Residents felt their “whole buildings shake” after an earthquake hit the US city of Boston this morning.
At around 10.22am on Monday morning, the quake reportedly hit Massachusetts. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), it was centred southeast of York Harbor, Maine. Initially, the magnitude was reported as 4.1 but it was then adjusted to 3.8, reports the Mirror.
People living in the area said they felt shaking for a few seconds. Many residents took to social media to inform others of the earthquake, as one wrote on X, formerly called Twitter: “Whole apartment just shook – earthquake in Boston?” Another asked: “Did anyone just feel that earthquake in Boston?”
A person said their “whole house” shook for five to 10 seconds. One more local said: “Ok so I’m NOT the only one who felt that Boston earthquake. Got it. Not insane. Whew.” Another said: “Was that an earthquake? The whole house was shaking here on the North Shore of Boston.”
Pete Bouchard, chief meteorologist at NBC10 Boston, tweeted: “Either we just got a massive sonic boom or we were hit by a colossal earthquake.” Two minutes later, he added: “Preliminary report is 4.1 mag. positioned off York Harbor, ME. WOW that was wild.”
WBZ-TV anchor David Wade, who lives just west of Boston, said: “My house shook pretty good.” A Wakefield resident said the earthquake caused their home to “rattle, shake, and vibrate.”
No tsunami warning, advisory or threat has been issued after the earthquake. Currently, there have been no reports of damage to structure or injuries.
On Sunday, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake was reported in Alaska. It was centered in Unalaska at a depth of 75.7km (47 miles) with the USGS saying it received 39 reports of people having felt the quake. On Friday last week, a 2.4-magnitude quake was reported in New Jersey, and was centered in Paramus.
“Anyone feel an earthquake just now in North New Jersey? Feels like a large animal ran into the side of a house,” a netizen said on X. “That earthquake was super loud in New Jersey,” another added.
Smaller earthquakes are felt in New England roughly twice a year, with moderately damaging quakes striking somewhere in the region every few decades. The largest known New England earthquakes occurred in 1638 (magnitude 6.5) in Vermont or New Hampshire, and in 1755 (magnitude 5.8) offshore from Cape Ann northeast of Boston.
The most recent New England earthquake to cause moderate damage occurred in 1940 (magnitude 5.6) in central New Hampshire, the Express reported. Earthquakes in central and eastern America are less frequent than in the West but tend to be left over a much bigger region.
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