A minor earthquake rattled Island residents just after 9 a.m. Sunday. The National Earthquake Center initially reported a 4.0 magnitude, but later downgraded it to 3.6.
The quake was centered near Dartmouth, on the shore of the border between Massachusetts and Rhode Island, said Don Blakeman, a geophysicist with the National Earthquake Center. The center listed the location as 11 kilometers south of Bliss Corner.
Mr. Blakeman said the magnitude of the earthquake was unusual for New England.
“They are fairly uncommon,” he said. “We oftentimes have small quakes of 2 or 2.5, very much smaller than this in New England. The size of this quake is less common.”
The earthquake was recorded at 9:10 a.m. By 10 a.m., more than 1,300 people had reported feeling the effects of the quake, from throughout eastern Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, he said. He said he was unaware of any damage.
“Just based on history. I would expect the most here to be pictures falling off the shelf, something like that, “ Mr. Blakeman said. “It would be very unlikely for there to be any injuries.
He said the quake was “far, far, far too small” to generate any wave activity, and said there was no way to predict whether there might be aftershocks.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a couple,” he said.
New England experiences moderately damaging earthquakes every few decades, according to the earthquake center’s website, and smaller earthquakes are felt roughly twice a year.
The largest known New England earthquake occurred in 1638, with an estimated magnitude of 6.5, in an area of Vermont or New Hampshire, according to the center. A Cape Ann earthquake in 1755 had an estimated magnitude of 5.8 and caused severe damage to the Boston waterfront.
The most recent New England earthquake to cause moderate damage occurred in 1940 in central New Hampshire and had a magnitude of 5.6.
The National Earthquake Center, based in Golden, Col., is part of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Updated with revised information from the National Earthquake Center.
Comments
I was on the second floor of
Tom Dunlop EdgartownI was on the second floor of my home in Edgartown and heard it. It sounded like a diesel engine idling roughly, but I didn't feel anything.
(The tsunami that struck Edgartown harbor registered as a lap against the ferry dock wall at Memorial Wharf. Oh, the devastation.)
Vibrated my whole house, felt
Ng TisburyVibrated my whole house, felt it up on the second floor, and it woke up the dog. Quite a bit stronger and longer than a Mack truck driving by. I was wondering if maybe they had a jack hammer up on the road but wasn’t even as loud as when there’s a pileated woodpecker drilling on the siding.
My wife felt the quake...I
Hugh Weisman ChilmarkMy wife felt the quake...I didn't. But our golden retriever, Ari, must have felt it earlier much earlier. She woke us in the middle of the night, probably about 3am barking and whimpering, and it took us about 15 minutes to calm her down and get her back to sleep. This was extremely usually for her. She's usually out for the night. When my wife told me about the earthquake this morning, I put two and two together and did some checking online. The evidence is antidotal but there's a good deal of science being done on the subject. One likely possibility is that dogs are hearing the high-pitched, underground seismic activity of rocks grinding and scraping together that happens before an earthquake. And this can be seconds or days before we're aware of it.
That's really interesting!
Mack and the boys West TisburyThat's really interesting! Dogs are good to have around for so many reasons.
I was sitting at my computer
Adam Brown KatamaI was sitting at my computer when suddenly all the dishes and glasses in the house began rattling for about ten seconds. I assumed it was a reappearance of the supersonic fighters out of Otis that used to fly at low altitude over Katama Bay but absent the boom an earthquake seemed likely. Thanks for the confirmation!
I was sitting in my car in
Nancy Haydenville and Oak BluffsI was sitting in my car in Woods Hole waiting for the ferry and my car swayed back and forth quite violently! At first I thought someone had rear ended me , then I heard two SSA workers saying we had just had a quake.
Yeah! SHAKE THE COVID OFF!!
Peter The same planetYeah! SHAKE THE COVID OFF!!
I was visiting a friend in
Colin Ewibg EdgartownI was visiting a friend in South Dartmouth and we heard a massive explosion! All of the neighbors ran outside and were asking what happened. My friend lived in California for 17 years and said she had never heard an explosion like that during an earthquake. Her house is roughly 4 miles from where the epicenter was located.
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