New Jersey woman who lives near epicenter details the earthquake
TEWKSBURY, N.J. (PIX11) — A 4.8-magnitude earthquake shook New Jersey and the tri-state area Friday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquake’s epicenter was 3.7 miles southeast of Califon, NJ, according to the USGS.
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Cathy Lenski, a resident of Tewksbury, a township about 7 miles from Califon, detailed her personal experience when the earthquake struck.
“It felt like a truck was underneath our house,” Lenski told PIX11 News. “The whole house was shaking, and it wouldn’t stop. It was very scary.”
Lenski says the earthquake made a bookshelf fall over and shifted pictures hanging on the wall.
“It felt like a really long time. It lasted maybe 20-30 seconds but it feels longer when you are living through it,” she added.
Three aftershocks were reported hours after the earthquake, according to the USGS.
“We felt an aftershock here,” said Lenski. “I was calling my neighbor, and I felt a little rumble as we talked. It lasted maybe a second.”
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The earthquake was the second one Lenski has experienced in recent weeks. A 2.2-magnitude earthquake was reported 3.1 miles northeast of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, on March 14.
Lenski said the one in March lasted for about a second, but it helped her react faster to this earthquake.
“I knew right away that this was an earthquake because I just experienced one. It reminded me today to go stand under a doorway,” she said.
There was a delay before Lenski received a mobile alert about the earthquake.
“My husband told me that he saw it was official within a minute or two. I received an alert on my phone probably five to 10 minutes later. It came, but it was a little further after.”
Ben Mitchell is a digital content producer from Vermont who has covered both local and international news since 2021. He joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of his work here.
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