BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — At 6:15 a.m. on Monday, the 4th strongest earthquake in the last 100 yearsshook most of Western New York.
Damage does not usually occur until the magnitude reaches 4. That being said, a lot of variables are in play such as the distance from the earthquake, type of soil you're on, building construction, etc.
With a Richter Scale Magnitude of 3.8 like we experienced Monday morning, that would be a minor earthquake that you can feel, but rarely causes damage. As an example, a 3.87 magnitude earthquake would have about the same energy as 9.5 metric tons of TNT.
There are about 20,000 earthquakes per year worldwide.
The strongest earthquake recorded in Western New York, a 4.7, occurred on August 12, 1929, in Attica.
The second strongest was a 4.3 on January 1, 1966, near Attica.
The third strongest was a 4.1 on June 13, 1967, near Attica.
