Quake shakes Capital Region residents
Residents all over the Capital Region are still reeling after a 4.8 magnitude earthquake centered in New Jersey was felt in our area.
NewsChannel 13’s social media platforms lit up with reports of the earthquake.
We made a post to find out where residents felt the quake and within a minute, we had over 300 comments.
We got reports of shaking from many places including Schenectady, Troy, Schaghticoke and Ballston Spa.
“I was at my friend’s house, and I felt the whole bed shake. The walls started shaking like her pictures on the wall,” said Carey Oddy of Ballston Spa.
“Everybody just kind of felt it in the building. It actually shook for a little longer than we suspected. We thought there might be some aftershocks or something,” said Matthew Charles, a geologist who felt the quake on Wolf Road. “Actually, just feeling it, I thought it would be bigger than a 4.8.”
“My dresser started shaking and we’ve got a humidifier and the water was shaking,” said Asia Winney who felt the quake in Soctia.
“I heard the shower doors, the glass doors shaking but it lasted a while. I’m thinking what is that? I couldn’t understand it,” said Christine Perkinson, who felt the quake in Colonie.
She said she thought her furnace was going to blow up.
Luckily, there are no reports of damage or injuries in the Capital Region.
Dr. Chuck Ver Straeten a curator of sedimentary rocks at the New York State Museum in Albany, explained to NewsChannel 13 that what we’re feeling are shockwaves created deep below ground.
“When there’s an earthquake it’s because rocks underneath the surface of the Earth have tension,” he explained. “Eventually it slips and that sends out shockwaves.”
He added, we didn’t feel a huge impact of the earthquake.
“We’re far enough away that we didn’t feel it much,” Ver Straeten explained. “Everyone would feel it. Typically, there would be minor damage but nothing big.”
The last major earthquake felt in the Capital Region was a magnitude 5.8 on August 23, 2011, which was centered in Virginia.
NewsChannel 13 is working to find out more information on Friday’s quake. We’ll bring you updates on WNYT.com and our later newscasts.