Hudson Valley Tremors: Minor Earthquake Shakes Parts of New York

A minor earthquake struck near Paramus, New Jersey, on Friday afternoon, causing shaking felt as far as Westchester and Rockland counties in New York's Hudson Valley and even New Milford, Connecticut. The tremor, measured at 2.4 on the Richter scale by the U.S. Geological Survey, had an epicenter east of Paramus at a depth of about 4 miles.

While it's uncertain if this event is related to the stronger 4.8 magnitude earthquake that hit New Jersey in April 2024 (the strongest to hit the region since 1783!), the recent activity highlights the seismic activity in the area. The April 2024 quake, felt by over 42 million people along the East Coast, had such unusual behavior that it led experts from the Columbia Climate School to discover a previously unmapped fault line.

New York has experienced 44 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or higher. Most seismic activity in the state occurs in the far north, western New York (near Lake Ontario), and closer to the New York City area, often associated with the Ramapo fault line.

<img src="https://townsquare.media/site/705/files/2024/12/attachment-RS20339_GettyImages-527890380-scr-11.jpg" alt="Earthquake in Hudson Valley">

44 of the Biggest Earthquakes to Shake New York State

New York State has a history of seismic activity. See a gallery of some of the larger events here.

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Learn more about the largest earthquake ever to strike New York State

See USGS report on the uptick in recent New York earthquake activity