WASHINGTON: A meteor crashing toward Earth exploded over the northeastern United States on Saturday, NASA said, setting off booms that echoed over the region with a blast equivalent to 300 tons of TNT.

The fireball broke up over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire at 2:06 p.m. (1806 GMT), the US space agency's deputy news chief Jennifer Dooren told AFP in a statement.

"This fireball was not associated with any currently active meteor shower, but it was a natural object and not a re-entry of space debris or a satellite," she said.

"The energy released at breakup is estimated to be equivalent to about 300 tons of TNT, which accounts for the loud booms."

The meteor was traveling at 75,000 mph (more than 120,000 kph) at an altitude of 40 miles (64 km) when it broke apart, Dooren said.

Area residents were alarmed by the unexpected loud booms, with social media users reporting that they were so powerful they shook houses.

Meteor Explosion

Meteor explodes over US with blast equivalent to 300 tons of TNT