A rare 4.0 magnitude earthquake rattled New England, last night. While some of our readers on the West Coast would barely even blink with such a shake, it caused confusion and consternation for many around the epicenter about 30 miles outside of Portland, Maine.

The Bangor Daily News reports that the largest earthquake to strike the region measured 5.1 and it happened in 1904.

The Boston Globe reports:

"According to the Geological Survey, tremors were felt as far north as upper New Hampshire and Vermont, and Maine, and as far south as Connecticut. People in Greater Boston were buzzing in the immediate aftermath.

"Paul DiNatale, of Newburyport, said in a phone interview that his house shook for 20 seconds, and at first he thought there was a problem with his boiler.

'It was a scary experience,' he said."

In Dayton, Maine, the Daily News reports, there was a standoff going on when the earthquake struck.

"Things were rattling and shaking. I thought there was an explosion going off. My neighbor came over all shook up. A picture had fallen off her wall," Ron Smith, owner of Goodwin's Mills General Store in Lyman, told the paper.

Sue Hadiaris, of Saco, told the AP her whole house shook.

"It felt like a train was coming through the house," she said.

But her 15-year-old niece looked at the bright side: "We can cross that off our bucket list," she said.

The AP adds that there were no immediate reports of damage.

WPRI has this report on the effects it had in Rhode Island.

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Source: NPR