Minor Earthquake Shakes Del., N.J.

PHILADELPHIA - A minor earthquake was reported Wednesday morning in Pennsville, N.J., and callers told Fox 29 News they felt the tremor.

According to the United States Geological Survey's Web site, it was a 2.8-magnitude temblor that struck at 9:44 a.m.

Felt The Quake? Contact Fox 29 News

A preliminary report put the epicenter near Wilmington. But the USGS later narrowed down the location to about 2 miles from Pennsville (within about a 3 km range of certainty) and at a depth of approximately 3 miles.

That puts it 4 miles from Carney's Point, N.J., 5 miles from New Castle, Del., and 30 miles from Philadelphia.

Check: Estimated Epicenter On Google Maps

Callers to the Fox 29 Newsroom reported feeling the quake in Salem County, N.J. Some said it felt similar to an explosion last month at Sunoco's Marcus Hook oil refinery.

Salem County's emergency management office reported shaking at 9:46 a.m. No injuries or damage were reported.

Officials said they soon received approximately 150 calls from eight municipalities.

"Our Office of Emergency Management, working with law enforcement and municipal officials, immediately went to work to ascertain the cause of the tremor and to ensure that no explosions or terroristic activity was the cause. At 10:30 a.m. we received confirmation that it was an earthquake, and utilizing our reverse 9-1-1 system, county residents were notified and informed that no protective actions were required," Deputy County Administrator Weinstein in a news release.

The county's engineering department said it's inspecting roadways and bridges "to ensure that they have maintained their structural integrity."

Freeholder Bruce Bobbitt, Chair of the County Public Works Committee said, "We are not expecting any problems; however safety is our paramount objective."

A spokesman for PSE&G Nuclear, which operates three nuclear power plants in Salem County, said the quake was too minor to register on the plant's monitoring devices and the plants are running at full power.

USGS Links: Did You Feel The Quake? | Historical Seismicity | Seismic Hazard Map | Earthquake Info For Delaware , New Jersey and Pennsylvania

The last earthquake in Salem County was 36 years ago, on Feb. 28, 1973. That one registered a 3.8 on the Richter Scale, Fox 29 meteorologist David Aldrich said.

According to the USGS, "earthquakes in the central and eastern U.S., although less frequent than in the western U.S., are typically felt over a much broader region."

It can be difficult, however, to link earthquakes in the urban corridor (including New York, Philadelphia and Wilmington) to named faults because many faults are undetected.