An 4.1 magnitude earthquake has struck the Delaware coastline and was felt up and down the Mid-Atlantic seaboard.

The quake struck about six miles northeast of Dover, Delaware at 4.47pm on Thursday, officials said, with initial reports indicating that the effects were felt up and down the Atlantic coast.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the earthquake.

Early reports of tremors came in from Washington DC and Eastern Virginia to the south to New York City and Long Island in the north.

Video courtesy WJZ

This map show the epicenter of the earthquake (star) as well as the estimated outer range of shaking from the event. No injuries or damage were immediately reported

The quake jolted downtown Dover, sending lawmakers and workers in the statehouse outdoors to see what happened.

Police and emergency officials did not have any immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Paul Caruso is a geophysicist with the USGS’s earthquake information center in Colorado. He said the quake was widely felt around the Mid-Atlantic region.

Caruso said he didn’t expect any significant damage, given the small size of the quake.

The service revised its initial estimate several times in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, at one point estimating a magnitude of 5.1, before revising downward to 4.4 and then 4.1.

This map shows the intensity of the earthquake's effects, with the area near the epicenter shaded 'light' to 'very light'

'Earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains, although less frequent than in the West, are typically felt over a much broader region than earthquakes of similar magnitude in the west,' the USGS said in a statement.

A similar-magnitude quake can often be felt over an area 10 times larger in the east that the west, the agency said.

'Working at home in Hewlett, Long Island and my whole desk started shaking and things were swinging. I clocked the time in at 4:48 PM,' wrote Marie Polifrone on Twitter.

'Felt it Laurel/Russett [DC suburbs] area. Startled Morty, our smart chocolate lab. His eyes said "The earth moved, I need to go",' wrote Andy Talbert on Twitter.

Only three earthquakes magnitude 4.0 or higher have occurred between Washington and New York since 1950, according to data from the USGS.

Delaware is considered to be a low-risk area for earthquakes, with few ever reported.