It wasn’t an earthquake.

But it shook the ground just the same.

That’s what Mahanoy City residents said after a neglected three-story building completely collapsed to the ground on the main street at the heart of town.

The collapse at 26 E. Centre St. caught people off guard at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“I was working across the street when it happened,” said Al Kepp of Shenandoah.

“It made a big boom and I saw a cloud of dust.”

Another said she never expected it.

“I was just here yesterday and everything was fine,” said Jaidyn Jadosh of Mahanoy City. She expressed surprise that a large building can just flatten itself in a split second.

Another resident, Lou Huber, said it’s a sad sign of the times.

“The whole town is falling apart,” said Huber, 76, former councilman.

“The buildings aren’t being maintained. People die off and there’s no family. This is what happens in the coal region.”

Huber said the collapse shouldn’t come as complete surprise.

“The entire back of the place was already gone. It was just a matter of time.”

Police said the building, built 1900, was unoccupied and nobody was hurt. The owner reportedly had been cited for neglect and eventually declared bankruptcy.

Fortunately, the borough had placed barricades along the block due to the poor condition of neighboring structures.

The entrance to the former Kleckner Dry Goods Company store next door at 24 E. Centre St. fell into the basement in September, 2020, creating a hazard along the sidewalk.

Those barricades may have saved lives Wednesday as they prevented pedestrians from walking directly in front of the dilapidated commercial property.

According to courthouse records, the property has been owned by Tonya Stanford of Cheltenham since 2006.

Huber said Kass Contracting of Shenandoah was summoned Wednesday to bring in demolition equipment on the same day and get ready for razing the property.

“They’ll start of taking the place down tomorrow,” he said.