4.7 Magnitude Earthquake Recorded Off Coast, Felt In New Jersey

A 4.7 magnitude earthquake was recorded Tuesday evening off the coast of Ocean City, Md., but the effects of it were felt in several states, including New Jersey.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was at a depth of 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles, about 136 miles off the coastline. It's among the biggest to impact New Jersey since a 5.8 earthquake in 2011 was felt up and down the East Coast, and caused damage to hundreds of homes and structures.

There have been no reports of damage in the Tueaday quake. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had not reported any tsunami activity off the East Coast. According to the USGS website, 78 responses were logged saying the earthquake had been felt.

The Northeast States Emergency Consortium said it received reports of the earthquake's effects felt in the Point Pleasant area, the Newark area and the Phillipsburg area.

Did you feel the earthquake? Tell us in the comments!

Earthquakes happen when there is movement below the Earth's surface on fault lines. They can occur anywhere in the U.S. and usually last less than a minute, according to FEMA.

Most recently in the Mid-Atlantic region, two small earthquakes rumbled the Goochland, Va., area on Nov. 9, the same region where the 5.8 earthquake in August 2011 originated and caused damage the Washington Monument in Washington D.C.

The first 2.4 magnitude earthquake occurred at 11:25 a.m. about 23 miles west northwest of Richmond, while a second quake nearby came about 20 minutes later and was recorded as a magnitude 2.5, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

A quake on Nov. 30, 2017, about 6 miles northeast of Dover, Delaware, was felt from Baltimore to Washington, D.C., and Fairfax County. The initial report was for a 4.4-magnitude quake but the USGS later scaled it back to 4.1.

A 2.4 magnitude earthquake rattled parts of Virginia on Aug. 25, 2017, according to the USGS. The temblor was registered with the epicenter located 6 kilometers from Goochland, Virginia, near Richmond, experts say.

On March 12, 2017, a 2.3 magnitude quake was registered with the epicenter located 6 kilometers from Goochland, Virginia, near Richmond. The USGS reports that people in Rockville, Maryland, felt the quake. And on Dec. 22, 2016, a 2.2 magnitude earthquake was registered with the epicenter located 18 kilometers from Ashland, Virginia. A 2.3 quake centered nine miles south of Louisa, Va. and 27 miles northwest of Short Pump, Virginia, was reported about 18 months ago.

The 5.8-magnitude quake felt by New Jersey on August 23, 2011 alarmed millions along the East Coast. "Tens of millions of people all over the East Coast and southeastern Canada suddenly felt the earth shaking from the largest earthquake in that area since the M5.8 earthquake in 1944 near Cornwall and Massena, New York," the USGS said.

When the Earth stopped shaking, more than 148,000 people reported their experience of the earthquake on the Did You Feel It? website, representing an area occupied by one-third of the U.S. population.

That quake also damaged the National Cathedral and the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington D.C., as well as minor to major damage to almost 600 residential properties.

The 5.8 earthquake was centered near the town of Mineral, Va., about 65 km northwest of Richmond at a depth of about 6-8 km.

With reporting by Deb Belt

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