File picture for illustration shows a seismologist studying earth quake data. A 4.0-magnitude earthquake struck the northeastern US state of Maine and was felt as far south as Boston and throughout New England, shocking residents unaccustomed to such tremors.

A 4.0-magnitude earthquake struck the northeastern US state of Maine and was felt as far south as Boston and throughout New England, shocking residents unaccustomed to such tremors.

There were no reports of damage or casualties following the quake, which struck shortly after 7:00 pm local time (2300 GMT), with its recorded at a relatively shallow 3.1 miles (five kilometers), six kilometres northeast of Waterboro, Maine .

users in Montpelier, the capital of the state of Vermont, reported feeling "sustained shaking for 10 seconds," according to the Burlington Free Press newspaper.

Experts at the put the quake as high as 4.6 on the Moment Magnitude scale before recalibrating it down to 4.0.

(c) 2012 AFP