Earthquake Packed Heavy Punch For New England

MASSACHUSETTS — Did you feel it?

Sunday morning's earthquake was a rarity, not just in that it happened in New England, but also in its force. It was one of the most powerful around these parts in decades, and that's even after the U.S. Geological Survey revised its measurement from 4.2 magnitude to 3.6 magnitude.

Dating back to the 18th century, there have been 165 New England earthquakes measuring at least 2.5 magnitude, which NBC10 Boston meteorologist Aaron Perry says is the "Did you feel that?" standard. Only 40 of those — or 24.2 percent — have been measured at 3.6 magnitude or greater, according to Perry.

Sunday's earthquake was the strongest around here on record since at least 1994, according to the U.S. Geological Survey database. Paul Caruso, a geophysicist at the geological survey, told The New York Times it was one of the strongest earthquakes in southern New England since the 1960s.

The earthquake was recorded at 9:10 a.m. in Buzzards Bay and was felt in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and as far out as Long Island, New York.

Major damage seemed to be limited to New Bedford, where the Red Cross said it was assisting 21 people across 10 families. The earthquake damaged a gas line and cracked some chimneys.

"It's crazy that we had an earthquake, it's not what you expect," New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell tweeted.

"This is probably not the last one we're gonna get," he later said. "Who knows when the next one will be?"