A small earthquake rattled northern New Jersey on Monday night but no injuries or damages were reported, authorities said.

The magnitude-3 quake struck at 10:34 p.m. (0334 gmt) two miles southeast of Victory Gardens, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

There were no reports of injuries or damages in the Morris County area 35 miles (55 km) from New York City, according to Dover, New Jersey, police officer Walter Michalski.

But authorities and news outlets received numerous calls from people who felt the temblor and thought it was an explosion.

Bruce Presgrave, a geophysicist with the USGS National Earthquake Center in Colorado, said such a small quake was not unusual and would generally not cause damage or injury.

"This size quake is in some cases not even felt at all, but this time of night ... it's much more likely for people to feel it," he said in a telephone interview.