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Magnitude 3.1 earthquake jolts New Jersey, witnesses say ‘entire house shook solid 15 seconds'

According to the reports, the earthquake was felt within 32 kilometers of South East Edison. It's unclear if any injuries and damage have been reported

An earthquake of magnitude 3.1 has been reported by the official EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre) website on September 9 around 2 am EDT near Freehold in New Jersey. The news was announced on their official Twitter account. According to the reports, the earthquake was felt within 32 kilometers of South East Edison. Some on social media are saying the quake was felt all the way to southeast Queens and Bed Stuy, Brooklyn.

The tweet by EMSC stated, “M3.1 #earthquake (#sismo) strikes 32 km SE of #Edison (New Jersey) 16 min ago. Effects reported by eyewitnesses

A number of testimonies as shared on EMSC website have noted the impact of the earthquake in detail. While one of it stated “House felt like it shook for ;about three seconds”, another has said, “Just felt a low rumble, then a solid “boom,” then rumbled away. Thought it was the furnace." Another resident shared on Twitter: "Being near the epicenter, it sounded like a bomb exploded. This is an area not known for earthquakes."

One of them has noted that they woke up around 2 am to “glass vibrating” and said that the “bed was shaking”. Meanwhile one of the witnesses from Morganville said that their “Entire house shook solid 15 seconds”. Another from Matawan has shared, “It sounded like a dump truck being dropped from a few stories up, but about 4-5 blocks away. It rumbled the floor for about 5 seconds. I could feel from my feet on the floor and through the seat of the chair.”

The news regarding an earthquake in New Jersey has gotten Internet users worried, who took to Twitter to express their concern over the natural disaster and the safety of those residing in the affected regions. 

EMSC is yet to reveal more details about the earthquake in New Jersey. USGS geophysicist Robert Sanders speaking to NBC News remarked that earthquake in the region is "relatively uncommon". There are two previous recorded quakes with a magnitude 3.0 and larger within a 10-mile radius of the one in Freehold: A 3.1 earthquake in 1992 and a 3.5 earthquake in 1979. "It will take a few days or weeks before analysts can see if there’s a specific fault line at cause here," Sanders shared.

One Twitter wrote, "There was an #earthquake in NJ... wild fires in California and Oregon. More hurricanes. Yeahp global warming is real. And it is getting worse each year." Another added, "That #earthquake really smack the depression out of me and just gave me a panic attack. Thx 2020"

Another user who felt the impact of the earthquake tweeted, "My dad really thought I was going crazy when I told him my whole room shook at 2am.. thanks twitter for being my reliable source at this hour #earthquake"

A resident from the affected region tweeted, "#NewJersey #earthquake That earthquake was scary for a few seconds! Ground shook, thought a garbage truck crashed outside. But I doubt it damaged any foundations. If you live in NJ & it did damage your foundation, our engineers can help. Give us a call. Either way stay safe!"