Topic: Earthquake in Illinois?

[Nine Toes]

I heard on the radio today that Illinois got hit with an earthquake.  I've always thought that Illinois and the surrounding states, including mine, would be the last place that you would have to worry about an earthquake happening.

The ABC news story.

It was between a 5.2 and a 5.4 as I understand, so it was moderate.  The radio broadcaster said it was even felt in places such as Milwaukee and Madison.  Nobody was hurt, and no major damage was reported.

Is there even anybody on this forum from Southern Illinois?

[shbaz]

Eh, no, but there is a well-known earthquake hotspot on the Mississippi somewhere around there.  Once in the 1800's the flow was reversed because of a massive earthquake!

Seismic hazard map of the USA

[TechnoBard]

Eh, no, but there is a well-known earthquake hotspot on the Mississippi somewhere around there.  Once in the 1800's the flow was reversed because of a massive earthquake!

Seismic hazard map of the USA

It's called the New Madrid Fault. Here's a wikipedia citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Madrid_Seismic_Zone
I used to live in St. Louis and we talked occasionally about the effects that a shift in the rift would cause in present day...

[Evil]

Yeah, we talk about the river reversing where I live. I live minutes from the river on the turn on the eastern side of Iowa. I've also heard of ground liquidation, where the ground moves like water. I didn't feel it here in Iowa City, but I know some people that did. I recall waking up around that time, but not for what reason.

[DeadSuperHero]

I live 30 minutes away from Peoria. I didn't feel anything while this was going on.
Apparently, there was an aftershock, which I didn't even feel.

[Snarky]

I live outside of Chicago, and didn't feel anything. True story!

[Pesty]

A lot of my family lives in Southern Illinois and they were pretty shook up by it, especially since it was so unexpected.