Anyone have earthquake FOMO after small tremor hit NJ on Tuesday?

A small earthquake hit New Jersey Tuesday afternoon and I knew nothing. It happened about 1:30pm when a magnitude 1.8 tremor centered around a mile southeast of Long Valley in Washington Township hit a little over 3 miles below ground. That’s in Morris County.

It shook some buildings there, and the U. S. Geological Survey received 55 reports from folks in Morris County, Hunterdon County, Somerset County, and Essex County.

Where I was in Mercer County? Nothing. Squat. Nada.

To be honest, the only one I ever felt in New Jersey was several years ago. It was April 5, 2024 when a 4.8 quake hit Tewksbury, New Jersey and was felt from Virginia to Maine. But for being felt so far and wide it did very little actual damage.

I was living in Flemington at the time and was on the second floor of my home when it struck at 10:23 in the morning. It felt like both a jarring and swaying simultaneously almost as if a truck had hit the house.

Now that was exciting. It was the talk of the day. I felt part of something. A communal experience.

Years before a quake hit New Jersey when I was inside the radio station and it was the opposite experience. The part of the building I was in felt nothing. Zero. But the other end of the building? Everyone felt it.

Co-workers ran around excitedly asking each other if they felt it, was it a quake, etc.. Simply put, it was a party I wasn’t invited to.

As has been every other New Jersey quake. Talk about fear of missing out. Even in 1994 when I had been living in Southern California and the great Northridge quake hit, I had just moved out a scant number of days before taking a job in Jersey.

I missed that excitement too. But probably for the better, I admit, because it was a 6.7 that killed 60 people and injured thousands. Numerous buildings were destroyed or damaged to the tune of billions of dollars.

As scary as that is, and as lucky as I was to have missed it by just a week, there was still this feeling of a monumental community event that I was cut off from. Again, FOMO.

I should feel happy to have missed it, but don’t we all crave drama just a little? Be careful what we wish for I suppose.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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