Moderate Earthquake Strikes Maine, Felt in Boston
A moderate earthquake struck the northeastern U.S. state of Maine on Tuesday shortly after 7 p.m. (2300 GMT), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. First reported as a 4.5 magnitude quake centered near Lake Arrowhead, the USGS revised the quake's magnitude to 4.6 and finally down to 4.0. It shifted the epicenter to close to Hollis Center, southeast of the original location, and revised the quake's depth from a deep 17 miles to a relatively shallow 3 miles. Hollis Center is about 20 miles west of Portland, Maine's most populous city, and about 100 miles north of Boston. Eyewitnesses across the Boston area reported feeling the quake for up to 20 to 30 seconds. The quake was felt in much of New England, including much of Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut. A few reports were also received from upstate New York, the USGS said. A spokeswoman for the Maine State Police in the Portland area said there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said state emergency personnel were monitoring the situation but also had no reports of damage. Quakes are not unknown in the region, which has felt "small earthquakes and suffered damage from infrequent larger ones since colonial times," the USGS said on its website. - ReutersAP - Patrons of a pizza parlor near the epicenter of an earthquake in southern Maine may not have known what was happening. But the shaking building was enough to send all 20 of them skedaddling outside.
"It was loudest bang you ever heard in your life. We actually thought it was an explosion of some type," said Jessica Hill, owner of Waterboro House of Pizza. "The back door and door to the basement blew open," she said.The earthquake that hit southern Maine Tuesday night and was felt in New England states as far away as Connecticut caused no apparent damage or injuries, but it rattled residents throughout the region.
Afterward, Hadiaris called her 15-year-old niece in Falmouth to make sure she was safe.
"She said, 'We can cross that off our bucket list. We've lived through an earthquake,'" Hadiaris said.Earthquakes are rare in New England but they're not unheard of.
"There has been no impact at all to the plant from the earthquake and our refueling maintenance activities have not been affected," said Alan Griffith, spokesman for Next EnergyEra Seabrook Station.
Brief, but noticeable shaking was felt in downtown Boston and the surrounding area.
"It felt like a big gust of wind shaking the house. I don't want to overstate it, but the glass did rattle a little," he said.
"It was several seconds of good shaking but nothing falling down," Miller said from her home in Readfield, about 60 miles north of Portland.
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