Earthquake shakes New England from Boston to Maine, ‘like a truck was hitting our building’

(CNN) — A magnitude 3.8 earthquake rattled parts of New England on Monday morning, with shaking felt from Boston to Portland, Maine, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake was centered about 7 miles southeast of York Harbor, Maine, and struck at a depth of about 8 miles, the USGS said. Earlier, the USGS estimated the magnitude was 3.9.

Amelia Nadilo was less than 10 miles from the quake’s epicenter when the earth rumbled violently and spawned what she lived as “10 to 15 seconds” of terror.

“It felt as if the furnace was blowing up, a truck was hitting our building and our solar panels were falling off – all at the same time,” said Nadilo, the executive director of York Land Trust.

“It was so loud, and we all ran out of our offices and made sure everyone was OK.”

The York County Emergency Management Agency urged residents not to call 911 unless they needed urgent help.

“We can confirm that a small earthquake occurred at 10:22am. Shaking was felt countywide,” York County EMA posted on X. “No risk remains to the public. To assist our dispatch centers, please DO NOT call 911 unless it is an emergency.”

The startling quake in an unexpected area should serve as a wake-up call for businesses, schools and homeowners everywhere to consider having safety protocols for earthquakes, Nadilo said.

“To have one of those in Maine was pretty shocking,” she said. “We certainly do not have an earthquake plan or protocol, so that’s something that we should consider.”

The tremor probably isn’t related to the magnitude 2.4 quake felt in northern New Jersey and the New York City metro area Friday afternoon, USGS seismologist Susan Hough told CNN.

The quakes seem to be too far away from each other to be directly related, with about 230 miles separating their epicenters, Hough said. She said the tremors are probably among the random, small quakes that occasionally impact the East Coast.

“The Atlantic Seaboard is considered a passive plate boundary, as opposed to the active plate boundary on the West Coast” – so the quakes tend to be smaller and much less frequent on the East Coast, Hough said.

But quakes such as Monday’s 3.8 magnitude tremor and the more significant magnitude 4.8 quake that rattled much of metro New York in April can lead to more shaking in the region.

“Statistically, earthquake activity always increases the chances of more activity – you’ve disturbed the crust,” Hough said.

Moderately damaging earthquakes strike the New England region every few decades, and smaller tremors are felt about twice a year, the USGS said.

The most recent New England earthquake to cause moderate damage was a magnitude 5.6 quake that rocked central New Hampshire in 1940.

CNN’s Ronnie Glassberg contributed to this report.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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