Minor earthquake strikes Berks County including Reading, Wyomissing, Pa. Friday afternoon
READING, Pa. (CBS) -- A small 2.4 magnitude earthquake struck Berks County near Lincoln Park and Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania on Friday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Across social media platforms, residents in the immediate area reported feeling the ground shake - especially in West Lawn and other parts of Spring Township, a few miles outside Reading.
The USGS says the quake happened around 4:36 p.m. Eastern Time. Residents around Reading also confirmed feeling some weak ground shakes to the USGS' "Did You Feel It?" survey.
There have been no reports of damage or injuries associated with this earthquake and we know damage would be unlikely.
Seismologists including those at Michigan Technological University say earthquakes under 2.5 magnitude are not normally felt and number in the millions each year. Once the magnitude gets above 2.5 it's more likely someone feels them.
However, as CBS News Philadelphia's Tammie Souza has reported, much of the Northeast has loose, soft soil which can allow an earthquake's energy to travel farther and be felt. This doesn't happen in areas with dense rock below the surface.
Earthquakes are also more likely to be felt if they're closer to the surface. Friday's quake in Berks County was reported at 8.0 kilometers (or 5 miles) below the surface, so it's considered a shallow earthquake.
The energy released from intermediate or deep earthquakes takes longer to reach the Earth's surface and doesn't travel as far from the epicenter.
Earthquake in Pa. follows widely felt 4.8 magnitude earthquake on April 5 in NJ
For many in Berks County, this is the second earthquake they've felt this month — after a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck near Whitehouse Station in Readington Township, New Jersey and reverberated across the Northeast U.S.
That earthquake was felt in New York City, Philadelphia, Boston and as far south as Washington.
There have also been several aftershocks connected to the April 5 earthquake.
