Photo by Lola Offenback.

On Friday, April 5, the aftershocks of a magnitude 4.8 earthquake originating 35 miles east of Bethlehem in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, rocked Moravian’s campus and the surrounding Lehigh Valley. 

The earthquake was felt through the Philadelphia area all the way to the New York area. 

The last earthquake to hit Bethlehem before this was on Sept. 2, 2023, which was a magnitude 1.7 earthquake along the Lehigh-Berks county line. Prior to that, the last earthquake here happened in 2020. 

Students had many mixed reactions to the quake. 

“My roommate and I thought that the wind was just very strong,” said Alexandra Cherenson ‘25. “My roommate screamed earthquake and she was very excited because it was her first time experiencing one.”

Mary West ‘26 was not too concerned about it. 

“I was at work, and I thought a truck was going down the street,” she said. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but I thought it was pretty cool.” 

Other students found themselves confused. 

“I was on the top floor of Comenius Hall and the entire building felt like it was shaking,” said Nate Pynchon ‘26. “The bookshelf next to me was wobbling and I thought maybe the ceiling fell on the third floor. There was a moment where I considered leaving the building, but by the time I left the room it stopped.” 

Jamison Thomas x‘25, a Hotel Bethlehem employee, felt the same way. “I didn’t really know what was going on, I thought they were doing construction by my house, so I was a little confused,” she said. 

Moravian’s Facilities Management, Planning, and Construction Department performed a visual inspection of the building on campus. They also monitored utility feeds for any anomalies. 

Facilities found no damage to any campus buildings associated with the earthquake.