Earthquake Felt In Verona-Cedar Grove; Here’s What Caused It, Scientists Say

NOTE: A separate earthquake took place on Tuesday, Aug. 5 in North Jersey. Read our update here.

VERONA-CEDAR GROVE, NJ — An earthquake took place in North Jersey last weekend, with rumbling felt through the region – including in Verona and Cedar Grove.

The 3.0 magnitude earthquake took place on Saturday night, and was centered in Hasbrouck Heights, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Read More: Earthquake Rattles Northern New Jersey And New York City

What caused it? According to the USGS, the earthquake was the results of faulting at shallow depths in the Earth’s crust.

“Although this event did not occur near a plate boundary, such ‘intraplate’ earthquakes can and do occur,” the USGS stated. “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.”

“Weak” and “light” impacts were felt across North Jersey on Saturday night, including Verona and Cedar Grove, where more than a dozen people lodged reports with the USGS.

“Anyone else in Cedar Grove just feel their house shake?” a local resident reported on social media, adding that it was “so weird.”

Other comments about the quake from Verona and Cedar Grove included:

• “Earthquake in Verona … The place groaned and shook. Even my cats picked their heads up and looked around.”
• “In Verona, felt it here. Earthquake.”
• “I am currently in NJ, reporting live … Yes, there was an earthquake and yes there was aftershocks, I’m here in Jersey now, reporting live from Cedar Grove.”
• “Earthquake felt in Cedar Grove NJ.”

Residents of other nearby towns in Essex County also reported feeling the quake. As seen online:

• “We just experienced an earthquake about 15 minutes ago in Montclair NJ, if I'm not mistaken. Never felt or heard anything like it. A loud thump bouncing the earth, then a rumbling but not like thunder. Almost like the biggest truck in the world hitting a pothole.”
• “Caldwell, NJ my house shook.”
• “Just had [an] earthquake here [in] Nutley … thought something hit the house.”
• “Yep, I felt it too. Looks like we just had a 3.0 magnitude earthquake, #bloomfieldnj”
• “We just had an earthquake [in Newark], y’all.”

The USGS reported that 43 other earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 and larger have occurred since 1950 within 250 kilometers of last weekend’s earthquake.

Over that time period, the largest was located near Tewksbury in April 2024, which reached a 4.8 magnitude. That earthquake was widely felt across the northeastern United States, the USGS said.

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