Earthquakes rock the northeast, Geophysicist explains why they are expected in the future

A 4.8 magnitude earthquake shook New York City Friday morning. 

“We kind of all looked at each other, we were like ‘do you feel that’ and then it started to feel like a full on shake,” Chelsae Miller who was in Manhattan, New York during the earthquake said. 

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, it was one of the strongest recorded earthquakes in the northeast in more than a decade. 

“You know that feeling when the garbage truck is going by your house and you feel like the whole house kind of shakes, I think that’s probably the best thing I can compare it to,” Miller said. 

Miller said there was no damage to anything around her and that some people in the same building didn’t feel it at all. 

Earthquakes are not uncommon for the northeast but in the Mahoning Valley they’re usually on the smaller side.

“Some of which may rattle our dishes may rattle our windows and our pets might be a little bit upset,” Dr. Tom Jordan, a Geophysicist and part time faculty member at Youngstown State University said. 

Those naturally occurring earthquakes happen because the earth's crust and overlying rocks are faulted from mountain building events that happened hundreds of millions of years ago. 

“The stresses that caused those faults are relaxing and as they relax we see these small magnitude earthquakes in the northeast,” Dr. Jordan said. 

Just last week, a 3.0 magnitude was detected in Sebring, Ohio. Earthquakes under three on the scale often aren't felt and don’t cause a lot of damage because most of the buildings in the valley are built on solid bedrock.

Dr. Jordan said Ohioans can expect these smaller earthquakes to continue to happen the rest of their lives. He also said larger earthquakes are not impossible for the area but are very unlikely. 

While earthquakes can’t be predicted he encourages people to study geology and the science behind them.

“It ties into so many things that we do from buying a house that's located in an appropriate area, to looking at energy sources, then alternative energy sources, mineral resources and trying to solve our many environmental legacy issues throughout the northeast,” Dr. Jordan said.