Thread: 5.2 Earthquake In Illinois. Shakes Large Part of Midwest

5.2 quake in Ill. shakes large part of Midwest
'This is a fairly large quake for this region,' USGS says


updated 9 minutes ago

WEST SALEM, Ill. - Residents across the Midwest were awakened Thursday by a 5.2 magnitude earthquake that rattled skyscrapers in Chicago's Loop and homes in Cincinnati but appeared to cause no major injuries or damage.

The quake just before 4:37 a.m. was centered six miles from West Salem, Ill., and 66 miles from Evansville, Ind.

"It shook our house where it woke me up," said David Behm of Philo, 10 miles south of Champaign. "Windows were rattling, and you could hear it. The house was shaking inches. For people in central Illinois, this is a big deal. It's not like California."

Bonnie Lucas, a morning co-host at WHO-AM in Des Moines, said she was sitting in her office when she felt her chair move. She grabbed her desk, and then heard the ceiling panels start to creak. The shaking lasted about 5 seconds, she said.

The quake is believed to have involved the Wabash fault, a northern extension of the New Madrid fault about 6 miles north of Mt. Carmel, Ill., said United States Geological Survey geophysicist Randy Baldwin.

The last earthquake in the region to approach the severity of Friday's temblor was a 5.0 magnitude quake that shook a nearby area in 2002, Baldwin said.

"This is a fairly large quake for this region," he said. "They might occur every few years."

Baldwin said the USGS revised the quake's magnitude from 5.4 to 5.2.

Irvetta McMurtry of Cincinnati said she felt the rattling for up to 20 seconds.

"All of a sudden, I was awakened by this rumbling shaking," said McMurtry, 43. "My bed is an older wood frame bed, so the bed started to creak and shake, and it was almost like somebody was taking my mattress and moving it back and forth."

Lucas Griswold, a dispatcher in West Salem, said the Edwards County sheriff's department received reports of minor damage and no injuries.

"Oh, yeah, I felt it. It was interesting," Griswold said. "A lot of shaking."

Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle in Evansville said there were no immediate reports of damage.





http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24195650

It's an omen. I see it as Obama should not become POTUS and illegal aliens should get out.

I'm glad there were no serious injuries.

Wow! I was up (4.38AM) and on my computer (actually here at ALIPAC), and I felt it big time. I am about 250 miles north of WEST SALEM. (A Suburb 4 miles south of O’Hara Airport.) The house creaked for about 5 to 7 seconds, I watched the monitor wobble a bit, and felt slight back an fourth movement.

I knew what it was (been to CA enough) and went to earthquake.usgs.gov , but it didn’t show anything, so I hit some home pages of local news radios, and still no reports. Then for a moment, being as close as I am, I was being to think an airplane might have gone down at the airport. Went back to the news radio home pages and still nothing, so went back to the earthquake.usgs.gov again and there it was. A RED >5 box.in southern Illinois. I was expecting to see it at New Madrid, Mo. But WEST SALEM is about 200 miles away.

(Every thing described above took about 3 to 5 minutes of time)

With that being a 5.2, and with the amount of creaking this 57-year-old wood frame house of mine would be a pile of sticks at 5.8 to 6. (Hmm, Maybe I better look into earthquake coverage?)

MadInChicago, welcome to our world (Pacific NW). I have gotten so used to the feeling of these little tremlors that we just keep going. I suppose here it is different, we link them to our volcanoes. I have to say for the Midwest it is a bit surprising.

I have never been in California during one and understand theirs are felt even more than ours up here.

We have been having swarms of quakes off of the Oregon coast for two weeks now (underwater ones) and they are not sure what it is doing (not on the usual lines and subduction zones, maybe linked to the San Juan de Fuca plate.

In CA a little 5.2 does not even make the news.

Originally Posted by Bowman

In CA a little 5.2 does not even make the news.

Ya I know, I have been out there in CA for some of them, and some a little bit bigger then yesterdays (but no biggies), but here this is a big thing. The last time we shook was 1989 (or was that 199, anyway, outside of the biggie of 1812, 1989 was the biggest on record until yesterday, but then they downgraded yesterdays for 5.4 to 5.2, keeping 1989’s 5.3 the biggest since “Whitemanâ€

As usual.....I slept through it. This is my 2nd I slept through. One here and 1 in New York. Guess until the Earth opens and swallows me....or the roof caves in....I'll be sleeping.

A friend was telling me that research shows if a big one hits again in SF, the glass shards in the financial district will pile up to 12 feet! This is why I did not run out the door when the 5.6 hit San Jose last October. My roommate said he could NOT believe how much my 2nd floor apartment swayed. It's an old Victorian and it will surely go down. I know a lot of people kid about dropping CA into the ocean, but if Silicon Valley disappears due to flooding, the whole world will know about it. Not everyone here is a breakfast cereal (fruits, nuts and flakes) it just seems that way.

sofedup, it seems that Cali is due for another one. I remember the SF one in 89 (?), it was not good, I cannot imagine what a really bad one would do, it is very scary.

Originally Posted by AE

sofedup, it seems that Cali is due for another one. I remember the SF one in 89 (?), it was not good, I cannot imagine what a really bad one would do, it is very scary.

I remember too, wasn’t that the year the Chicago Cubs were out there for a playoff game.
I remember the TV went scrambled and then went to all snow!
That is the same one, right?