Midwest Earthquake

[isuhawkeye]

The news is reporting that there was a magnitude 5 earthquake somewhere between Indiana, and Illinois. 

They also report minimal damage.  Any first hand reports

[SJFedor]

Didn't feel it down here. Ironic though, as we're starting a statewide exercise for just such a thing tomorrow...

[nesagsar]

I felt it in Peoria, about 170 miles from epicenter. The ground shook very noticeably for about 4 seconds then subsided. The epicenter was too far East to be the New Madrid Fault but still close enough to be alarming in that it could effect the Madrid line.

[mfantroy]

I am in St.Louis, we have a major gas main break in North St.Louis, some of the concrete from some of the over passes fell off. Nothing to serious. At the time of the Quake my dog woke me up jumping on the bed and trying to hide under me, at first I thought someone was breaking in, When I went to check the water in my 110 gallon fish tank was moving and the fish were all freaked. So it was a very interesting start to the morning!

[mfantroy]

we just had another 4.5 is what the NWS is reporting.. I was in my office working and my computer monitor was shaking.

[davidsinn]

I felt that one from way the frick up in NW Indiana.

[SAR-EMT1]

All told there have been 8 according to the usgs. One (a 2.4) had an epicenter far to the north of the others  (near Rockford).

There has been minor damage and several minor injuries from the two primary incidents (5.2 and 4.7) And were felt as far away as New Orleans, NY, and Atlanta.
The 5.2 one that occured at 4ish woke up everyone in my complex, knocked every picture and certificate off my walls and set off the fire alarm. Personally I thought it was a tornado (I hadnt heard an explosion and being woke up by the [darn] fire alarm while the building shook wasn't enjoyable. I live roughly 40 miles NW of the epicenter. (Bone Gap, IL / West Salem, IL)

Im on call with FEMA to drive down, but I believe it wont mature.

[G+10]

we just had another 4.5 is what the NWS is reporting.. I was in my office working and my computer monitor was shaking.

I'm over in Creve Coeur on the 5th floor. It was a very interesting vertical oscillation, very mild at the same two beats per second I noticed last night. I always imagined it to be a higher frequency, maybe as the waves propagate over distance?

John Gniewkowski

[SAR-EMT1]

The quakes (for the most part) Folow a path underneath the "Bonpas Creek"
just to the east of West Salem and Bone Gap (NW of Evansville)

[SAR-EMT1]

USGS is now stating the possibility of Liquification having occured during the 5.2 quake. Now listing the 4.2 as an "official" aftershock.

[mfantroy]

I'm over in Creve Coeur on the 5th floor. It was a very interesting vertical oscillation, very mild at the same two beats per second I noticed last night. I always imagined it to be a higher frequency, maybe as the waves propagate over distance?

John Gniewkowski

Now That would have been interesting, I am on a one level warehouse so I didn't see any movement other then my monitor

[Maj Ballard]

My mom felt the second one in Sikeston, MO.

[DrDave]

Dr. Dave checking in from St. Louis.

We live in west St. Louis County in Wildwood, the 4:37 am quake woke all of us up wondering "what was that".  Laying in bed, I felt the house bounce up and down gently.  Interestingly, no hanging lights were swaying and our fish tank was okay.

Was at work when the 10:15 am aftershock hit.  I'm on the third floor in Kirkwood, Missouri, and it felt like five 400 pound guys ran down the interior hallway of the building: rumbled, swayed a little.  Didn't effect the other occupants much -- I went out into the interior hall expecting chaos and people and there was no one there.  (I ws probably the only dumb boob still in the building!)

Dr. Dave

[Whocares]

I am surprised at how many people are surprised.  I mean, yes I know it does not happen every day.  The largest earthquake recorded in the US was at the New Madrid Fault in 1812.  So it is only time when the new large earthquake will hit.

[brasda91]

It woke me and my wife up.  At first it sounded like real heavy wind and trees hitting the house.  Then as I woke up more, it sounded like the house being twisted.  My first thought was an earthquake.  My wife thought the wind was blowing.  I got up and checked outside, no wind blowing.  Got back in bed and told her I thought it was an earthquake.  She thought I was crazy (KY is having a practice eval this weekend and we have been getting simulated e-mails regarding an earthquake).  When her alarm went off, she was surprised to hear it was indeed an earthquake.

[mikeylikey]

When I grew up as a kid in Indiana there was a guy that predicted a HUGE earthquake at the new madrid fault that was supposed to hit in 1990-1991.  Does anyone remember this guy?  It was such a "big deal" that we had earthquake drills in school and had to pack survival kits the first week into the school year.  I just can't seem to find any reference to the guy now.  He was supposedly a well-known earthquake specialist.

Anyway, when I lived in Illinois in the 80's there was a similar earthquake to what happened today and I do believe it actually caused a few fatalities from a building collapse. 

