Residents Shaken Up As Earthquake Hits New Jersey
New Jersey residents were surprised this morning when a small magnitude earthquake hit Morris County. CBS New York reports that the earthquake was originally measured at 2.5 but has since been upgraded to 2.7. Though the earthquake that struck Bernardsville, New Jersey, was relatively minor, it left some people, and their pets, a bit shaken up.
According to NJ.com, Ruth Levin, of West Orange, said her dog was certainly acting in an odd manner prior to the earthquake.
“The dog was pacing back-and-forth, very neurotic, she’d never been like that before. She was frightened and stayed next to me all night.”
When the earthquake struck New Jersey, many people mistakenly believed it was thunder or an explosion. Apparently they heard a loud boom and then the ground shook. Rich Green lives very close to the area where the earthquake had the biggest impact.
“It was a huge boom. The ground was shaking. My wife thought it was thunder, I thought it was some type of explosion.”
This is what this morning’s 2.5 magnitude earthquake in NJ looked like. Residents say it sounded like an explosion. pic.twitter.com/mlpU5vAAnI
— Nora Muchanic (@Muchanic6abc) August 14, 2015
Since no one was hurt and very little damage done, some humorous memes are circulating through social media regarding the earthquake.
9 funniest N.J. #earthquake#memeshttp://t.co/kHu3xEyiMq@nmusa1124pic.twitter.com/iMHNgZr86H — NJ.com (@njdotcom) August 14, 2015
CBS New York further reports that Zachary Reeves, geologist for U.S. Geological Society, said 78 peopled reported feeling the earthquake, and that small earthquakes hit this New Jersey area every two to three years.
I always thought I’d have to be in California to experience my 1st earthquake. Boy was I wrong! 2.5 earthquake right here in NJ! Terrifying!
— EDM World Magazine?? (@EDMWorldMag) August 14, 2015
Bernardsville Police Lt. John Gardner said there was a transformer fire, but they are unsure if it was caused by the earthquake or just happened to be a coincidence.
“No reports of damage, however about an hour later we did have a transformer fire, but we don’t know if that was related to the earthquake or not.”
Around 40 Jersey Central Power and Light customers lost power for a short amount of time.
The excitement caused by the minor earthquake in New Jersey is already waning, as residents get back to their normal everyday lives.
Share your earthquake experiences here.
[Image via CBS New York]
