Could the earthquake that just struck the New Madrid fault seismic zone near the town of La Center, Kentucky be a “foreshock” for a much bigger quake yet to come?
Very early on Sunday morning, a magnitude 3.5 earthquake hit western Kentucky, and it was felt in parts of three other states as well. In fact, it is being reported that the quake could be felt all the way over in Miller, Missouri, which is 267 miles away. The New Madrid fault seismic zone is six times larger than the more famous San Andreas fault zone in California, and it covers portions of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Scientists tell us that the New Madrid fault is about 30 years overdue for a major event, and because of the nature of the Earth’s crust in that part of the country, a major earthquake would do significant damage all the way to the east coast.
A big Hollywood blockbuster was named after the San Andreas fault, but the truth is that the New Madrid fault has the potential to do vastly more damage. That is why what happened in a remote section of western Kentucky very early this morning was so alarming…
An earthquake near La Center, Kentucky was felt in parts of Illinois and Missouri early on Sunday morning.
According to the National Weather Service in Paducah and the USGS, a magnitude 3.5 was recorded about 8.7 miles north of La Center and 24.2 miles west of Paducah. It happened around 1:12 a.m. and had a depth of about 8.3 miles.
Quite often, there are “foreshocks” that warn us that a major earthquake is coming to a particular area, and many are wondering if this event qualifies.
Most Americans don’t tend to think of the middle of the country as an area that is in danger from earthquakes, but the truth is that some of the worst earthquakes in U.S. history have taken place along the New Madrid fault. The following comes from the USGS…
The New Madrid seismic zone of southeast Missouri and adjacent States is the most seismically active in North America east of the Rockies. During the winter of 1811-1812 three very large earthquakes devastated the area and were felt throughout most of the Nation. They occurred a few weeks apart on December 16, January 23, and February 7. Hundreds of aftershocks, some severely damaging by themselves, continued for years. Prehistoric earthquakes similar in size to those of 1811-1812 occurred in the middle 1400’s and around 900 A.D. Strong, damaging earthquakes struck the southwestern end of the seismic zone near Marked Tree, Arkansas in 1843 (magnitude 6.3), and the northeastern end near Charleston, Missouri in 1895 (magnitude 6.6). Since 1900, moderately damaging earthquakes have struck the seismic zone every few decades.