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The New Madrid fault line in southeast Missouri reminded area residents of its existence Tuesday morning with a 4.0 magnitude earthquake.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the ground started to shake at 3:58 a.m., nine miles east south east of Sikeston.
Rolla is approximately 148 miles from the epicenter — the exact source of the earthquake.
Three people from Rolla reported feeling the shaking through USGS’s “Did You Feel It?” web site. Those reports gave the shaking an average rating of two, meaning the individuals barely felt the shaking and there was no damage.
Several people in five states — Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee — felt the quake, along with scattered people in four others, as far away as North Carolina and Georgia, according to responses to the U.S. Geological Survey website.
Some Missourians closer to the quake reported very light damage including items falling from shelves, broken windows, minor cracks in walls and sidewalks, said Amy Vaughan, a geophysicist for the Geological Survey office in Golden, Colo. No injuries were reported.
A second, smaller earthquake was reported later in the day at 11:05 a.m. with a magnitude of 2.4.
Experts have speculated fault may produce a major quake for more than a decade.
The fault has produced major earthquakes historically, including one that completely destroyed the town of New Madrid 200 years ago.
The earthquakes on Dec. 16, 1811, and Jan. 23 and Feb. 7, 1812, were among the strongest ever in the U.S., their magnitudes estimated to have ranged from 7.7 to 8.1. Shockwaves spread as far as New York and the force of the temblors reportedly rang church bells in Boston. The Mississippi River reversed flow for a time.
One point most experts do agree on is that Rolla residents would feel a major earthquake.
Rolla would also feel the effects, possibly more so than the shaking.
Phelps County Emergency Management Director Sandy North has said that a major earthquake could knock out power and access to fuel and other resources for up to a week.
Rolla could also absorb a large amount of evacuees from southeast Missouri and the St. Louis area, as geologists believe Phelps County would be the first place residents of those areas would come to that would be able to provide temporary housing.
North recommends local families have an emergency supply kit including items like non perishable food, bottled water, blankets and a first aid kit.
She also encourages families to talk about earthquake safety and have a plan in place.
Earthquake drills are becoming more common. On Feb. 7, nearly 150,000 Missourians and hundreds of schools in the state participated in a drill known as the "Great Central U.S. ShakeOut."
Experts suggest that the likelihood of a magnitude 6 or greater quake occurring along the New Madrid fault within a half century is somewhere between 28 percent and 46 percent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The New Madrid fault line in southeast Missouri reminded area residents of its existence Tuesday morning with a 4.0 magnitude earthquake.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the ground started to shake at 3:58 a.m., nine miles east south east of Sikeston.
Rolla is approximately 148 miles from the epicenter — the exact source of the earthquake.
Three people from Rolla reported feeling the shaking through USGS’s “Did You Feel It?” web site. Those reports gave the shaking an average rating of two, meaning the individuals barely felt the shaking and there was no damage.
Several people in five states — Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee — felt the quake, along with scattered people in four others, as far away as North Carolina and Georgia, according to responses to the U.S. Geological Survey website.
Some Missourians closer to the quake reported very light damage including items falling from shelves, broken windows, minor cracks in walls and sidewalks, said Amy Vaughan, a geophysicist for the Geological Survey office in Golden, Colo. No injuries were reported.
A second, smaller earthquake was reported later in the day at 11:05 a.m. with a magnitude of 2.4.
Experts have speculated fault may produce a major quake for more than a decade.
The fault has produced major earthquakes historically, including one that completely destroyed the town of New Madrid 200 years ago.
The earthquakes on Dec. 16, 1811, and Jan. 23 and Feb. 7, 1812, were among the strongest ever in the U.S., their magnitudes estimated to have ranged from 7.7 to 8.1. Shockwaves spread as far as New York and the force of the temblors reportedly rang church bells in Boston. The Mississippi River reversed flow for a time.
One point most experts do agree on is that Rolla residents would feel a major earthquake.
Rolla would also feel the effects, possibly more so than the shaking.
Phelps County Emergency Management Director Sandy North has said that a major earthquake could knock out power and access to fuel and other resources for up to a week.
Rolla could also absorb a large amount of evacuees from southeast Missouri and the St. Louis area, as geologists believe Phelps County would be the first place residents of those areas would come to that would be able to provide temporary housing.
North recommends local families have an emergency supply kit including items like non perishable food, bottled water, blankets and a first aid kit.
She also encourages families to talk about earthquake safety and have a plan in place.
Earthquake drills are becoming more common. On Feb. 7, nearly 150,000 Missourians and hundreds of schools in the state participated in a drill known as the "Great Central U.S. ShakeOut."
Experts suggest that the likelihood of a magnitude 6 or greater quake occurring along the New Madrid fault within a half century is somewhere between 28 percent and 46 percent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
