October 16th, 2012
07:43 PM ET

Earthquake recorded in Maine

[Update 8:55 p.m. ET] The U.S. Geological Survey revised its report of Tuesday's earthquake to magnitude 4.0, down from a preliminary magnitude of 4.6. The epicenter was pinpointed 4 miles west-southwest of Hollis Center, Maine, at a shallow depth of 4.2 miles.

Despite the downgrade, the quake was felt as far away as Boston, Massachusetts; Albany, New York, and even Waterbury, Connecticut, according to the USGS.

You can report your earthquake experience to the USGS at the above link, as well as adding your comment to the many at the end of this post.

"My entire house shook for 3 to 4 seconds. It felt like it was about to collapse," a viewer from Everett, Massachusetts, wrote to CNN affiliate WCVB in Boston.

"I live in Brockton (Massachusetts) and we just felt EVERYTHING shake here in Brockton," another viewer told his station.
Viewer Phillip Smith in Gorham, Maine, told CNN affiliate WCSH he felt a "Loud bang and 10 seconds of shaking ... scared us in Gorham. We must have qualified out here for the Guinness book of records: 10,000 homeowners at the same time run down to their basements to check if their furnaces have blown up."
The governor of Massachusetts said on Twitter that no harm was done:
Several people posted pictures of earthquake "damage" in the form of spilled pretzels and goldfish crackers.
Maine resident Brett O'Kelly sardonically assessed what may be the quake's greatest impact:

[Original post] An earthquake of preliminary magnitude 4.6  hit Maine at 7:12 p.m. ET Tuesday, according to the USGS website. The earthquake happened 3 miles (5 kilometers) west of Hollis Center, Maine.

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Filed under: Earth • Earthquake • Maine • U.S.
soundoff (322 Responses)
  1. ange

    Im in Queens, NY and I totally felt it!

    October 16, 2012 at 11:14 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Sarath

    I felt the house shaking and initially thought it was strong wind!

    October 16, 2012 at 11:16 pm | Report abuse |
  3. brown

    It wasn't an earthquake at all ... the Fat Lady simply replaced the batteries in her toys! Geez!

    October 16, 2012 at 11:44 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Bill

    Lol, a 4.0 makes news?

    We have those once a month or so.

    October 16, 2012 at 11:44 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Jackieo

    Did Romney dropped his wallet again?

    October 16, 2012 at 11:45 pm | Report abuse |
    • Leigh2

      There's a big fault line which runs under NYC. If I lived in NYC, I think I'd be more than a little nervous about this quake which happened in Maine.

      October 16, 2012 at 11:53 pm | Report abuse |
  6. anne

    Live in Northeast Ohio and our house shook and we heard a loud explosion right at 8:55 so it hit Ohio too. I called the Police thinking it was an explosion.

    October 16, 2012 at 11:46 pm | Report abuse |
    • Trent

      The earthquake happened at 8:12pm.

      October 17, 2012 at 12:11 am | Report abuse |
    • ohioan

      at 8:55pm it would not have been the earthquake in maine and there were none reported in ohio at all yesterday so it was probably something else.

      October 17, 2012 at 7:13 am | Report abuse |
  7. NanH

    Sent my husband out to see what the heck landed on the roof, he didn't find anything but the dog was so scared she ran upstairs and hid on our bed...not easy for her since she weighs 125 lbs.

    October 16, 2012 at 11:52 pm | Report abuse |
    • julia

      ha nanh i heard a boom like last year aug 23 rd day before my birthday it happen last night then the next day there was a easrthquake in the upper north i am in allentown pa something is going down the government dont want us to know if your dogs are barking out of the ordinary look around and also listen carefully please stay safe

      October 17, 2012 at 1:03 am | Report abuse |
  8. john h

    i was taking a bath when all of a sudden the bath started to vibrate i thought someone had dropped something heavy down in the cellar but nobody was down there. then my son who is a boston cop called to ask if we had felt the earthquake.

    October 17, 2012 at 12:04 am | Report abuse |
    • sancho

      are you sure u didn't fart in the tub! LOL

      October 17, 2012 at 1:04 am | Report abuse |
  9. Allison T

    I just told my husband I thought we may have had an earthquake this eve and then saw this article. We live in Easton, CT and while I didn't feel it, I muted my tv trying to figure out what was making all my wine glasses rattle in their case for about 30-45 seconds. Guess now I know!

    October 17, 2012 at 12:21 am | Report abuse |
  10. nik green

    Have they blamed al Qaeda yet?????

    October 17, 2012 at 12:23 am | Report abuse |
  11. alley805

    Ummm if you think the majority of mid to southern California is all sand you have obviously never been here.....There are a lot of rocky mountains that get snow every winter not to mention hills with mudslides that happen due to earthquakes as well.

    October 17, 2012 at 12:29 am | Report abuse |
  12. Ellen

    The noise was horrible. Sounded like a train was coming in the house. Andover,MA

    October 17, 2012 at 12:37 am | Report abuse |
  13. Alfuso

    I recall tremors in Boston all during my childhood. The dishes in the pantry would begin rattling, just as they did when a train was approaching. But no train came. The dishes would build up to a crescendo, then suddenly stop.

    When a tremor shook the school, the adults always attributed to a "big truck," except there was never any truck. . .

    I realized decades later it was small tumblers. Some major faults run through New England.

    October 17, 2012 at 12:43 am | Report abuse |
  14. Hahnill

    I bet fracking is the cause. Would be interesting to see how close the nearest fracking operation is.

    October 17, 2012 at 1:15 am | Report abuse |
  15. atteckus

    Standing in my kitchen at 7:10 PM, and I start to hear a sizzling sound like I've never heard before. The sound occupies the air ... inescapable, full, like the whole Earth is sizzling. I immediately get the sense that the ground is rolling towards me from the North, like one senses a wave on the ocean as it comes at you, as you stand on the beach or in the surf. Then the whole house shakes for 1 or 2 seconds – just a rumbling vibration, nothing violent, and suddenly, its gone. The whole event lasted less than 3 seconds. First time in 50 years in the Northeast that an earthquake was actually palpable. Burlington, Massachusetts.

    October 17, 2012 at 1:24 am | Report abuse |
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