A 3.0 magnitude earthquake was confirmed to have occurred in New Jersey on Saturday night, with people in the surrounding areas and New York City (NYC) reporting they felt the tremor from the earthquake.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) revealed the earthquake, which was centered in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, occurred around 10:18 p.m.
Per the USGS, the earthquake “occurred as a result of faulting at shallow depths in the crust.” The USGS noted that in April 2024, “a magnitude 4.8 earthquake occurred near Tewksbury, New Jersey.”
The August 3, 2025 (August 2 local time), M 3.0 earthquake near Hasbrouk Heights, New Jersey, occurred as a result of 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. In April 2024, a magnitude 4.8 earthquake occurred near Tewksbury, New Jersey, approximately 60 km WSW of the August 3, 2025 earthquake. That earthquake was widely felt across the northeastern United States. The August 3, 2025 earthquake is not an aftershock of the April 2024 earthquake given the distance between the two earthquakes; however, felt aftershocks of the April 2024 earthquake do continue to occur. Since 1950, 43 other earthquakes of magnitude 3 and larger have occurred within 250 km of today’s earthquake. In that time range, the April 5, 2024, Tewksbury, New Jersey earthquake was the largest. The August 3, 2025, earthquake occurred in a region where faults have been previously identified and may be reactivated at any time.
People throughout New Jersey, and in New York City described “feeling a short, intense shake” and feeling a “sudden jolt,” according to the New York Times.
People across northern New Jersey reported feeling a short, intense shake. Neighborhood chats and social media quickly lit up with people worried that a gas line had exploded or a large tree had fallen.
On 129th Street in Harlem, Bradford Billingsley said he was watching television with friends when his coffee table rattled. “We both felt a sudden jolt and looked at each other and said, ‘was that an earthquake?’” he said.
In a post on X, the NYC Emergency Management also confirmed that a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was reported to have occurred “in or near New Jersey.”
“Tremors may have been felt in parts of New York City,” the NYC Emergency Management added. “NYC Emergency Management is monitoring for impacts and coordinating with agency partners.”
The NYC Emergency Management advised people to “be prepared for possible aftershocks.”
Several people took to social media to question if there had been an earthquake, and described how it had sounded “like the biggest truck in the world hitting a pothole.”
“Did we just have an earthquake in NYC?? It felt like my building shook?” one person asked.
“We just experienced an earthquake about 15 minutes ago in Montclair NJ, if I’m not mistaken,” another person wrote in a post. “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.”
“Did we just have an earthquake in NYC?” Oliya Scootercaster, a Ukrainian-American journalist asked.
“I felt an earthquake here in the Bronx,” another person wrote. “My floors and couch shaking. What the heck is going on??”
“Did I just feel an earthquake in NYC?” another person asked.
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