GREENWOOD, Maine — People in Oxford County reported feeling an earthquake in the late evening hours of Sept. 15, but many didn’t know what it was at first.
As of Tuesday morning, 70 people had responded to a US Geological Survey request to report they felt the tremor in and around Greenwood the previous Thursday. Some shared on Facebook that they thought they felt or heard an explosion, not a long rumble.
USGS seismologist Paul Earle told NEWS CENTER Maine it was indeed a quake that measured 2.3 on the Richter scale. He said the explosion feeling could have meant the quake was closer to the surface than a traditional seismic event in Maine.
Sara Pruyne said she lives about a half-mile from the likely epicenter on Patch Mountain Road. She, too, said she felt and heard an explosion.
"I thought someone had hit the house or hit a tree or hit something. It was just one big bang and then nothing," Pruyne said.
"These earthquakes are very spread out in Maine, and you guys do have earthquakes," Earle added about Maine's proclivity for quakes. "You have about one magnitude 3 and larger per year."
Elsewhere in the state, people in Washington County might have felt targeted this year.
Between Aug. 11 and Sept. 1, 10 earthquakes were recorded in the town of Jonesboro, according to Maine Geological Survey.
Earle said it’s not time to pack up and move. Instead, he’s not surprised at all to see one shake after another in one spot.
"Earthquakes beget earthquakes," he said. "Everybody knows the term 'aftershock.' When you have a large earthquake, you’re gonna have a series of aftershocks for that."
Alice Doughty, a University of Maine geology lecturer, says earthquakes like Greenwood’s shouldn’t raise alarm. For her, they’re a look into Maine’s history – Maine's geological history.
"It gets us to think about Pangea. It gets to think about when the Appalachians were so much bigger than they are today – bigger than the Himalayas," Doughty said. "It opens up all these questions about how much of the Earth’s surface has eroded."
The recent earthquake didn't have Pruyne thinking about Pangea. For her, it was just an exciting day in her life living in a relatively quiet town.
"I don’t think we’re gonna fall off into the ocean any time soon," she smiled, gazing out her kitchen window. "And this farmhouse has stood for 100 years, so I’m sure it can last for another 100. One hopes."