Earthquake in Massachusetts felt across Northeast

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NEW YORK -  An earthquake struck southern New England on Sunday morning but there were no immediate reports of damage.

The earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.0 centered a few miles off the coast of New Bedford in Buzzards Bay struck just after 9 a.m., according to Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center.

The earthquake struck at a depth of a little more than 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) and was felt across southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

There were also reports of shaking felt across eastern Connecticut, Long Island, and even parts of New Jersey.  There was even one report of shaking felt in Pennslyvania.

People in New England, and in its geological extension southward through Long Island, have felt small earthquakes and suffered damage from infrequent larger ones since colonial times, according to the USGS.

Moderately damaging earthquakes strike somewhere in the region every few decades, and smaller earthquakes are felt roughly twice a year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.