New Jersey Earthquake

A rare minor earthquake rattled the greater New York City area Monday night, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

Authorities say a small earthquake has struck central New Jersey, rattling windows and alarming residents of several communities.

Won-Young Kim, a seismologist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, N.Y., says a quake with a preliminary magnitude of 3.0 was recorded at 10:34 p.m. Monday, centered in the Morris County communities of Rockaway, Dover and Morris Plains.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Quakes of magnitude 2.5 to 3 are the smallest that can generally be felt by people.

Police say the quake triggered a flood of 911 calls, with residents reporting a sound like an explosion and houses shaking.

"It's very unlikely that there would be any damage at all, nor would we expect any casualties from a quake this size," said Bruce Presgrave, a geophysicist with the USGS National Earthquake Center in Colorado.

He said the quake struck between Rockaway and Morris Plains, New Jersey, about 35 miles from New York City.

There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries.

"This size quake is in some cases not even felt at all, but this time of night ... it's much more likely for people to feel it," Presgrave said in a telephone interview.