A 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck New Jersey and surrounding northeast states on Friday, April 5, 2024 marking itself as the strongest quake New Jersey has experienced in more than 240 years.

According to Live Science and CNN, the initial quake “hit 4.3 miles (7 km) north of Whitehouse Station in New Jersey, about 40 miles (64 km) from Manhattan.” Not only did NJ experience a 4.8 magnitude earthquake, but it also dealt with a 3.8 magnitude aftershock—striking Gladstone, which is about 20 minutes from the epicenter—at 05:30 that afternoon. The quake was felt as far south as Maryland and north as Massachusetts, as revealed in USGS’ “Did You Feel It?” map.

Despite little to no damage reports on April 5, some areas did experience travel delays. According to CNN News, “Flights to the New York Kennedy, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Newark airports were initially held, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.”

“Scientists have yet to pinpoint the fault that ruptured in New Jersey on April 5 and rattled much of the Northeast,” despite the USGS recording at least 50 aftershocks since the initial 4.8-magnitude quake, according to NBC News. As such, “the federal agency announced Thursday that it is installing five new seismometers a few miles from the site of the quake to monitor future rumblings.” Not only this, but researchers from the University of Texas, Rutgers University, Yale University, and Columbia University are also installing 20 additional seismometers to aid the USGS’s efforts.

The Lancer Ledger also interviewed several LRHS community members, asking where they were when the earthquake struck and how they reacted to the unexpected event.

English teacher Ms. Laura DeFerrari was “in the frozen foods section of ShopRite, and unfortunately, an interesting experience passed [her] by. Like the ice cream containers next to [her, she] felt nothing. After [her] phone began lighting up with texts asking [her] if [she] felt the quake, [she] felt a little cheated. Thankfully, [she] experienced the aftershock around six that night, so that made up for it — sort of.”

Science teacher Mr. Giorgi Tchubabria was at home grading students’ chemistry homework. Mr. Tchubabria has felt earthquakes as strong as 6.0 points on the Richter scale on a 20-floor rise apartment building, growing up in the country of Georgia, so he realized it was an earthquake as soon as it began.

English teacher Ms. Laura Fucilli was at her home sitting on her couch with her kids. She initially believed the quake was a large truck traveling down her block or perhaps a pipe bursting since her neighbor was doing construction across the street.

Senior Alisha Tumser was in her house during the quake. At first, her reaction was fear, but “now [she realizes] it’s not a big deal considering [her] relatives in California deal with bigger earthquakes more often.”

Senior Nicole Arzayus was also in her home, and her reaction was that she was mostly “confused and calm because the rest of [her] family [was] freaking out thinking something hit the house.”