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The Crimson

The student news site of Bernards High School

The Crimson

The student news site of Bernards High School

The Crimson

Second earthquake hits Morristown in two weeks

Second+earthquake+hits+Morristown+in+two+weeks

Second Earthquake Hits Morristown in One Week

On September 30, the second minor earthquake hit the Morristown area. Though no police reports were made, many residents felt it and recalled hearing a loud booming sound. It had a magnitude of 1.7ml and was 11.5km below the ground. The earthquake was estimated to have occurred at around 10:35pm, but no responses came in until hours later. A few surrounding towns in northern New Jersey could have noticed it, but the areas most affected were Madison, Bernardsville, Union, and of course, Morristown.

Most people in the Morristown area felt the real effects, while the residents in Bernardsville had mixed responses. While there was no real damage, people said that they were extremely confused and slightly frightened. A sophomore from Bernards High stated that she “heard a loud bang” and that her house shook. Many, though, claimed that they were unaware an earthquake even took place. Some may have felt or heard something, but did not think anything of it because it was quick and no harm was done. The earthquake was so small-scale, it is very unlikely that people had noticed it.  

While earthquakes are extremely common on the west coast due to the many tectonic plates in the region, they are much less likely to hit New Jersey. From gathered evidence over the years, in suburban areas like Bernardsville and Morristown, large scale earthquakes happen about twice a century. The smaller ones however, occur about two to three times in a year. Most of these go undetected, but this case was different. Usually, this portion of New Jersey does not get many earthquakes, so having two earthquakes in the span of one week is uncommon. There is nothing to worry about though. When an earthquake hits, the plates in the earth shift and get set up in such a way, that second waves are almost expected to happen.

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