Another earthquake has rattled the heart of the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) in western Tennessee today. According to USGS, a relatively weak magnitude 2.1 event struck near Ridgely at 3:17 pm this afternoon from a depth of 4.1 km. There were no reports of any injuries nor damage. Today’s earthquake was the 18th in recent days to strike in an area that has a history of significant earthquake activity.
Monday, December 16, marked the anniversary of first of three very significant earthquakes to strike this region during the winter of 1811-1812, a violent time in seismological history of the region that scientists say will be repeated again. While this latest earthquake was relatively inconsequential, authorities are concerned that people aren’t properly prepared for when a big earthquake will strike this region. The matter of a larger destructive earthquake in this area is more of a matter of “when” rather than “if.” These recent earthquakes have been in the heart of the NMSZ where a significant earthquake will likely happen again at some point in the future.
While the US West Coast is well known for its seismic faults and potent quakes, many aren’t aware that one of the largest quakes to strike the country actually occurred near the Mississippi River. On December 16, 1811, at roughly 2:15am, a powerful 8.1 quake rocked northeast Arkansas in what is now known as the New Madrid Seismic Zone. The earthquake was felt over much of the eastern United States, shaking people out of bed in places like New York City, Washington, DC, and Charleston, SC. The ground shook for an unbelievably long 1-3 minutes in areas hit hard by the quake, such as Nashville, TN and Louisville, KY. Ground movements were so violent near the epicenter that liquefaction of the ground was observed, with dirt and water thrown into the air by tens of feet. President James Madison and his wife Dolly felt the quake in the White House while church bells rang in Boston due to the shaking there…