4.8 magnitude; struck west of New York City
The Highlands rattled for a few seconds at 10:23 a.m. on Friday (April 5) because of tremors from an earthquake that struck near Lebanon, New Jersey, and measured 4.8 on the 10-point Richter scale.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the quake struck about a kilometer below the surface 5 kilometers northeast of Lebanon, which is located about 50 miles west of New York City and about a 90-minute drive from the Highlands. Residents reported feeling tremors as far away as Wilmington, Delaware, and Columbia County, New York; citizen scientists can report their experiences at earthquake.usgs.gov.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul posted on X (formerly Twitter): “My team is assessing impacts and any damage that may have occurred, and we will update the public throughout the day.”
Less severe earthquakes have occurred in the Highlands. Six years ago, on Feb. 7, 2018, a 2.2-magnitude quake struck about 4 miles below the surface near Crofts Corners in Putnam Valley. Another quake that occurred on July 5, 2014, off Route 403 in Garrison measured 2.4 magnitude and also occurred about 4 miles underground. One Cold Spring resident described it as feeling and sounding like a large truck was rumbling by.
