“Did You Feel It?”

In the morning of April 5, 2024, New Jersey was rocked by its most potent earthquake in 240 years, sending shockwaves cascading across the Northeast. 

There was a preliminary magnitude 4.8 quake at 10:23 a.m. EST, centered approximately 8 miles northeast of Bridgewater, New Jersey, along the Ramapo Fault, detected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). 

Since the initial 4.8-magnitude quake, the USGS has logged at least 50 aftershocks.

This event marks New Jersey’s most powerful earthquake since 1783 and the most intense tremor felt in the New York City area since 1884, according to the FOX Forecast Center.

Earthquake Experiences from The Chronicle Staff 

Many of our staff members at The Cyclone Chronicle absolutely felt the earthquake, and have stories to share. Here are our stories about where we were during the earthquake. 

Troy Sumpter (News Editor) 

I was just waking up. I thought I was hearing the air conditioning turning on. But, then, I heard rumbling that was way too loud to have been an AC unit. That’s when I started to feel the earth shaking. I put myself in the corner of my bedroom against the wall with a blanket around my head. I was looking around the room, in fear unsure of what was happening. Then, all of the sudden it hit me. ‘Oh my God, this is an earthquake.’ 

Severn Hollern (A&E Editor/Cartoonist) and Kai Calk (News Editor)

As roommates, we were in our dorm room in Reeves when the earthquake struck. Kai was asleep; I (Severn) was awake playing Minecraft on my laptop. When the earthquake hit, I watched Kai shoot up from bed as the entire room was shaking. I pushed my laptop off of my lap and looked around the room in disbelief. We heard a plate fall off of our shelf. Thankfully, it was plastic and did not break! We both wish it was a little more substantial of an experience. It was pretty overhyped. 

Kayla Diee (Features Editor/Copy Editor)

I was in the shower when the earthquake hit. I had never felt one before, so at first I thought it was a stampede of residents running down the hallway. It quelled pretty quickly, but immediately after my phone was blowing up, and I was on the phone for nearly an hour after. I went to work soon after. I teach in a prison, and as I was going through security a guard told me that an attorney from New Mexico was in the facility during the earthquake, and was accurately predicting the magnitude as it was happening!

Braelyn Fuller (A&E Editor/Cartoonist)

I didn’t feel it. I work in a nail salon in Wyckoff, NJ. Just before the earthquake, I was giving a pedicure. All of the sudden, some clients were asking each other, “Did you feel that?” They were receiving phone calls and texts from their family members to check in. Five minutes later, I received a text message from my aunt which said, “I almost jumped out of bed. This whole building was shaking and everyone on this floor was saying, ‘What’s going on?’ I think we had a slight earthquake here, and my girlfriend in Fanwood, NJ, told me she just felt it, too.” I wish I felt it.  

Tommy McGrogan (Editorials Editor)

I was on a business trip in Philadelphia that weekend. I was in a convention center that had no internet service. But, we had spotty cell phone service, at least. Out of nowhere and all at once, my phone started going off: my mom was calling, my dad was calling, my sister was calling, and I was just trying to answer the phone. But, I couldn’t because of the poor connection. I finally got in touch with my mom who told me, “There was a massive earthquake.”

People in Philadelphia did feel the earthquake, but because I was in a big loud convention center doing work, I didn’t feel it. I didn’t hear it either. Honestly, with all of my family members calling at once, I thought someone died! It was kind of scary. 

Evan Naiberg (Photographer/Videographer)

My whole experience was crazy. I was up until 4:30 a.m. in the morning of the earthquake. I heard two or three loud booms outside around that time. I thought they came from one of the dorm buildings. So, I looked out of my window, and there was nothing in sight. Then, I went to sleep. 

I woke up to my entire room shaking. Nobody was home except me, so I was very confused and disoriented. I found out it was an earthquake from a friend. My brother, who lives abroad, called me an hour after the earthquake to check in. Meanwhile, my mom, who lives in Philly, texted me three hours later asking, “Did you feel it?” This was my first earthquake experience.  

Sofia Senesie (Managing Editor)

I was at home. My dad and I had just stopped bickering over our espresso machine which was giving us issues that morning. I went upstairs to my bedroom to grab something. I was getting ready to go to Walmart. Then, as I was upstairs in my room standing in front of my closet, the whole house started shaking. I initially felt a sense of panic, and began thinking back to the major earthquakes that my family experiences in Haiti. For the entire morning, I was getting countless phone calls and texts from loved ones checking in. 

Eve Foote (Editor-In-Chief) 

I was driving along Route 17 in Paramus. Headed for an MRI appointment, my mind was preoccupied with the traffic around me. Little did I know, with my focus on avoiding any potential accidents, the earth beneath me was shaking.

At the orthopedic office, I sat in the waiting area. I couldn’t help but notice a weird tension in the air. Other patients exchanged anxious whispers; they seemed confused. I wondered what could be causing such a disturbance. It wasn’t until my roommate frantically called me a few minutes later that I was informed of the earthquake. “Founders was shaking. The whole building moved,” she said. 

I was dumbfounded. An earthquake? How could I have missed it? I went straight to Google—driving tends to numb one to subtle tremors below a 5.0 magnitude. That explained it. As I glanced around the waiting room, many others were engaged in similar phone calls with loved ones. It felt so strange to have missed such a significant event, to be on the outside looking in while others shared a collective experience. I’m sad that I missed it.

Janet Zatta (The Cyclone Chronicle Adviser)

I was at the hair salon with my head in the sink. I was looking at a brick wall in an old industrial building and a very large glass window. I noticed that everything began to shake. 

You know when an earthquake lasts long enough when people from the front of the salon can run to the back of the salon, and look out the window to figure out what is going on. 

People were frantically plastered up against the window repeatedly asking, “What’s happening?” Everyone was saying, “Did you feel that?” It’s funny, most people did exactly the opposite of what you’re “supposed” to do in an earthquake: they ran outside! Thankfully, nothing came crashing down and I got my hair rinsed!

All in All…

…Everyone may have had vastly different experiences as the earthquake hit, but the same question arose in nearly each person’s story: “Did you feel it?” Now, The Cyclone Chronicle wants to know, did you feel it?  

Share your “I felt it” earthquake experience to our Ask The Cyclone segment!