AU SABLE FORKS, N.Y. (WCAX) – Notable earthquakes are rare in our region, but on this day in history, many people across Northern New York and Vermont were jolted awake.
On April 20, 2002, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck with an epicenter near Au Sable Forks, New York. The strong shaking crumbled sections of highways, damaged hundreds of buildings and rattled residents across the North Country and into Vermont.
“It was terrifying — needless to say, I didn’t ever want that to happen again,” one resident recalled.
The Au Sable Forks quake was the strongest earthquake recorded in this part of the Northeast in decades, and the largest recorded in New York state since a 1944 quake centered near Massena.
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