'I Heard A Big Bang Like The First Day': 1.7 Magnitude Earthquake Reported In Baltimore Sunday

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A second earthquake in the past three days rattled parts of Baltimore Sunday. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a 1.7 magnitude earthquake in Irvington at 1:53 a.m.

"I was asleep and then I heard the big bang like the first day and the house just shook a little bit," said Anita, Irvington resident.

Paul Caruso with the USGS said Sunday's earthquake was the result of Friday's 2.6 magnitude earthquake in Woodlawn.

"We had an aftershock from the initial earthquake that happened a couple of days ago," said Paul Caruso, Geophysicist with U.S. Geological Survey.

Officials said the depth of Sunday's earthquake was at 5 kilometers and they don't expect any major impacts.

"People rarely feel earthquakes below magnitude two. You go up one magnitude number, 10 times more energy is released from the earthquake," said Caruso.

Some neighbors said they heard what sounded like a loud bang. "I thought it was a tree that had fallen over in my backyard," said Anita.

While others didn't hear anything. "I didn't hear anything. And I was up late watching television, and we have a resident here and he heard it last night and he said it wasn't as big and it didn't shake as much," said Clifton Solomon, Irvington resident.

As for preparing for any future quakes, Caruso said Baltimore residents shouldn't worry.

"One thing to know is there are not any large faults in that area like the San Andreas fault in California that can produce significant earthquakes that would cause major damage," said Caruso.

Officials with USGS said at least 300 people in the area already reported feeling the earthquake on Sunday, and that more aftershocks could happen.

In:
• Irvington
• Baltimore
• Baltimore City