4.8 Magnitude Earthquake Rumbles MD, Readers Share Stories

Last updated Friday at 1:20 p.m.

MARYLAND — Marylanders were surprised to feel a 4.8-magnitude earthquake shake Maryland Friday morning.

Residents reported wobbly decorations and moving chairs when the quake broke out at 10:23 a.m. The rumbles started in New Jersey and were felt from Virginia to Maine.

Nottingham resident Michele Kreider felt the rumbles in her first-floor condo. Kreider heard a "very faint rumble" while laying on the floor and exercising. She "clearly felt the ground barely move" and "questioned the possibility of a quake."

"Since all 5 feet of my body was parallel to the floor, I literally felt the quake passing from my head to toe," Kreider told Patch in an email. "My instinct was correct after reading this article."

The quake started nearly 3 miles beneath the Earth's surface. It was centered about 4 miles northeast of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. That's located in the northern part of the state, roughly between Trenton and New York City.

A second, smaller earthquake hit New Jersey on Friday afternoon. The U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors earthquakes, said the 2.0-magnitude aftershock was detected with an epicenter 4 miles west of Bedminster, New Jersey.

Seismic activity is rare in the Mid-Atlantic region. Maryland's strongest earthquake on record came in 2011 at a magnitude of 5.8.

Mollie Wolfe felt Friday's shaking in Timonium. Wolfe, who once lived in Guatemala, has felt several earthquakes. This time, Wolfe said she "heard a rumbling sound" while standing at the kitchen sink.

"I thought it was thundering and shaking the house and I looked out my window to see if a thunderstorm was starting, but nothing. Then I just saw there was a quake," Wolfe wrote to Patch.

Sharon Olson reported a few seconds of rumbles in Annapolis.

"My chair moved me from side to side gently, back and forth, about 4-5 times," Olson said in an email. "I said to my husband, as I am a California native, we just had an earthquake! He was in a different room and didn't feel anything, but perhaps because I was closer to the outside walls, I did."

Crofton resident Wendy Clark heard a decoration clanking and thought it was her son shaking the house.

"A decorative metal piece in my dining room began banging against the wall just as I felt my townhome shaking," Clark told Patch. "Thinking it was my teenage son upstairs, I asked him what he was doing and he said he had been sitting still the entire time. Then I looked up 'earthquake today' and saw that shaking had been reported in the area and NJ had experienced an earthquake. A few moments later, the email from Crofton Patch confirmed it."

The United States Geological Survey, or USGS, said Friday's earthquake "occurred as a result of oblique reverse and strike-slip faulting at shallow depths in the crust. Although this event did not occur near a plate boundary, such 'intraplate' earthquakes can and do occur. While this earthquake is relatively small globally, earthquakes of this magnitude are commonly widely felt in the eastern United States because of efficient seismic wave propagation in the region."

Earthquakes in the eastern US are infrequent — but not unexpected, the USGS said. Since 1950, 40 other earthquakes of magnitude 3 and larger have occurred within 250 km of Friday's earthquake.

"In that time range, the April 5, 2024, earthquake is the largest," the USGS said. "Within 500 km of the April 5 earthquake, 13 earthquakes, M 4.5 and larger have been recorded since 1950, the largest being the August 23, 2011, M 5.8 Mineral, VA, earthquake which caused substantial damage and was felt throughout the eastern United States."

Friday's earthquake occurred in a region where faults have been previously identified and may be reactivated at any time, the USGS said.

A Patch reporter in Odenton felt mild rumbling for about 15 seconds. Weaker shaking continued for another 30 seconds after that.

Closet doors vibrated, and a decorative compass on a dresser rattled. Shelves shook, but nothing fell.

The reporter, who lives near train tracks, initially thought it was a high-speed Amtrak passing by. He realized it was a quake when the rumbling continued for a prolonged time.

A 4.8-magnitude shaker is considered a light earthquake. It's mostly felt by those indoors. Few feel it outdoors.