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Maine Mini-quake Barely Noticed

August 29, 2010 - HOLLIS -- The U.S. Geological Service is reporting that a 2.3 magnitude earthquake occurred around 5 a.m. today in Hollis, but it was news to many police agencies.


A dispatcher with the Sanford Regional Communications Center, which answers calls for Hollis, said the agency hasn’t received any calls regarding an earthquake.


A dispatcher with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said it didn’t receive any calls about an earthquake either.


The earth quake was reported by the Weston Observatory of Boston College’s Department of Geology and Geophysics. It is documented on the U.S. Geological Service website, www.usgs.gov.


But it was also news to the National Weather Service in Gray. Butch Roberts, a hydrometeorological technician with the weather service, said Maine has a lot of small earthquakes each year, which he says, “is a good thing.”


“It means you are getting a lot of small releases in the crust where any kind of earthquake fault line would be,” Roberts said. “When you get a lot of small releases, it doesn’t have a lot of time to build up pressure. You have a better shot of not having a big earthquake.”

by Melanie Creamer, Portland Press Herald, August 29, 2010

Lakes:
Regions: Sebago


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