A map of earthquakes over the past century. The large orange dot was a magnitude 4.8 on April 5, 2024.
USGS
The earthquake, one of New Jersey’s largest on record, could be felt from Maryland to Boston. But don’t read too much into it.
A man works his way through the rubble of buildings in Marrakesh, Morocco, after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake on Sept. 8, 2023.
Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images
A deadly earthquake in Afghanistan, following one in Morocco, highlights the risks in the region.
Seismologists monitor the Earth’s activity, but they can’t predict a day, time and place for the next ‘big one.’
Christian Miranda/AFP via Getty Images
The idea that scientists could warn a region that a big quake was coming at a certain time – with enough advance notice for large-scale preparation and evacuation – remains a dream, not a reality.