Sorry for trip into my past.   

[Smokey]

Huh....5.2 is a wussy quake

Come out to CA and we'll show you midwest boys a real quake......we don't even notice the little ones like yours

[DrDave]

That would be the late Dr. Iben Browning, meterologist, who predicted that a major earthquake would hit near the town of New Madrid, Missouri, on 3 December 1990.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n24_v138/ai_9267226/pg_1

Dr. Dave

[mikeylikey]

^ Actually since the midwest is FLAT, the effects of minor quakes can be more destructive than those in California!  In 1984 a 5.7 which centered in Illinois and Indiana was felt all the way in Atlanta and Boston.

because the land is flat the wave has nothing to slow it down, it actually picks up force at it travels out until it hits the hidden MTN ranges under the flats of the midwestern states.  

I almost became a geologist.  Wow, what my life could have been like.  

[mikeylikey]

That would be the late Dr. Iben Browning, meteorologist, who predicted that a major earthquake would hit near the town of New Madrid, Missouri, on 3 December 1990.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n24_v138/ai_9267226/pg_1

Dr. Dave

Thanks Dr Dave!  I can't believe after all my Googling, I couldn't find that!   :clap:

[♠SARKID♠]

I'm kind of surprised I didn't feel the quakes.  People in Milwaukee (10 minutes away) were woken from their sleep by tremors, while I was awake watching TV and didn't feel a thing.  But then, my village is littered with active quarries so I might be used to shakes/vibrations from all the blasting.

[SarDragon]

Sunnyvale, CA, 10/18/1989. BTDT, with t-shirt. 

[PHall]

So I take it that you guys liked your little "California Wake Up Call".

And 5.2 is nothing. It doesn't get interesting until you get a 6.0 or better!

[SARMedTech]

I felt it in Peoria, about 170 miles from epicenter. The ground shook very noticeably for about 4 seconds then subsided. The epicenter was too far East to be the New Madrid Fault but still close enough to be alarming in that it could effect the Madrid line.

The USGS has stated that the quake was related to a "branch" of the New Madrid fault and that in fact the quake was a result of seismic action along that particular line.

I live in Northern Illinois, about a half hour south of the Wisconsin border and felt the shaking for about 5-10 seconds. Up here, the quake was originally reported at 4.2 magnitude, then 5.4, and finally it seems they have settled on 5.2

[SARMedTech]

I am surprised at how many people are surprised.  I mean, yes I know it does not happen every day.  The largest earthquake recorded in the US was at the New Madrid Fault in 1812.  So it is only time when the new large earthquake will hit.

I'm not sure this post makes any sense...or at least I can understand it. I'm not sure how we can say definitively that the largest recorded US quake was the New Madrid in 1812 since quake "recording" involves the Richter scale, which I don't believe was around in 1812.

I went to college in Wisconsin. There was a church just around the corner from where my alma mater now stands that had its bell tossed out of the steeple by the 1812 quake. But as I say, I don't know how we can say that it was the largest US recorded quake. I would be interested if anyone else has "recorded" info on that event.

[♠SARKID♠]

The Richter Scale didn't exist until 1935.  However, I'm willing to bet that they extrapolated the magnitude from 1812 data and reports.  There might not have been a Richter Scale, but seismometers have been around for over a millennium.

[SarDragon]

I am surprised at how many people are surprised.  I mean, yes I know it does not happen every day.  The largest earthquake recorded in the US was at the New Madrid Fault in 1812.  So it is only time when the new large earthquake will hit.

I'm not sure this post makes any sense...or at least I can understand it. I'm not sure how we can say definitively that the largest recorded US quake was the New Madrid in 1812 since quake "recording" involves the Richter scale, which I don't believe was around in 1812.

I went to college in Wisconsin. There was a church just around the corner from where my alma mater now stands that had its bell tossed out of the steeple by the 1812 quake. But as I say, I don't know how we can say that it was the largest US recorded quake. I would be interested if anyone else has "recorded" info on that event.

The Richter scale is based partly on the amount and type of damage caused. Comparisons have been made between more modern quakes, and the documentation of the damage from the 1812 New Madrid and 1906 SF quakes to assign an estimated Richter number to them.

[SARMedTech]

Yes it makes more sense now that I have been reading up more on the Richter scale and the New Madrid fault.

Thanks.

[Hoser]

The Richter Scale is based on the magnitude of the seismograph deflection. The Modified Mercalli Scale is based on the type extent of damage

[CadetProgramGuy]

In Des Moines, we had reports of floor shaking at the local hospital on the upper levels.

[SAR-EMT1]

There was an aftershock last night. No damage. Most folks didnt even notice it.

[PHall]

There was an aftershock last night. No damage. Most folks didnt even notice it.

