Small Earthquake Shakes New Jersey

MYFOXNY.COM - A small earthquake shook northern New Jersey Monday night. Scientists said that the preliminary calculations indicate the earthquake had a magnitude of 3.0 and struck at 10:34 p.m., centered about five miles west-northwest of Morristown in Morris County.

The shaking lasted about 10 seconds.

Police said they received a flood of 911 calls from Morris County residents reporting a sound like an explosion and houses shaking. Some residents also called Fox 5.

First responders investigated possible explosions and gas leaks, but the Columbia University Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory confirmed that the shaking was a small quake.

There were no reports of any damage or injuries.

Won-Young Kim , a seismologist at Lamont-Doherty, said it was unlikely that a quake of that magnitude would be a damaging event. Quakes of magnitude 2.5 to 3 are the smallest that can generally be felt by people.

Kim said small earthquakes are not unusual in that area of New Jersey.

Since 1974, there have been about 50 seismic events within 100 kilometers, or about 62 miles, of last night's quake.

MyFoxNY.com visitors have been emailing us with accounts of the quake.  Kirsten Sossin of Denville says she thought her furnace had blown up and her entire house shook.

Aury Karnessis from randolph says she heard a rumbling noise outside her home but didn't know what was going on because it was pitch black.  Her son and daughter thought it was just the furnace turning on.

Christine Conklin from Dover says she was in bed and heard more than feld the quake.  Her daughter said the entire house shook.