Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Earthquakes in Connecticut?

Is fracking allowed there?

"Scientists have confirmed that a 2.0-magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Connecticut, where residents reported an explosion and several seconds of shaking. The Weston Observatory at Boston College said the earthquake was recorded at 9:28 a.m. Thursday and centered in the northern part of Plainfield about 2 miles south of Danielson. Dozens of people called Plainfield police to report an explosion and shaking. There were no reports of any major damage, but some area residents said the shaking knocked pictures off their walls. Professor John Ebel of the observatory said there are about a half-dozen earthquakes in New England that can be felt each year."

"Small quake felt throughout eastern Conn." by Aneri Pattani, Globe Correspondent  January 12, 2015

Hundreds of people called the police in eastern Connecticut, reporting that they heard a loud boom and felt the earth rumble beneath their feet Monday morning.

A 3.3-magnitude earthquake hit at 6:36 a.m., the US Geological Survey said. The quake was centered near the Plainfield-Sterling line, about 1.8 miles below the surface, according to the USGS’s instruments.

Margaret Baker-Chmura, 67, who lives on Ekonk Hill Road in Sterling, said she heard a boom and felt her house moving.

“It was pretty scary,” she said. “It was like somebody was magically moving the house.”

Plainfield police received approximately 200 calls about the quake from all parts of town, Chief Michael Surprenant said. There were no injuries, and only minor damage was reported on some homes.

The temblor was felt throughout eastern Connecticut, most of Rhode Island, and in a few Massachusetts towns, said John Ebel, director of Boston College’s Weston Observatory. Dozens of people in those states sent reports of the quake to the US Geological Survey.

Another Ekonk Hill Road resident said she mistook the quake for a car crash.

“I heard a thud and I thought maybe there was a crash or my husband fell out of bed,” said Joanna Bates, 59. “I wasn’t too scared. I just didn’t know what it was.”

Ebel said people near the epicenter probably would have heard a loud boom and felt the earth shaking for up to 10 seconds. People farther away might have felt a rumbling for three to seven seconds.

The epicenter was about 24 miles west-southwest of Providence, the USGS said.

The quake was the largest in New England since a 4.0-magnitude earthquake hit southern Maine on Oct. 16, 2012, said Justin Starr, a geophysicist at the observatory.

The area was rattled by two other earthquakes last week. A 2.0-magnitude quake hit Thursday and a 0.4-magnitude struck on Friday, officials said.

The temblors are part of a swarm, or a series of small earthquakes, Starr said. It was hard to say if this swarm would continue, he added.

--more--"

"At least 10 small earthquakes have hit eastern Conn." by Aneri Pattani, Globe Correspondent  January 13, 2015

A swarm of at least 10 earthquakes has rattled several small towns in eastern Connecticut since Thursday, officials at Boston College’s Weston Observatory said.

All of the quakes have been recorded in the area of Plainfield, Killingly, and Sterling, which are near the state’s border with Rhode Island, said John Ebel, director of the observatory, a geophysical research and education center.

It would not be surprising if there were more than 10 quakes, Ebel said, since some are too small to be detected by the observatory’s instruments.

It is impossible to tell if the quakes will continue, Ebel said, adding that there is less than a 1 percent chance of getting anything larger than a 3.3-magnitude quake....

--more--"

NDUTwo more small earthquakes strike

WTF is going on, and could the big one hit the East Coast instead? 

Anyone maybe hear a HAARP? That why it so cold?

UPDATE: Two more small earthquakes strike