2.5 Earthquake Hits Central, Northern Maine Saturday
The United States Geological Service detected a small earthquake in Northern/Central Maine on Saturday. At around 11 PM on Saturday, a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was felt near the region of Sebec, close to Dover-Foxcroft and Milo. The location of the tremor is stated to have been 5.3 km under the earth's surface.
Maine's earthquakes
Maine isn’t a stranger to smaller earthquakes of the scale. The last earthquake Maine had was on February 12 in the Aroostook County town of Smyrna which was a magnitude 2.4 earthquake and only felt locally.
Maine experiences many small earthquakes throughout the year but rarely sees big earthquakes. According to Maine.gov, average earthquake activity in a given century for Maine will typically see "five earthquakes of magnitude 4.6 or larger, two earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 or larger, and one earthquake of magnitude 5.5 or larger".
The biggest earthquake in Maine's records
The largest earthquake Maine has ever recorded was documented in 1904 with an epicenter in the Eastport area. While a magnitude could not be registered at that time in history it is recorded as having an intensity of VII- the highest intensity and only VII rated earthquake in Maine's records.
'The big one' could be thousands of years in the future for Maine
So, a 1.8 magnitude earthquake is just another one of Maine's little earthquakes and nothing to get too worried about. Predictions for a 4.6-sized earthquake are expected in the next twenty years or so while a seismic 7.0 magnitude earthquake is expected in the next 2700-ish years, give or take 350 years. I think Maine is safe for now.