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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Local News

The Great Philadelphia Earthquake of 2024

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News

Who felt it. And who didn’t.

A USGS “shake map” of the Philadelphia earthquake felt on Friday morning

This is a developing story about the earthquake felt in Philadelphia and may be updated at any time.

It was around 10:23 a.m. when my house in West Philadelphia started shaking. I know this because at 10:24 a.m., I posted a message in my Microsoft Teams chat with my colleagues: “HOLY FUCK EARTHQUAKE.” And at 10:25 a.m., I posted this on Facebook: “But the big story today: PHILLY EARTHQUAKE.”

At first, the rumbling felt like it could have been heavy machinery — and indeed, we have some heavy machinery working just a couple of blocks away. Not just that: a bona fide “blasting zone” a few blocks further, for reasons I still don’t quite understand.

But then the rumbling became shaking and continued. I swear that my walls were moving. My Wawa coffee cup was absolutely dancing on my coffee table. I’m a person who has his fair share of anxiety, and a bit of panic began to set in.

It turns out that this was, indeed, an earthquake in Philadelphia. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter of the earthquake we felt in Philadelphia was about four miles NNE of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, which is about an hour and a half from Center City Philadelphia by car. The USGS originally reported the magnitude at 4.5, soon upping that to 4.8. Both are within a range of earthquakes that the world experiences 500,000 times each year. That category of earthquake generally results in minimal damage.

We haven’t felt anything like that in Philadelphia in a while. In 2017, Philadelphia shook due to a 4.1 magnitude earthquake that came to us courtesy of Delaware. And back in 2011, we felt the effects of a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that had its epicenter in Virginia.

Here in the Philadelphia area, we haven’t seen any reports of injuries or damage. One friend who works in Lansdowne reported that he felt absolutely nothing. Another in Bala Cynwyd says the same. Even some people in Center City seemed surprised when word of the earthquake surfaced, saying they heard and felt not a thing.

The USGS has a handy map that shows who reported feeling the quake:

Many folks are obviously wondering about the potential for aftershocks — a potential that always exists. We didn’t feel anything in Philadelphia after those two aforementioned earthquakes. And aftershocks are almost always smaller in magnitude than the original earthquake, and sometimes imperceptible, according to the USGS.

At around 6 p.m. Friday some Philly Mag staffers around the region reported feeling another round of rumbling. And according to the USGS, there was a 4.0 magnitude earthquake, an aftershock of this morning’s initial event.

And this handy tool from the USGS predicts the likelihood of further quakes/aftershocks in the coming weeks.

6 ABC’s Adam Joseph reported more than 10 aftershocks since the initial morning event.

Today’s quakes were mild, but the USGS reminds you that in the event of a quake you should do this:

 

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Victor Fiorillo

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