Another Small Earthquake Rattles Eastern Connecticut
PLAINFIELD, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Another minor earthquake has rattled eastern Connecticut.
Boston College's Weston Observatory says the 2.1-magnitude earthquake at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday was in Plainfield. It was in the same area as five small earthquakes over five hours Monday morning.
The strongest of those was 3.3 magnitude and could be felt in Rhode Island. Renee Toper, of Plainfield, said Monday's temblor sounded like an explosion and rattled her house. It also knocked food off shelves and shook her 15-year-old daughter out of her bed.
Last Thursday, an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.0 to 2.2 was felt in Plainfield. Homeowners reported it was strong enough to shake picture frames off the walls.
On Friday, residents reported another loud boom in the form of a tremor that registered at 0.4.
Scientists at the Weston Observatory are calling the earthquakes "swarms."
John Ebel, senior research scientist at Weston, said it's impossible to predict whether the swarms will continue, but he said such a series of small earthquakes in the Northeast is not unusual because the eastern U.S. is atop a tectonic plate affected by geological pressure.
"We're being squeezed from the mid-Atlantic ridge, on the east and running into the Pacific Ocean plate on the west," Ebel told WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau.
Ebel said it can't be ruled out that the quakes could intensifed but that the probability of that is relatively low. Usually, he said, the persistent, small quakes settle down.
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