Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Milford, NJ
No earthquake was likely felt in Milford in the 24 hours to 9:17 pm EST (02:17 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 33 km (20 mi) ENE, at 3:50 am EDT on 24 May 2024, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 997 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Milford
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded in Milford, NJ, at 6:55 am EST on 3 December 2020 (11:55 UTC), 2.0 km deep. 46 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 0 km ENE of Milford, New Jersey
97 km (60 mi) W of New York, NY · 25 km (15 mi) ESE of Bethlehem, PA
- When
- 6:55 am EST on 3 December 2020 ()
- Where
- in Milford, NJ · earthquakes near Milford
- New Jersey today
- every earthquake in New Jersey in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 2.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 46 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Hunterdon County, 15 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 571 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Milford, NJ
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Frenchtown, Raubsville, Alpha, Upper Pohatcong, Tinicum, Phillipsburg.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 40.5721, -75.0839. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunterdon County, NJ | 15 km (9 mi) | E | earthquakes near Hunterdon County |
| Bucks County, PA | 26 km (16 mi) | S | earthquakes near Bucks County |
| Northampton County, PA | 28 km (17 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Northampton County |
| Warren County, NJ | 32 km (20 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Warren County |
| Somerset County, NJ | 39 km (24 mi) | E | earthquakes near Somerset County |
| Lehigh County, PA | 43 km (27 mi) | W | earthquakes near Lehigh County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 6 km SSE of Long Valley, New Jersey
- 1.6 6 km ESE of Califon, New Jersey
- 2.9 7 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 1.6 7 km E of Califon, New Jersey
- 1.5 5 km SW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 2.1 6 km W of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 1.5 5 km E of Califon, New Jersey
- 1.5 5 km NNE of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
- 1.5 5 km N of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
- 1.5 3 km NNE of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
- 1.8 4 km SW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 1.9 5 km SW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 1.7 6 km ESE of Califon, New Jersey
- 1.5 5 km ESE of Califon, New Jersey
- 1.9 5 km SW of Gladstone, New Jersey
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.