Earthquake shakes Maine, and is felt several states away

AP, SCARBOROUGH, Maine

A magnitude 3.8 earthquake centered near the Maine coast on Monday rattled houses in northern New England and was felt by surprised residents of states hundreds of kilometers away.

The earthquake, which took place at about 10:22am, was centered about 10km southeast of York Harbor in southern Maine, the US Geological Survey said.

Officials said the quake could be felt in every state in New England and as far away as Pennsylvania. In southern Maine, many residents reported feeling houses and buildings shake as the surprising earthquake interrupted a sunny winter morning.

A screenshot of a seismogram from the Weston Observatory at Boston College shows the activity of an earthquake in New England on Monday.

Photo: AP

Residents and businesses reported confusion over what had happened. Many shared stories on social media indicating they initially thought there might have been a nearby traffic accident or possibly an explosion.

The earthquake did not appear to cause major damage, Maine Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Vanessa Corson said.

Justine Wenger said she was texting with a friend when she felt the earthquake.

The vibrations lasted about 30 seconds and shook her house. At first, she thought it was a passing truck, then feared her furnace might blow up so she went out onto her deck.

“I wasn’t terrified, but this felt different than a normal rumbling,” she said. “It felt substantial. There was an instinct to get out of the house.”

Earthquakes in the center and eastern parts of the US are less frequent than in western states, but they are typically felt over a much broader region, the US Geological Survey said on its Web site.


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