Earthquake shakes New Jersey town

MILFORD, N.J. - July 28, 2008 (WPVI) -- 2.1 on the Richter scale isn't much, but the fact is there was an earthquake today in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

Some of Milford's residents and those from surrounding areas like Upper Black Eddy said just before 11:30 this morning they heard and felt a rumbling. The earthquake's epicenter was just north of Milford.

Ruth Chevalier of Upper Black Eddy says, "It only lasted like three seconds and there was a like a rumble in the building and that was pretty much it."

"I was upstairs drying my hair and I felt a trembling and I didn't realize what it was until I went to the homestead and everyone was talking about it and we found out it was an earthquake again," said Cassandra Cockburn.

Back in 2003, Milford was the epicenter of another earthquake and that one had a little more girth. It measured 3.8.

There were no reports of damage from today's quake, which is no surprise. A measurement of 2.1 is fairly small. But David Smith of the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown says these small earthquakes are not necessary uncommon in this area.

"This one isn't surprising at all they often come in sets and they often occur in the same area& Some people right near the epicenter would have felt this. It might have rattled the dishes or windows. Sometimes it's often hard to tell if it's a quarry blast or an earthquake or something else going on," explains Smith.

Smith says the quake was also recorded at Columbia University and other recording stations in New Jersey. He also said there is a seismic zone east of Jersey and to the west near Sinking Springs and Lancaster.

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local/state, erin o'hearn

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