3.6-magnitude tremor shakes Massachusetts in rare East Coast quake, USGS reports

A 3,6-magnitude earthquake shook southern Massachusetts near New Bedford on Sunday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey reports.

The 9-mile deep quake, initially reported as a 4.0-magnitude tremor, hit in the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast at 9:10 a.m. Eastern time, according to the USGS.

Scores of people from as far away as Connecticut and New Hampshire reported feeling the tremor to the agency.

“Okay I did not have earthquake in Massachusetts on my 2020 bingo card,” wrote one person on Twitter.

“I swear I just felt an earthquake, that’s weird to feel in Massachusetts,” wrote another.

Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey says. It replaces the old Richter scale.

Quakes between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude are often felt but rarely cause much damage, according to Michigan Tech.

This story was originally published November 8, 2020 at 10:13 AM.