Yes, We Just Experienced A Small Earthquake In Philadelphia

We just experienced an earthquake in Philadelphia. Here's what it felt like from Bala Cynwyd.

If you felt some weird tremors around 10:23 am on Friday, April 5, 2024, it was not your imagination! According to earthquake.usgs.gov, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Tewksbury, NJ. Not a huge quake by seismic standards, but a large region sure felt it!

Here at the Beasley Media Group Philadelphia radio stations in Bala Cynwyd, slight shaking left a lot of us puzzled. We were able to quickly confirm, thanks to the modern marvel of social media, that an earthquake had, in fact, occurred.

It felt sort of like they were doing work on the building, or perhaps a large truck went by. But no, it was seismic activity. Let the chorus of "Did you feel that?" commence!

Eric Johnson at WMGK was just a couple minutes away from beginning a break on the air when the earthquake hit. He shared his real-time reaction with the Philadelphia audience, after confirming with others that he had just experienced an earthquake.

Over at 93.3 WMMR, the Preston & Steve show got interrupted by the tremors. Watch here.

The earthquake hit during Bob Cooney's show. The consummate radio professional was practically unphased by the situation.

On a side note, the Philadelphia Phillies just released their new City Connect jerseys. These blue and yellow uniforms "shake things up" from the Phillies' norm. How ironic that as soon as the shake-up was unveiled, the region physically shook due to an earthquake.

Take that omen as you will.

People across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and even Delaware reported feeling shaking as the earthquake hit the region Friday morning. There are no reports of major impacts, yet, but we will keep you updated on all things Bala Cynwyd after the earthquake.

Stay safe out there, Philadelphia! If anything new comes out of Bala Cynwyd, we will be sure to let you know.

Everyone knows of the obvious places where you have to worry about experiencing an earthquake. But sometimes, there are less obvious spots, too. So, do we have any real risk of an earthquake in Pennsylvania?

A new study looks at the locations with the highest potential of earthquakes. A lot of them are in major cities. A few include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Memphis. That's according to government research done by FEMA.

In case you were wondering, earthquakes are costly. That's not to shame the states that have the most earthquakes, of course. Hurricanes are costly, too. So, whether you live in California, where earthquakes are likely, or in other areas across America where hurricanes happen, chances are, your area is taking up funding to cover these disasters. As it turns out, southern California coastal counties and the Bay Area are the most costly when it comes to earthquake damage. "Los Angeles County with $2.68 billion in annualized losses is more than three times greater than the second highest county (Santa Clara, California)," the FEMA report states. "The counties containing the Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake, and Memphis metropolitan areas also have relatively high AELs."

Pennsylvania ranks No. 30 and No. 43, respectively, out of the states for the report's "Ranking of States by Annualized Earthquake Loss and Annualized Earthquake Loss Ratios (AELR)." When it comes to Pennsylvania's risk, an interactive map shows the state split between "low" and "very low" risk for an earthquake. The eastern part of the state is in the "low" range.

Find the interactive map via CNN below and see where your area lands. You might be surprised by some of the areas that actually have a fairly high risk for activity. The map was "derived in part from a US Geological Survey study that created earthquake models to help inform municipalities and insurance companies about such hazards," according to CNN.

While you might think of a handful of cities who are in danger of earthquakes, and those are on the West Coast, there is earthquake activity all around. "Although most economic loss is concentrated along the West Coast, the distribution of relative earthquake risk, as measured by the AELR, is much broader and reinforces the fact that earthquakes are a national problem," FEMA says. "Relatively high earthquake loss ratios are throughout the western and central United States (states within the NMSZ) and in the Charleston, South Carolina, area."

You've heard of the Big Four, right? In metal music. Anyway, the Big 55 are the cities that experience the most earthquake activity. "Fifty-five metropolitan areas, led by the Los Angeles (including Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Anaheim) and San Francisco (including San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley) Bay areas, account for 85% of the total AEL," FEMA says.

This is an interactive map of the United States showing each area's risk for earthquakes. You might be surprised by some of the areas that actually have a pretty high risk for activity. Click the link below to go to the interactive map via CNN.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/23/us/us-earthquake-risk-map-dg/index.html