Minor Earthquake Strikes New England

A minor earthquake has shaken New England.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 2.7 quake centered on East Kingston, New Hampshire struck at about 9:30 a.m. Thursday at a depth of 6.3 kilometers.

John Ebel, a senior research scientist at Boston College's Weston Observatory, says people near the epicenter would probably have heard a loud boom, while people farther away would hear a rumbling and some ground shaking, maybe window rattling.

But, he says, "it was way below the threshold for damage."

The earthquake was felt in northeast Massachusetts and Ebel says probably in southwestern Maine as well.

He says earthquakes of around magnitude 3.0 are "not an uncommon occurrence" in New England.