Earthquake rattles NH Seacoast

[Christina]

Earthquake rattles NH SeacoastAssociated Press - June 3, 2007 8:25 AM ET EXETER, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire's Emergency Management Agency says a mild earthquake shook the state's Seacoast area during the night. Many residents called police to report hearing explosions and authorities are still trying to figure out just what happened. They say the blasts might have been underground methane explosions.There were no reports of injuries.Emergency Management says a 1.4 intensity earthquake hit at 10:30 and was centered about a mile and a half north of Exeter.At the same time, and also a couple of hours earlier, police in Portsmouth received numerous calls from residents reporting they had heard explosions and felt concussions that nearly knocked pictures off their walls.Then, around 12:45 this morning, Portsmouth police reported finding unusual levels of methane gas escaping from the ground. Crews are digging holes to vent the underground gases.Police say they don't know for sure if the explosive sounds were from an earthquake or underground gas explosions or both. They also are looking into whether the possible explosions actually triggered the earthquake monitoring devices.Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.