PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- It's not every day an earthquake of this size shakes Maine, and Maine homes are certainly not built for that type of impact.
Some home owners are looking for any damage that may have been caused by the quake, but what should you be looking for?
NEWS CENTER spoke with Dewitt Kimball, who runs Complete Home Evaluation Services out of Brunswick. He says first and foremost, you should check where pipes connect to walls.
For example, oil pipes come through basement walls and connect to a tank; if the wall shook or the tank shook, it's possible the pipe came loose from one of those connections.
Kimball also suggests checking where pipes connect to chimneys -- sometimes in an earthquake those can pull out, which can cause a carbon monoxide leak in your home.
Basic checks can include making sure all of your electric outlets and light switches still work properly - and no wiring was knocked loose, and that all of your windows and doors open and close properly.
Kimball says wooden homes can withstand more movement than brick or cement buildings, so some harder structures may see more cracks. If you have a chimney, he says it's worth heading outside with binoculars and checking for any cracks in the chimney. If you're really worried, you can call in a chimney technician to drop a camera down into the chimney to look for any leaks.
One last piece of advice: beware of any scam artists that could come out of this.
He says if anyone comes to your door saying they're a contractor and saw something wrong with your house that they can fix, it's probably a scam.
He says if you do call a professional to come to the house, make sure you ask if they're licensed.
NEWS CENTER