Earthquake rattles Maine and Boston. How common are they in the Northeast?

Residents throughout New England and Boston felt the ground shake beneath their feet Monday when an earthquake struck off the coast of Maine.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 3.8-magnitude earthquake was located about 6 miles southeast of York Harbor, Maine, at 10:22 a.m. ET.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The quake could be felt in at least five states — Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Vermont — according to a map published by the USGS.
Small earthquakes are not uncommon in the northeast, John Ebel, a senior scientist at the Weston Observatory at Boston College, told Yahoo News.
Earthquakes measuring magnitude 2.0 or less are recorded several times a month — and most are not widely felt, Ebel said.
But earthquakes at magnitudes near 4.0 — like Monday's quake in New England— are far less common in the region.
'This is a once-in-every-five-years kind of earthquake,' Ebel said.
Or twice. In April 2024, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake centered in New Jersey was felt up and down the East Coast.
Earlier this month, the USGS published a new map showing where damaging earthquakes are most likely to occur in the United States. The so-called National Seismic Hazard Model found that nearly 75% of the United States could experience potentially damaging earthquakes, including places not highlighted before.
'Noteworthy changes in the new model show the possibility of more damaging earthquakes along the central and northeastern Atlantic Coastal corridor, including in the cities of Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York and Boston,' the USGS said.
Ebel said such models are not meant for fearmongering, but are used as a basis to update building codes to withstand stronger earthquakes.
Per USGS, the most recent New England earthquake to cause moderate damage occurred in 1940 (magnitude 5.6) in central New Hampshire.

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