Bryan Jones
Staff Writer
At 10:25 a.m. an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 rocked parts of the tri-state area, with the seismic disruption surprising residents of the affected areas.
Though there have not been reports of serious injuries or damage from national news outlets, areas are still being assessed due to the wide area of the quake. The epicenter of the quake, per the U.S. Geological Survey, was near Whitehouse Station, NJ.
“I couldn’t believe it at first, you know?” said Richard Facyson, 26, an alumnus of the university and resident of the Pocono mountains. “How often do you actually hear about an earthquake in Pennsylvania, much less actually experience one?”
Facyson’s disbelief echoes the thoughts of many in the tristate area, as seismic events of this magnitude are quite rare. Per USGS records, the seismic disturbance was the strongest recorded in the tristate area in years.
Yet not everyone was aware that it was happening in the first place.
“It was probably because I was driving while the earthquake was in effect, but I didn’t feel anything,” said Elijah Wells, a junior at the university. “I noticed immediately that everyone on my club group chat, and Instagram was talking about it too, so I was very confused about the whole thing, at first.”
Wells’ experience underscores the varying reactions to the earthquake, as some were entirely unaware it had happened until speaking with others or receiving an alert of some sort.
“It was crazy. I was in my basement and thought a big truck had gone down the road or a helicopter was over my house,” said Mary MacIntire, 22, a junior from East Stroudsburg who is majoring in English. “I thought it might have been an earthquake, but I wasn’t sure. I texted my neighbor too asking if she felt anything. It was kind of scary, and I’m wondering if there will be any aftershocks.”
As the day went on, aftershocks did occur across the Northeast, with several of them being recorded by the USGS.
The widespread shock of Pennsylvanians even managed to briefly trend on social media, with the platform X (formerly known as Twitter) even having the city of Allentown, Pa. trending in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Further information on Pennsylvania’s seismic network can be found on the USGS website. Despite the earthquake’s seemingly minor impact, its occurrence underscores that even the most tranquil of areas can be disrupted without warning.
