1 Bypass and felt the earthquake tremors this morning," said Karen Schoenrock of Portsmouth. "We commonly feel movement from large trucks passing or high winds, but this was noticeably different. I stepped into the kitchen area just as the tea kettle on the gas stovetop, and that area began to rattle for several seconds."
"I was sitting in my office chair on Seabrook Beach when I felt it rock back and forth," said Jocelyne Winter. "I held very still, thinking it might be someone doing construction nearby or maybe the HVAC rumbling, but I realized the floor was also shaking and very quickly realized it was a tremor I was experiencing. I texted my family at 10:26 to report it and I scoured the internet for a while to see if anyone reported the same thing but didn’t see the New York earthquake news for another hour!"
"Lindsay Road in York, Maine, felt the effects of the Earthquake," said Janet Clark of York. "That’s how far the tremors came. My house shook and felt like a truck rammed it. My next-door neighbor had lamps and table shake too."
Gail Kinsey said she felt the earthquake in Concord on the Penacook line.
"My three-story, 60-condo unit building swayed as well as the draperies," she said. "I was doing a breathing exercise and thought perhaps I had over-oxygenated."
Where was the earthquake?
The epicenter of the earthquake was in Whitehouse Station, Hunterdon County, at 10:23 a.m.
The earthquake was 4.77 kilometers North Northeast of White House Station, New Jersey and the depth was five kilometers. People as far away as Bear, Delaware, and Germantown, New York, felt the rumble.
In addition to New Hampshire, residents of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont reported feeling the impact.
If you felt the earthquake in New Hampshire and Maine, reach out to us @seacoastonline in social media or email news@seacoastonline.com.
Earthquakes common in the region, but the size is unusual: Expert
Dr. Chuck Ver Straeten, a geologist and curator of sedimentary rocks at the New York State Museum, told USA TODAY it’s not surprising this earthquake happened where it did.
“New York, around New York City going into New Jersey, there’s a lot of earthquakes historically down there. Happens every year,” he said. But it’s less common for them to be of such a high magnitude. It’s not surprising that many people felt it, he said. Usually, earthquakes in the region are at a lower magnitude and less likely to be felt.
Ver Straeten said the real question now is if this is just a precursor to a larger quake.
“You never know what is the earthquake, what is a pre-earthquake, what is an earthquake happening after the main earthquake, you just have to see,” he said. “One slip along the rock fault, when one happens, it makes other areas around there more tense also and they start to slip and you slip again and slip again.”
But, he added, it would be unlikely for a larger quake to follow this one. In the Northeast, it’s more common for one large quake to be followed by smaller aftershocks, rather than a mounting series of tremors.
Social media reacts to the earthquake
The main reason I live in New Hampshire is to not deal with earthquakes and tornados
— Cam Clayton (@Cam_clayton4) April 5, 2024
the entire East Coast right now: pic.twitter.com/l3q5R1azYA
— Ron (@ronthacreator) April 5, 2024
californians waking up to everyone talking about an east coast earthquake: pic.twitter.com/SX1cybA19m
— slate (@PleaseBeGneiss) April 5, 2024
LA ppl at East Coast ppl
a 4.8 quake at a 4.8 quake pic.twitter.com/pMun0JdPWv— 🏆LakersGuru🏆 (@GuruLakers) April 5, 2024
That earthquake the east coast just experienced was just this ball Manny hit off K-Rod landing 17 years later. pic.twitter.com/8HkxWeXu5g
— Baseball’s Greatest Moments (@BBGreatMoments) April 5, 2024
west coasters seeing the east coast's reaction to an earthquake pic.twitter.com/GKWqpXEHfv
— maybe: mike (@magiikm1ke) April 5, 2024
You’re all brave for surviving the east coast earthquake of 2024. pic.twitter.com/rw094GekHf
— Kei (@RealMamaEagle) April 5, 2024
dusting off this chestnut from the last East Coast earthquake pic.twitter.com/LF6jxa9J8e
— Jake Blumgart (@jblumgart) April 5, 2024
I think the NY earthquake was a reverberation from the heavy wet snow falling off trees in Maine.
In other news, getting in some cardio on my sun deck today. Having to throw the snow over the railing is extra credit. pic.twitter.com/BgH50UdrSZ— Mary Thibodeau (@bb_thibodeau) April 5, 2024
Wasn't expecting for Maine to be the location I felt my first-ever earthquake, but sure why not.
— Tobin Williamson (@TobinWilliamson) April 5, 2024
Me: "Hey can we get power back in Maine?
Nature: "Best I can do is some shock waves from an #earthquake in New Jersey." https://t.co/RE8JcJhzpW— Andrew Moravick (@Amoravick) April 5, 2024
Material from USA TODAY and the Providence Journal was used in this report.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Strong earthquake in New Jersey felt across parts of Seacoast NH