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.
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 New England quake “reminds us that earthquakes are unusual but not unheard of along the Atlantic Seaboard,” USGS Earthquakes posted on X.
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.
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