2.6 magnitude earthquake shakes near Gladstone, New Jersey, USGS reports

A small earthquake was registered in New Jersey on Wednesday morning, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey. It was recorded around 7:15 a.m. ET.

The earthquake measuring magnitude 2.6 was approximately 1.6 miles west-northwest of Gladstone in northern New Jersey, about 43 miles west of New York City.

Wednesday's earthquake was likely one of dozens of aftershocks recorded since a 4.8 magnitude hit the region April 5 that could be felt from as far south as Norfolk, Virginia, to as far north as Maine. Seismologists have warned that aftershocks could rattle the area for weeks, perhaps even months, after the initial quake.

"Earthquakes in this region are infrequent, but not unexpected," Jessica Thompson Jobe, a researcher in the U.S. Geological Survey's Earthquake Hazards Program, told reporters in April. "This is an area of older, generally inactive faults, but they can become reactivated at any time."

The April 5 earthquake was reported five miles north of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, according to the USGS, with the epicenter about 45 miles from New York City. It was near the Ramapo Fault, a 185-mile long fault stretching from New York to Pennsylvania.

Contributing: Amanda Oglesby, Asbury Park Press.