Get used to it, you'll have those for several weeks. Don't be surprised if you get a 3+ "tickler" just to keep you interested.

[SARMedTech]

There was an aftershock last night. No damage. Most folks didnt even notice it.

Get used to it, you'll have those for several weeks. Don't be surprised if you get a 3+ "tickler" just to keep you interested.

One of our most recent after-shocks, which I believe occurred over the weekend, was a 4.2...probably still not felt by much more than farm animals and house pets.

[davidsinn]

There was an aftershock last night. No damage. Most folks didnt even notice it.

Get used to it, you'll have those for several weeks. Don't be surprised if you get a 3+ "tickler" just to keep you interested.

One of our most recent after-shocks, which I believe occurred over the weekend, was a 4.2...probably still not felt by much more than farm animals and house pets.

I felt the 10:15L 4.2 from 250 miles NNE of the epicenter.

[KyCAP]

In Kentucky there is a very strong core group of CAP members that have worked for the past 5 years with the Ky Army and Air National Guard on week long exercises wrapped around the New Madrid Fault earthquake.   This allows the entire wing to be able to participate regularly in these exercises.   We are completely integrated into the response and the relationship building for CAP around this event is immeasureable for our working relationship at the State level, not to mention the reinforcement of our CD missions.

The level of planning that has been completed by the National Guard around this is astounding.

I have had very little interaction with other wings on this, but there is a CAP working group out there.

Here is a projection of the quake without geological "pushback".   This projection is used all over this place.   The New Madrid information can be found even in Wikipedia for a quick snap shot. 

I believe the diagram on the left is the Mira Loma quake in the 90's being represented.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Madrid_Seismic_Zone

[SARMedTech]

In Kentucky there is a very strong core group of CAP members that have worked for the past 5 years with the Ky Army and Air National Guard on week long exercises wrapped around the New Madrid Fault earthquake.   This allows the entire wing to be able to participate regularly in these exercises.   We are completely integrated into the response and the relationship building for CAP around this event is immeasureable for our working relationship at the State level, not to mention the reinforcement of our CD missions.

The level of planning that has been completed by the National Guard around this is astounding.

I have had very little interaction with other wings on this, but there is a CAP working group out there.

Here is a projection of the quake without geological "pushback".   This projection is used all over this place.   The New Madrid information can be found even in Wikipedia for a quick snap shot. 

I believe the diagram on the left is the Mira Loma quake in the 90's being represented.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Madrid_Seismic_Zone

Capt. Hensley-

there has been a lot of talk on this forum about the recent Midwest quake and the New Madrid fault, but I was very happy to see what you have posted here and also the information you shared about how hard your Wing is working for interoperability with state and federal agencies. This is going to be the lifeline when the major New Madrid quake hits, which I learned at a Domestic Preparedness training weekend, is predicted by the USGS to occur in the next 7-10 years and be in excess of 8.0. This is going to be an all hands on deck, all hazard response, so Bravo Zulu to KYWG for working so hard.

I am anxiously awaiting the training schedule for the state disaster team with which I operate here in IL (IMERT) to be published for our summer and fall MCI response drills. I have a hunch, though details are kept close to the vest by the command team until drill details are ironed out, that since we have had a quake on the fault very recently, that we will be incorporating that into our work with the Nat'l Guard, ANG and at our last big training session there was talk about trying to establish interoperability with ILWG of CAP. I am also an EMT on my county's MRC, so I would anticipate that there will be some training and education involved with that organization as well.

Thanks for your information. Its good to know that Kentucky answered the fire bell in the night by way of starting what sound like some pretty intense preparations. While I hope that we do not have to work together, I feel very confident about our abilities to do so if it becomes necessary. Good luck with your future trainings, stay safe and lets all work very hard to keep our fellow citizens safe when this thing hits.

[KyCAP]

Thank you for the positive comments.   Ky Wing has a hard working group of volunteers that spend one week of their work vacations on this event each year for our KY Command post and dozens of volunteers that plug into this week as they can.

For the last two years we have been integrated into JFACC and JFLCC by the Guards exercise.   It's a large exercise that even included a C-130 transport flight to forward bases. 

Some of our working group members in Ky are now looking and "synchronizing" our terminology even closer to the National Guards for "interoperability".   For example, in CAP we call it an OPS Plan.  In their terms it is an operations order.   The communcations section is referred to as (J6).  We are proposing the intergration of these terms into the OPS plan to reduce confusion and as a training effort expose our members to this in case they are in the environment.

Additionally, we are reviewing including pertinent "rapid" requirements information for this into the aircraft information manuals in section 13 (Local Information), vehicle binders, issue to Squadron CC and Incident Commanders.   

This also is related to the comments I have over in the GIS thread about Delorme products.