Local News
It's official: 1.8 magnitude earthquake shakes region
NEWBURYPORT — Calls flooded area police departments late yesterday afternoon telling police of a "loud bang" that one caller likened to the noise of a structure collapsing.
But police and firefighters deployed in Rowley, West Newbury, Newbury and Byfield found themselves roaming the neighborhood streets with no indications of the source of the noise.
That's because the rumble came from below the earth's surface.
"It looks like Amesbury Middle School's seismograph had a spike," local weather observer and Triton Regional teacher Ray Whitley said as he logged onto the school's Web site to take a look. "There was definitely some activity."
And the U.S. Geological Survey Web site confirmed it: A 1.8 magnitude earthquake rumbled through the area at 4:35 p.m.
"We are sitting on the Clinton-Newbury fault line; it runs right through here," Whitley said. "We do have activity here. There are no plate edges, but we do get frequent tremors in the ones or twos but no fives."
The Clinton-Newbury fault line trends east to west to northeasterly at its northeast end near Newbury.¬ ¬ In Massachusetts, the fault zone is approximately 97 miles long.¬ ¬
The fault zone curves southwestward to Clinton and Worcester, and then southward into the state of Connecticut.
Gail Regis, a teacher at Amesbury Middle School who got the seismograph for the school through a grant, said before confirmation from the web site she wasn't sure if the spike was due to an earthquake or just a loud plow that went by. Amesbury police, however, did not receive any calls about a loud noise.
Regis has the seismograph in her classroom as part of Amesbury Educational Foundation's Innovative Grant for 2006-07. Regis received $10,000 to put toward starting The Boston College Educational Seismology Project at the school.
Newbury and West Newbury police said they also got a large influx of calls but could not find the source.
Whitley said the last large earthquake to have rocked this area was in 1755 when, according to history, the quake caused all the church bells in Boston to ring.
"The fault lines runs right through Byfield," Whitley said. "Even if Weston doesn't have anything yet, it doesn't mean it didn't happen."
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Police find guns, ammo in residence
AMESBURY — A 24-year-old Amesbury man is being held without bail after pleading not guilty to weapons possession charges today after police discovered a stolen pistol, ammunition for a second pistol and a makeshift bulletproof vest in his downtown apartment.
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Playing it safe
By this morning, Hurricane Earl will be in Canada, leaving behind a sunny, windy day perfect for Labor Day activities, according to forecasters.
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In its wake, some will be talking about a close call, while others will wonder what all the bluster was about in the first place. -
For surfers, hurricane brings a bounty of waves
For most coastal residents, hurricanes are nothing but a nuisance.
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But for a certain laid-back beach crowd, it's what they wait for all year.
"It's what we live for," said lifelong surfer Mike Paugh, who owns Zapstix Surf Shop in Seabrook. "When we see something like this on the map, business is good. That's how I grew up. I'm 45, and I've watched for this stuff all my life." -
Report: New England fishermen have deadliest profession
NEWBURYPORT — Don't believe the Discovery Channel show "Deadliest Catch."
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The most dangerous fishing is done off New England and the Mid-Atlantic states for groundfish and scallops, not in Alaska's Bering Sea for crabs, according to a report by the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention. -
The day Bobby Donahue disappeared
Were you aware that Newburyport had tunnels? It is a true fact that Newburyport did have tunnels under the ground; some still remain, while others have not been exposed yet.
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There were two main purposes for these tunnels. One purpose was to deny the British Empire from receiving taxation on the goods and imports that they brought into Newburyport by boats from all over the world. The second purpose, and it is a known fact, is that the tunnels were used by the abolitionists for the Underground Railroad; and some people were given work as servants in the homes of the well-to-do property owners who supported abolition. - cats of the week
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Police find guns, ammo in residence
