Earthquake Shakes St. Louis

Earthquake Shakes St. Louis
by Becky Kellogg , on Jun 7, 2011 6:05 am ET

A minor earthquake rocked the St. Louis, Missouri area overnight. Some Missouri residents said they felt their home shaking for 5 to 30 seconds.

There are no reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter of the quake, which had a 4.2 magnitude, was roughly thirty minutes southwest of St. Louis.


Location of the Missouri Earthquake

A website that tracks earthquake, earthquake-report.com, posted some comments from users who reported feeling their homes and furniture shake:

"Chesterfield Missouri (IV MMI) : My dog was acting VERY weird for a good five minutes before We felt the noticeable amount of shaking. Very scary. The dog is still acting the same way, seems like she’s actually getting worse. Very antsy and nervous. Shaking a lot. Our home seems to be okay, but the dogs are going crazy!"

"Columbia Missouri : My bed trembled. I (am) about 120 miles northwest of Sullivan, MO."

"Jefferson City, Missouri : Felt the whole house and all the furniture shake here in Jefferson city!"

The quake was reportedly felt as far away as Illinois.
http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/st-louis-quake_2011-06-07

Earthquakes in the New Madrid area can cause so much more damage because the rock underneath is very inelastic. It does not absorb the energy like the San Andreas area for example.

As Mic said, the New Madrid fault is most unstable. The last big one on this fault caused the Mississippi river to run backwards. I am not too far from this fault, I hope I don't feel the ground shaking anytime soon.

Quote :

I hope I don't feel the ground shaking anytime soon.

If The Bootheel of Missouri had a M9+ quake, Kansas City would likely feel about M5.

I'm starting a retro fit on my home. It's not IF, but when!