New England still buzzing after moderate quake

HAVERHILL, Mass. (WHDH) -- People from Maine to New York state were still buzzing about the earthquake that rocked New England on Tuesday night.

A rattle at a city meeting in Maine, a rumble at a budget meeting in New Hampshire and even New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady were caught off guard by Tuesday night’s earthquake.

“A big one,” said Brady, who is a California native and knows the feeling well.

The earthquakes epicenter was Hollis Center, Maine. The 4.0 magnitude quake was considered moderate.

“It shook my whole house. It was pretty bad, I thought my furnace was blowing up,” said Mike Jarvis.

“Just sitting there wondering what the world happened,” said Claudia Othuse.

The earthquake took many people by surprise.

“Right in the hallway…She just felt a jerk. She was holding the baby and I literally put my hand on the wall,” said Neil Judd.

Neil Judd’s first thoughts were for his wife and his young son Liam, then they looked around their Haverhill apartment.

“This is the first crack we noticed, it’s the main one. Then we noticed a smaller one,” said Neil Judd.

Paint chips fell to the floor, but the damage was checked out and was only cosmetic.

The earthquake did prompt a low-level emergency called an unusual event declaration at Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, but the plant was shut down for maintenance at the time. Officials there said there are no safety issues.

Experts said they are now watching the entire area closely.

“Anytime you have an earthquake you will have aftershocks,” said Mike Hagerty.

So far there have been no measurable aftershocks. Only minor cosmetic damages were reported after the earthquake.