The state of Maine was hit by a rare 3.8 magnitude earthquake Monday morning, a tremor that could be felt across the New England region. It is the second quake to shake a region that sees relatively few seismic events compared to other parts of the country, after a 4.8 magnitude earthquake was recorded in New Jersey last April. The quake, centered near Maine’s York Harbor, struck at 10:22 a.m., and could be felt as far north as Portland and south as Boston.
Daniel Aldrich, a Northeastern University professor, director of the university’s Resilience Studies Program and co-director at the Global Resilience Institute, says that although Monday’s quake had little impact beyond the momentary shaking many felt, it is a fairly sizable tremor for the region. “There doesn’t appear to be any injuries, broken glass, broken pipes or flooding, so that’s good,” Aldrich says. But he notes that if the quake had struck farther offshore, it might have triggered a tsunami warning.