At Least 10 Quakes Shake Connecticut in Seven Days

allanswart/iStock/Thinkstock(HARTFORD, Conn.) — Texas isn’t the only state to be hit by a rare swarm of earthquakes recently. Connecticut is also being rattled by a string of quakes.

The small town of Plainfield in the eastern part of the state experienced more than 10 in the last week — and another one Thursday morning. The largest earthquake — a magnitude 3.1 — occurred Monday morning.

Its epicenter was right in resident Meredith Humphrey’s backyard.

“The jolt was very loud and it was so shaky. It felt like a shock was coming up my legs and I literally fell backwards,” Humphrey said. “I felt like I was struck by lightning.”

She said a crack in her ceiling finally gave way during the shakes.

“Monday, I [heard] a crash,” she said. “That was a lovely, dirty mess.”

Geologists have descended on the area and planted sensors. They planned to meet with residents Friday to answer questions.

Last week in Irving, Texas, nearly a dozen small quakes struck in 24 hours, rattling residents.

Experts at the National Earthquake Center in Golden, Colorado, said the quakes were likely a natural fluke but they also said that huge amounts of wastewater pumped deep underground — a byproduct of both hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” as well as other oil- and gas-extraction technologies — could also be the trigger. The Irving area has experienced oil and gas exploration.

In Plainfield, however, geologists said they were sure the temblors were not man-made.

“Plainfield has been under this glacial stress for at least 20,000 years,” said Jeffrey Park, a Yale University professor of geology and geophysics. “Small earthquakes have probably been occurring maybe every 100 years. We’re just feeling the latest installment.”

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.