A mild but rare 3.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of southern Maine early Monday morning, sending tremors across New England, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The survey reported that the epicenter was about 10 miles east of Portsmouth, NH. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
According to the survey Self-reporting toolpeople said tremors were felt as far away as Providence, RI, about 100 miles southwest of the epicenter, and Augusta, Maine, about 90 miles to the north.
Maine Emergency Management Agency said on social media that the quake struck at 10:22 a.m. As seismologists review available data, they may revise the reported magnitude of the quake.
The shock of the morning woke many New Englanders.
Chief Executive Joe Watts Star IslandA summer community and conference center just off the coast of New Hampshire said it believed the boiler at its Portsmouth, NH, office had exploded earlier. A friend who was on the phone with him at the time of the earthquake described him as driving a truck into the building.
He said that the tremors of the earthquake lasted for about 10 seconds.
“We’re probably weaker than people in the Bay Area,” he said. But for this quiet corner of New England, “it was a big deal,” he said.
Jane Sweeney, an activity assistant at a senior living community in Rye, N.H., seven miles south of Portsmouth, said she had just finished setting up for an art class at 10:30 a.m. when the building’s floors and walls shook noticeably. take , he thought the oil burner in the basement had exploded.
“It was so scary – it really shook me – and I ran to see the residents,” she said. “Everybody was coming out of their rooms. It’s not something we’re used to experiencing here.
Gina Russell Cooperation reporting.
