About an hour ago, Mrs. Marathon Pundit awakened me, and told me that there was an earthquake with a 5.2 magnitude in West Salem, Illinois, 250 miles south of our home.
Californians reading this are going to laugh, but 5.2 makes it one of Illinois' strongest quakes ever.
There are no reports of major damage even near the epicenter, and no reported injuries.
But this is not a major earthquake-free zone. In 1811 and 1812, a series of earthquakes centered in New Madrid, Missouri changed the course of the Mississippi River. It was believed to have had a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter Scale.
UPDATE 12:51 PM: There was a second quake this morning, about two hours ago, registering 4.6 on the Richter Scale. That one went unnoticed by me.
UPDATE 9:45 PM: Kentuckian Prairie Bluestem lives much closer to the epicenter, and she has much better account here.
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3 comments:
Our seismic region is different from California because we're sitting on top of solid rock. That means quakes can't distort the ground much, so damage is limited. On the other hand, rock carries vibrations well, so even a 5.4 quake can be felt 450 miles away.
Which explains why the New Madrid quakes were felt so far away a couple of century ago. Thanks for your input!
Well, I guess even an earthquake won't wake me up at 4:40am! If I even rolled over I'm unaware of it. My wife is a professional sleeper, so it was scarcely worth asking her--I knew the answer already.
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