An earthquake centered in Maine sent tremors rippling from Montreal to Northern New Jersey last night, prompting the phones to ring off the hook at the National Weather Service.
The tremor measured 4.6 on the Richter scale and was centered Southwest of Lake Arrowhead in Maine, 20 miles west of Portland, according to US Geological Survey. The news blasted out on social media quickly, with some tweets declaring “Earthquake in Brooklyn. Building just shook like mad” and I’m just south of Pilgrim and it shook the house, so they probably felt it there too”. That person was referring to the nuclear power plant in Plymouth.
Others in Boston were obvious to the quake. Kate Sweltz, 24, of Brooklyn, who was in Seaport District said “I can’t believe it actually happened, how did we not feel that?”. The quake struck at 7.12 pm, according to the USGS.
Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said “phone lies down in Maine. Our switchboard lit up. No damage in Boston reported at this time. “The closest community to the epicenter was Hollis Center, Maine, three miles east.
The last earthquake to be felt in Boston area was in August 2011. A 5.8 magnitude quake based in Virginia shook downtown Boston, forcing the evacuation of several skycrapers. There were no reports of injuries or serious damage.