Second earthquake rocks New Jersey at magnitude 4.0

A second earthquake has rocked New Jersey and the surrounding area on Friday, following an earlier tremor that was felt as far away as Delaware.

The second quake occurred at 5:59 p.m. at a magnitude of 4.0 on the Richter scale, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered just southwest of Gladstone, N.J.

The first quake occurred around 10:23 a.m. and was a magnitude 4.8 centered on Whitehouse Station, N.J.

New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy subsequently stated that "New Jersey just experienced an aftershock. Please follow the emergency guidance below and avoid calling 911 unless you have an actual emergency."

"Aftershocks are smaller earthquakes that occur in the same general area during the days to years following a larger event or 'mainshock.' They occur within 1-2 fault lengths away and during the period of time before the background seismicity level has resumed," according to USGS.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.