( CNN ) -- A 4.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Ohio on Saturday , one week after a similar but smaller tremor rattled the region , the U.S. Geological Survey reported . The quake was centered 5 miles northwest of Youngstown and 6 miles southeast of Warren , the agency said . The quake 's epicenter was 55 miles east-southeast of Cleveland , and 145 miles northeast of Columbus . According to the preliminary estimate , the earthquake struck 1.4 miles deep . There was a lot of shaking `` and a rumbling sound , '' said Jimmy Hughes , a former Youngstown police chief running for sheriff of Mahoning County . `` I could see the house move ... It seemed like the ground was moving. `` The quake struck one day after Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director James Zehringer announced that work would be halted on a fluid-injection well in Youngstown , due to fears it could be contributing to a recent apparent spike in seismic activity in the area . According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency , an injection well `` is a device that places fluid deep underground into porous rock formations , such as sandstone or limestone , or into or below the shallow soil layer . '' The decision came after the state of Ohio invited experts from Columbia University to collect more information about seismic activity in the area . The well is owned and permitted to North Star Disposal , a Youngstown company , according to the state . `` While conclusive evidence can not link the seismic activity to the well , Zehringer has adopted an approach requiring prudence and caution regarding the site , '' the department said in a press release . Ben Lupo -- CEO of D & L Energy , an independent natural gas and oil exploration , production and marketing group that oversees the North Star well -- recently told CNN affiliate WKBN that there 's full cooperation with experts , though he expressed grave doubts that the injection wells were to blame for the quakes . `` We have approximately 1,000 wells between Ohio and Pennsylvania and we 've never had a problem ... with an earthquake or spill , '' Lupo said . One of the Columbia University experts , Dr. Won-Young Kim , said that a problem could arise if fluid moves through the ground and affects `` a weak fault , waiting to be triggered . '' He explained the underground waste `` slowly migrates '' and could cause issues miles away , adding that the danger could persist for some time as the water travels and seeps down toward the fault . `` In my opinion , yes , '' the recent spate of earthquakes around Youngstown is related to this fluid-injection well , Kim claimed -- though there has been no definitive determination , by the state or authorities , indicating as much . There have been `` moderately frequent '' reports of earthquakes in northern Ohio since the first one was reported in 1823 , the federal agency noted . A 1986 tremor , measuring magnitude 4.8 , caused some damage . Another in 1998 measured a 4.5 and was centered in northwestern Pennsylvania . According to the Ohio Seismic Network , a 2.7-magnitude earthquake struck around Youngstown around 1:24 a.m. on December 24 . `` No damage was reported , '' the network said on its website . The state of Ohio has documented 11 `` seismic events '' in 2011 -- each of them , at that point , of magnitude 2.7 or lower . The Department of Natural Resources Director noted that a 4.0 magnitude quake , like the one on Saturday , releases approximately 40 times more energy than a 2.7 magnitude tremor . Youngstown police Sgt . Michael Kawa said that the latest tremor `` shook the whole building we were in , '' but that there were no signs of significant damage in the city . That appeared to hold true elsewhere in the eastern Ohio city , based on early post-quake surveys . `` A lot of house alarms , it shook the buildings , '' Kawa said of the aftermath . `` The fire department has n't reported any major damage . '' Within just over three hours of the quake , nearly 4,000 people from 357 zip codes and 23 cities -- including one as far as Salem , Massachusetts , 515 miles from the epicenter -- had submitted reports to the U.S. Geological Survey 's `` Did you feel it ? '' form on its website . Ohio is far from the Earth 's major tectonic plates , with the nearest ones in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea , the U.S. Geological Survey explains on its website . Still , there are many known faults in this region , with the federal agency noting that it is likely there additional `` smaller or deeply buried '' ones that have n't been detected . `` Few , if any , earthquakes in the seismic zone can be linked to named faults , '' according to the geological survey . CNN 's Dan Verello contributed to this report .
NEW : An expert says he thinks an injection well is related to the spate of Ohio quakes . NEW : A new study suggests that a natural gas leak in Pennsylvania could be linked to earthquakes, but it's not clear if this will lead to more quakes or just make them worse. NEW : A Youngstown man says after the tremor , `` I could see the house move '' The quake was centered 5 miles northwest of Youngstown and 1.4 miles below the surface .