A small earthquake rumbled through Lunenburg County on Monday, sparking reports of loud noises but none of injuries or damages.

Natural Resources Canada registered the 3.2-magnitude tremor at about 12:30 p.m. local time, 19 kilometres southwest of Bridgewater.

Some people in Chelsea, Lapland and Laconia said they heard bangs, but no one reported any problems.

Tom Jefferson was standing outside with a friend at the time, but he didn't realize what happened until he heard it on the news Tuesday morning.

"It was unbelievable," he told CBC News. "I said they must have been blasting out here."

Jefferson said his cows jumped to their feet as the tremor passed through the area.

Eastern Canada has a lower rate of earthquake activity than the West, but every year there are about 450 earthquakes in the eastern region, Natural Resources Canada says.

Of those tremors, about 30 have a magnitude of 3 or higher, which is strong enough to be felt nearby.

Seismologist Gary Hanchuk said it would take an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 before there's any significant damage.

"That would be more than 1,000 times larger than the one that occurred yesterday," he said.