Lincoln County residents are reporting that they have felt an earthquake and the US Geological Survey (USGS) has confirmed that an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.0 hit the area at approximately 7:22 p.m. Oct. 16.
There have been no reports of damage in Lincoln County according to the Lincoln County Communications Center (LCCC).
The earthquake was centered near Hollis. There have been unconfirmed reports of damage in that area.
The Tuesday night earthquake follows an earlier 3.9 magnitude earthquake in the northeast that was centered near Beloeil, Canada approximately 50 miles north of the international border with Vermont on Sat., Oct. 13, according to the USGS.
No statement has been made by the USGS regarding any connection between the two events.
Lincoln County residents were taken by surprise when the shaking started.
“I thought I was losing my mind,” said Lisa Osier of Waldoboro. “I was standing in the kitchen cooking and I thought I heard a loud truck in the driveway… I felt the kitchen shake and my daughter said her upstairs bedroom was shaking, and my other daughter said her computer screen was shaking.”
Debbie Seaver, also of Waldoboro, also thought a large truck was passing by. “It was really bizarre… It sounded like a big truck going by, but there was no truck,” Seaver said. Her dog handled the unusual situation without much fuss. “She slept right through it,” Seaver said.
She also has family members in the area who reported a variety of effects from the tremor.
“My two daughters live next door to each other on Rt. 32 in Waldoboro,” Seaver said. “One felt it and the other didn’t. My brother, who lives on Bremen Rd. watched his fish tank slosh over the sides.”
