Shaking in the Hill Towns
The site of last night's earthquake -- well, here, but 9 km down.
There was another earthquake last night near Berne -- and it was relatively big (for this area).
The seismographic network that monitors this area reports that quake was a 3 on the magnitude scale ("felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings"). There are reports that people did feel this one.
Things have been a little shaky in the Hill Towns recently. Over just the last three months there have been 14 earthquakes. Most of them have been tiny. The one last night was the strongest of the group.
There's an interactive map after the jump.
View Berne earthquakes in a larger map
New York State isn't a big earthquake zone, but there is some risk. And there have been some strong ones. In 2002, a quake south of Plattsburgh registered a magnitude of 5.1 ("Felt by all, many frightened").
As it happens, most quakes in this area can't be tied to specific fault. From the USGS:
The region is laced with known faults but numerous smaller or deeply buried faults remain undetected. Even the known faults are poorly located at earthquake depths. Accordingly, few Adirondack earthquakes can be linked to named faults. It is difficult to determine if a known fault is still active and could slip and cause an earthquake. As in most other areas east of the Rockies, the best guide to earthquake hazards in the Adirondack region is the earthquakes themselves.
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Comments
We live just outside the town of Schoharie and we felt the quake last night. My wife used to live in SF and knew right away it was a quake... however, I was an earth quake virgin and thought it was a loud single clap of thunder.
... said Barold on May 18, 2009 at 11:22 AM | link
That's my home turf, kind of. Or at least that's where my mother and stepfather live and where I went to h.s.
My stepfather says he felt nothing, but the quake did wake up his co-worker's young son.
... said jess on May 18, 2009 at 11:33 AM | link
I was in Plattsburgh (best seven years of my life!) for that quake and it is REALLY scary. Especially living in a 12 story dorm building. One positive of that experience was that everyone ran outside and most girls had little or no clothes on. True story.
... said Save Pine Hills on May 18, 2009 at 12:51 PM | link
And once again, I'm amazed at my ability to sleep very soundly through natural disasters. Or natural annoyances.
... said Kim on May 18, 2009 at 12:56 PM | link
...then again, from what I can tell, nobody on this side of the river felt anything. Carry on.
... said Kim on May 18, 2009 at 12:57 PM | link
I was in an earthquake in VA a few years ago. I just thought someone slammed a door way too hard. But when I lived in CA I thought I was in an earthquake when really my siblings just slammed the garage door too hard. Go figure.
... said Katherine on May 19, 2009 at 11:50 AM | link
I live about 6 miles away from Berne and I thought I was having a muscle spasm in my leg when I had felt it, but didn't think much of it. I had no idea until the next day it was an earthquake. It had sounded kind of like a gust of wind hitting the side of the house with a low bass sound accompanying it.
... said J H on May 26, 2009 at 7:20 PM | link