Seven earthquakes shake areas around New Madrid fault line

HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Officials with the Evansville/Vanderburgh County Emergency Management Agency in Indiana say seven earthquakes happened Monday morning around the New Madrid fault line.

According to Missouri's State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), five earthquakes were detected near Marston, Missouri, while two were detected near Ridgley, Tennessee. All of the quakes are considered to be of a magnitude of 1 or higher. According to Michigan Technological University, an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.5 or less is usually not felt but can be recorded by seismograph. The university says millions of these types of earthquakes happen in one year.

According to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Evansville is among the major cities impacted by this zone. Every year, hundreds of small earthquakes occur in the seismic area; however, most are too small to be felt by humans and can only be detected by sensitive instruments.

The USGS, also known as the U.S. Geological Survey, indicates these are the towns that were closest to these earthquakes:

• December 9
  • Marston, MO
    • Magnitude 2.2
    • 7:30 a.m.
  • Howardville, MO
    • Magnitude 1.9
    • 6:25 a.m.
  • Ridgely, TN
    • Magnitude 1.8
    • 5:31 a.m.
  • Howardville, MO
    • Magnitude 3.0
    • 4:27 a.m.
  • Howardville, MO
    • Magnitude 2.1
    • 12:27 a.m.
  • Matthews, MO
    • Magnitude 2.2
    • 12:08 a.m.
  • Hayward, MO
    • Magnitude 2.0
    • 12:00 a.m.

While the West Coast is well known for its destructive earthquakes, the Mississippi Valley's New Madrid zone was the most seismically active region east of the Rocky Mountains until 2014, when a sharp spike in Oklahoma earthquakes unseated it, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In 1811 and 1812, the seismic area generated numerous earthquakes over a period of months, including three massive quakes that the USGS estimates to have been between magnitude 7 and 8. The quakes destroyed multiple settlements along the Mississippi River and were reportedly felt as far away as Cincinnati, Ohio; Hartford, Connecticut; Charleston, South Carolina; and New Orleans.