Frugal Café Blog Zone

Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on February 10, 2010

Illinois was hit by a mild earthquake this morning

Northern Illinois was hit by a mild earthquake this morning… nothing that reached the magnitude of what hit Haiti last month, thank goodness.

From Chicago Breaking News Center: Mild earthquake rattles Chicago area:

A mild earthquake shook northern Illinois this morning.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported a 4.3-magnitude quake at 3:59:33 a.m. centered about 5.5 miles east of Sycamore and 3.1 miles underground. But it later revised the magnitude to 3.8, and said the epicenter was just south of Gilberts.

The quake was felt over a wide area — from Wisconsin to Tennessee — but there were no reports of any damage so far, according to the Kane County and DeKalb County sheriff’s departments, which are closest to the epicenter.

“We got hundreds of calls,” said DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott. “But we have no reports of damage or injuries.”

The magnitude and epicenter were revised after the U.S. Geological Survey studied the “wave forms” from the quake, said Amy Vaughan, a geophysicist with the geological survey in Golden, Colo.
“The information was better understood,” she said.

The nature of the fault activity that caused the quake was unclear, Vaughn said. Past quakes that have affected southern Illinois have been in the Wabash Valley or New Madrid seismic zones.

The fault systems in northern Illinois are not as well understood as those in other regions where earthquakes are more common, and more investigation will be needed to determine the cause of this morning’s temblor, Vaughan said.

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck near downstate West Salem on April 18, 2008. That quake was the worst to hit Illinois since 1968.

By contrast, the earthquake that leveled Haiti on Jan. 12 registered 7.0 on the Richter Scale, meaning it was about 1,600 times the magnitude of the one this morning. Many of the numerous aftershocks to hit the island were approximately the same magnitude as the quake that hit near Sycamore today.

SFGate, San Francisco Chronicle: Illinois 4.3 earthquake shakes up Wisconsin, Iowa, and Twitter:

The Illinois 4.3 earthquake was felt not just north of Chicago and in Wisconsin and Iowa, but on Twitter. The USGS reports “a magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake typically can be felt at many places as far as 60 miles from where it occurred, and it infrequently causes damage near its source. A magnitude 5.5 eastern U.S. earthquake usually can be felt as far as 300 miles from where it occurred, and sometimes causes damage as far away as 25 miles.”

Twitter is the place to go to determine how people were impacted. Illinois is one of the top hashtags as of this writing. Here are some selected tweets:

ellenzar Snow, we can live with it..it’s only a foot so no closings EARTHQUAKE!?!?!This is Illinois NOT California..woke me up..drove the cats nuts

flubdubs DAMNIT this is the second Illinois earthquake I’ve slept through.

lisamarieyonke 4 a.m. earthquake wake anyone up? I thought it was a dream…we’re not supposed to have earthquakes in Illinois!!

DainasaurRoar So it was definitely an earhquake. 4.3 at 4 am. Second one i’ve felt in illinois recently

From MSNBC, Earthquake gives Illinois ‘a little shake’ — Tremors are felt in Chicago, Milwaukee and parts of Ind., Mich. and Iowa:

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.3 hit Illinois on Wednesday, officials said.

NBC News reported that the quake was centered about eight miles northeast of DeKalb, Ill. It was felt in Chicago, Milwaukee and parts of Indiana, Michigan and Iowa at around 4 a.m. local time.

NBC station WMAQ reported that law enforcement officials said there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

From The Bolingbrook Sun, Early morning earthquake rattles area:

An earthquake measured at magnitude of 3.8 just before 4 a.m. today was centered one mile south-southeast of Pingree Grove. No damage had been reported as of 6:25 a.m.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake was centered about five miles east of Sycamore and five miles of Maple Park, with a magnitude of 4.3. Later the USGS lowered the magnitude.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake was centered about five miles east of Sycamore and five miles of Maple Park, with a magnitude of 4.3. Later the USGS lowered the magnitude.

It hit at about 26 seconds before 4 a.m., according to USGS seismometers. Most witnesses said a rumbling, vibrating sound lasted about 10 seconds. Some who phoned Chicago radio stations said the vibrating was preceded by a loud crack or explosion-like sound.

It hit at about 26 seconds before 4 a.m., according to USGS seismometers. Most witnesses said a rumbling, vibrating sound lasted about 10 seconds. Some who phoned Chicago radio stations said the vibrating was preceded by a loud crack or explosion-like sound.

Categories: Environment and Earth, Social and Political Climate
Tags: Chicago, Chicago earthquake, DeKalb, earthquake, earthquake IL, Illinois, Illinois earthquake, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, quake, Sycamore, Sycamore earthquake, Twitter, USGS, Wisconsin