The United States Geological Survey (USGS) says a 3.6 magnitude earthquake was centered just east of Lake Ontario on Sunday afternoon.

What You Need To Know

  • This was the second earthquake in just two weeks

  • New York has a long history of earthquakes

  • The worst earthquake in New York's history happened in 1944

Portions of the North Country and Central New York felt the ground shake at 2:10 on Sunday afternoon.

The epicenter was just outside of Adams Center in Jefferson county. The depth of the earthquake was 8.9 km, or about 5 and a half miles. Thankfully, there have been no reports of damage.

Another earthquake shook Jefferson county a little more than a week ago on the 14th. That earthquake was weaker, with a magnitude of 2.6, and it happened while most people were sleeping around 1:30 a.m.

While unusual, New York State is no stranger to earthquakes. A 3.8 magnitude earthquake woke up some people in Western New York back in February.

Earthquakes happen across the Northeast, but New York State has had the most. Since the 1700s, New York has experienced over 550 earthquakes.

The worst one happened on Sept. 5, 1944. The epicenter of that quake was also in the North Country, with major damage reported in the town of Massena.

That earthquake came in at a magnitude of 5.9. People as far as eastern Maine, central Michigan and even Maryland felt that quake.

Even New York City has experienced two damaging earthquakes. One in 1737 and another in 1884. Weaker earthquakes have occurred in NYC in more recent memory, including a 2.6 magnitude earthquake in Oct. 2001.

For more on the latest earthquake to rock parts of the state, click here. 

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