Here is a USGS interactive map showing  the impact of the earthquake reported in the Richmond area Wednesday night. USGS IMAGE

Here is a USGS interactive map showing the impact of the earthquake reported in the Richmond area Wednesday night. USGS IMAGE

RICHMOND

The United States Geological Survey reported a Magnitude 2.6 earthquake in the Richmond area Wednesday night.

The earthquake was recorded 3 miles southeast of Richmond, which would place it in Dresden, and was 1.4 miles deep according to the USGS.

It may not have been a high magnitude earthquake but people felt the rumbles far and wide. People in most Midcoast towns like RIchmond, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Topsham, Lisbon and Dresden felt the impact but people as far as Turner, Boothbay Harbor and Cumberland Center reported feeling the quake to the USGS.

After the earthquake, the Sagadahoc County Communications Center was inundated by calls from the public. The shaking was felt shorty before 7 p.m. The flurry of emails began circulating around social media from local residents wanting to know if anyone else had felt their house shake; or asking simply, “earthquake?”

Many people reported to The Times Record that they thought it was a plow truck going by. A Richmond center resident said it sounded like an explosion under her house. Another woman in Woolwich said her house shook enough to knock items off a desk.

“Felt like a truck hit the house,” said Kimberli Beaulieu in Dresden. 

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“Felt like an earth shattering kaboom!!!!” said Angela Wilkinson of Bowdoin.

Others heard it but didn’t feel it. Some as close as Brunswick, Topsham and Lisbon reported there was no sign of an earthquake. Still others event felt after shocks.

The earthquake reports seemed to center the most in the Richmond and Bowdoinham area. The Sagadahoc County Communications Center fieled upwards of 60 calls through 911 from people asking if anyone had reported hearing an explosion. An officer on duty was standing on the ground and felt the quake before hearing an audible boom, indicating it was likely an earthquake. Finding out if there were injuries, damage or fire, dispatchers moved from call to call, but were soon able to reassure people it was likelly an earthquake rather than an explosion.

The USGS soon confirmed the earthquake.


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