Rare quake rattles northeastern US

NEW YORK — A 4.0-magnitude earthquake struck the northeastern US state of Maine on Tuesday and was felt as far south of Boston and throughout New England, shocking residents unaccustomed to such tremors.

There were no reports of damage or casualties following the quake, which struck shortly after 7:00 p.m. local time (2300 GMT), with its epicenter recorded at a relatively shallow 3.1 miles (five kilometers).

Twitter users in Montpelier, the capital of the state of Vermont, reported feeling “sustained shaking for 10 seconds,” according to the Burlington Free Press newspaper.

Experts at the US Geological Survey put the quake as high as 4.6 on the Moment Magnitude scale before recalibrating it down to 4.0.