Second small earthquake in a week rattles Berks [Maps]

For the second time this week, an earthquake was recorded in Berks County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The tremor, a 1.6-magnitude quake, was reported at 2 a.m. Friday at Leesport, and was about 3 miles deep, according to the USGS.

On Sunday a 1.7-magnitude quake was recorded about 1:40 p.m. in the Sinking Spring area.

Officials at the Berks County Department of Emergency Services said they received no reports about the latest seismic activity.

Berks has a history of reported earthquakes over the last half-century.

In 2018, Dr. Edward Simpson, a professor of geology at Kutztown University and chairman of the school’s physical science department, told the Reading Eagle that this area has gone through four mountain-building phases dating back to the Triassic Period. All that geological tumult has left the rock buried beneath Berks filled with tons of small fault lines.

High magnitude equals high intensity.

Magnitude and intensity measure different characteristics of earthquakes. Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake, while intensity measures the strength of shaking produced by the earthquake at a certain location.

Magnitude is determined from measurements on seismographs. Intensity is determined from effects on people, human structures and the natural environment.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quakes in Berks County — all with magnitudes below 5.0 — have been limited to the first five levels on the 13-level Mercalli intensity scale.