What does ‘there was an earthquake during the night’ mean in Stardew Valley?

While playing Stardew Valley, you often get cryptic messages you likely don’t know the meaning of. One such message lets you know about an earthquake in the night, which might make you worried that something bad happened.

Although you might expect this event to be a bad one that messes with your farm or the village, the earthquake message is actually a good occurrence. Here’s what the “there was an earthquake during the night” message and event mean in Stardew Valley.

What does the earthquake do in Stardew Valley?

The earthquake event in Stardew Valley always occurs on the third day of Summer in the first year and clears the way to the otherwise inaccessible Railroad area after you see the “there was an earthquake during the night” message.

You can find the pathway to the Railroad behind Robin’s Carpenter Shop, but it’s completely sealed off until after this event occurs. There’s a little path leading up to it even before this area is accessible, though, so you may have noticed it before the earthquake cleared the area.

This is the only time you ever experience an earthquake in Stardew Valley, and it’s a pretty useful event. The earthquake clearing a path to the Railroad region grants you access to a few new features including:

• A train that occasionally passes by to drop presents. Whenever the train is near, you will get the “A train is passing through Stardew Valley” message as long as you are outside so you can rush to this area and claim some rewards.
• A Spa you can relax in to fully restore your health and energy.
• The Witch’s Swamp, where you can catch some special fish, turn in a Prismatic Shard to dismiss your child, and more.
• The Summit area. You can only access it after you earn the Perfection 1.6 Stardew Valley achievement.

There are other cryptic messages like “You’ve got some new ideas to sleep on” and strange occurrences like green rain you may come across while paying, so the earthquake certainly won’t be the last event you witness. Luckily, most events in Stardew Valley have some kind of benefit you can gain, making them a lot less daunting.