A pair of relatively weak earthquakes rattled portions of northern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri today, where dozens of seismic events have unfolded in recent weeks near the heart of an area known as the New Madrid Seismic Zone, or NMSZ for short. 58 earthquakes have rattled the region in the last 30 days, some strong or loud enough to be felt or heard by residents, according to USGS.
The first earthquake struck at 3:13 am this morning just outside of Enola, Arkansas. That 1.7 magnitude event struck at a depth of only 0.9 km. The Faulkner county earthquake, just north of Little Rock, was too weak to generate “Did you feel it?” responses by the community at the USGS website.
The second earthquake struck 14 minutes later at 3:27 am near the Mississippi River in southeastern Missouri. The epicenter of the somewhat stronger 2.1 magnitude event struck just north and east of downtown Steele, Missouri.
The Missouri earthquake struck Pemiscot County which is south of New Madrid County, Missouri. One resident used the “Did you feel it?” tool in the early morning hours to report some weak shaking to USGS at the time of the earthquake. While stronger than the earlier Arkansas earthquake, it was too weak to cause any damage or injuries.
This region has seen a large number of earthquakes in recent weeks; fortunately, most have been small, with no damage reported nor expected. However, this region is also home to a catastrophic earthquake in the 1800’s that scientists believe could be repeated at some point in the future. December 16 marks the anniversary of the first of three major quakes to strike the United States during the winter of 1811-1812, a violent time in seismological history of the region that scientists say will be repeated again.
While the US West Coast is well known for its seismic faults and potent quakes, many aren’t aware that one of the largest quakes to strike the country actually occurred near the Mississippi River. On December 16, 1811, at roughly 2:15 am, a powerful 8.1 quake rocked northeast Arkansas in what is now known as the New Madrid Seismic Zone.
The earthquake was felt over much of the eastern United States, shaking people out of bed in places like New York City, Washington, DC, and Charleston, SC. The ground shook for an unbelievably long 1-3 minutes in areas hit hard by the quake, such as Nashville, TN, and Louisville, KY. Ground movements were so violent near the epicenter that liquefaction of the ground was observed, with dirt and water thrown into the air by tens of feet. President James Madison and his wife Dolly felt the quake in the White House while church bells rang in Boston due to the shaking there. READ MORE
