Northern New England had an earthquake today
A real one, not a metaphoric one.
Fortunately, as with most New England earthquakes, it was small: in this case, 3.8. I didn’t feel it, although I should have, as it was felt from Portland, Maine to Boston:
The quake occurred about 6.5 miles southeast of York, Maine, just before 10:30 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which initially reported the magnitude as 4.1 before adjusting the temblor to 3.8.
“Today’s M3.8 near Bar Harbor, Maine, reminds us that earthquakes are unusual but not unheard of along the Atlantic Seaboard,” USGS wrote on X.
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Caribou, Maine, said there was no threat of a tsunami.
That’s a bit strange, since York is quite far from Bar Harbor.
I’ve felt many earthquakes of that magnitude in New England. It’s usually just a gentle shaking which you can miss if you’re in a car or doing something other than just quietly sitting.
I’ve read that earthquakes in the NE are
Felt at greater distances because of the geology of the area—lots of granite. In California they are more localized. Not sure if that means a 3.8 feels stronger (where it’s felt) in CA than in Maine.
I was living in Bar Harbor when the 2006 Acadia quakes happened, and I just left a visit in York Harbor Saturday afternoon. I think I need to stay away from Maine, for everyone’s sake.
Earthquakes can occur in areas that are deep within a continental plate such as this one.
Google’s Gemini AI on “interplate earthquakes”
As far as our current undertanding goes, these types of quakes are usually relatively mild (below 4).
Myron Cook has a little fun speculating on the eventual conversion of the passive margined Atlantic coast to an active margined Atlantic coast. It’s a ways off, sure, but still kinda neat to muse upon: https://youtu.be/dEa5R7LmgZM
I was in my office intently working, looking at my computer screen, when our region experienced a rare earthquake. Because of my focus on the screen less than two feet away, I had no notion of the quake, while everybody in the offices around me were freaking out, “Did you feel that? I think that was an earthquake!”.
Disappointed that I had missed it, I proceeded to go for a short walk outside our building. Wow, I hadn’t recognized the quake as it occurred, but my inner ear must have. Once outside I realized I was dizzy to the point of disorientation, and nauseous as well. I had to sit down on the curb until it passed after a few minutes, It was a very weird and unsettling feeling.
Undoubtedly had I been looking around the office I would have experienced the quake as it occurred and not confused my inner ear as the screen and I were shaking together and not seeming to be moving in relation to each other.
Earthquake, ya say??
‘“Gigantic Rat’s Nest”: Taibbi Hints FBI Communications With COVID Scientists Will Be Exposed’—
https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/gigantic-rats-nest-taiabi-hints-fbi-communications-covid-scientist-will-be-exposed
I experienced an earthquake in rural Guatemala. Just a tremor. The house shook for a second or so. Nothing fell down. No idea how it measured on the Richter scale.
A 4.2 here in Idaho today. Most people have no idea, but Idaho is something like the 6th most seismically active state in the union. I had earthquake insurance on my old home in Orange County, CA and when I moved here I bought EQ insurance. Most people here don’t have it, but I figured it’s cheap peace-of-mind.
I live in northeastern VT and I didn’t feel anything at all.
We had a minor ewathquake when living in Utah early 1980s. Our bedroom was in the basement (the two upstairs were the playroom and the office, as I worked at home sometimes), and I felt the bed moving and watched the bookshelves sway a bit..
Since then, I have adamantly refused to have anything hanging on the wall over the head of my bed.
Have never experienced one again, but it’s really cheap peace of mind.
😉
I felt an earthquake in New England once. Quite baffling. Rather like the house being hit by some powerful gusts of wind, only the air was still.
Quite a relief to read it was an earthquake.
Didn’t feel shaking, but noises on second floor of three story house(300 yo)
Doors rattling, pictures askew. N CT Connecticut River Valley
One full minute at 10:23AM
In Newmarket, NH, about 19 miles from the epicenter, I can honestly say it absolutely scared the crap out of me. Sitting at my kitchen table for a midmorning coffee break, there was what seemed like a massive explosion followed by a good 10 seconds of hard shaking. I was sure that something huge blew up or a large plane had crashed. I went outside looking for a smoke plume and seeing none, it dawned on me that we had probably just experienced an earthquake.
I remember the quake of 2012 of similar size. It was just vibrations throughout the house similar to a heavy truck lumbering down the street.
When we bought our house, I insisted that earthquake be added to the Homeowners policy which my wife deemed unnecessary. “This isn’t California.” No, it isn’t and we’re not likely to experience a 7.0 or even a 6.0 quake. But a strong tremor, 5.0 or so can do considerable damage. It can knock your house off its foundation, crack the foundation walls, and break pipes flooding your basement with water (or worse) which can amount to hundreds of thousands in damages as well as leaving your house uninhabitable for an extended period. For a paltry $260 a year, I would just as soon avoid all that.
If we do, God forbid, have a serious quake resulting in such damage, I want to be like one of those guys you see in Florida after a major hurricane writing his homeowner policy number on his garage door and leaving town while my uninsured neighbors stand around wringing their hands in despair hoping for some kind of FEMA bailout. Good luck with that.