Feel That? Small Earthquake Rattles Part of New York State

Earthquakes in New York? Yes, it does happen occasionally. If you have friends or relatives in Livingston County, then you might want to check to see if they felt the small tremor that occurred Thursday evening. The United State Geological Survey says the small 2.4 magnitude quake struck just north of the town of Tuscarora, NY, just east of Letchworth State Park. WBNG did not indicate whether or not there was any damage in the area.

But while the quake was small, it was also considered shallow (around 12,000 feet below the surface, according to WROC) The Daily News Online says that some residents described the tremor on social media as a "loud boom", while others said their porch floor shook "quickly and vigorously". Livingston County Sheriff Thomas Dougherty said over Twitter that his office received multiple calls from concerned residents.

Back in March, an area just north of the Hudson Valley felt an earthquake, somewhat like this most recent tremor  The United States Geological Survey says a small quake occurred near Altamount, NY, in Albany County.  News 10 is reporting that the quake measured a 2.0 on the Richter Scale. Yes, earthquakes do happen in the Northeastern U.S. and Canada. 2020 actually started off with three small earthquakes, on January 3, 7, and 13 respectively. The third was the strongest of the trio, measuring a magnitude 3.3, that hit several miles south of the town of Ormstown, Quebec. The Times Union says the quake was felt as far south as the town of Ticonderoga, NY.

Some even strike even closer to home here in the Hudson Valley. In April 2017, a small 1.3 tremor occurred around two and a half miles west of Pawling. In early 2016, an even smaller quake happened near Port Chester and Greenwich, CT. The most well-known fault line near our area is the Ramapo fault line. The 185-mile system of faults runs through parts of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and has been known to spawn usually small earthquakes.

On August 23, 2011, a 5.8 quake, that was centered in Virginia, was felt all the way up the east coast. Several moderate (at least a 5 on the Richter scale) quakes have occurred near New York City in 1737, 1783 and 1884. Is the area overdue for a much larger quake at some point in the future?