A very small earthquake was reported in Massachusetts on Monday, according to a local observatory.
Lunenberg, near the New Hampshire border, had 1.5 magnitude shaking around 1 p.m., according to the Weston Observatory, which tracks seismic activity through its New England Seismic Network.
Typically, earthquakes of 1.5 magnitude are barely felt, if at all, though people on a Facebook page for nearby Townsend reported feeling and hearing an earthquake.
Quick little earthquake in Lunenburg around 1pm today. A mere 1.5 magnitude (barely felt). Thanks to the Weston Observatory for the data. pic.twitter.com/e281Ru2EXD
— Pete Bouchard (@PeteNBCBoston) November 18, 2024
The earthquake didn't register on the U.S. Geological Survey's map of all earthquakes in the last 24 hours, though a smaller, 1.3 magnitude temblor in the Stamford, Connecticut, area did.
Small earthquakes are fairly common. Damage is usually only caused by earthquakes with a magnitude of 4 or 5 — roughly 1,000 times more powerful than the one detected Monday.