Evon Wainscott of Kokomo took this photo of a crack in the ground after the earthquake. / submitted
An earthquake about three miles below the ground hit north central Indiana shortly before sunrise today.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 3.8 magnitude earthquake centered 5 miles southeast of Greentown, Ind., at 7:55:21 a.m. today. The agency had initially reported the quake as a 4.2 magnitude. It occurred about 3 miles below the ground, the geological survey reported.
The epicenter is "highly irregular, extremely rare, unprecedented,” John Steinmetz, director of the Indiana Geological Survey at Indiana University, told the Star Press at Muncie.
The Indiana Geological Survey had no records of an earthquake this size in Central Indiana ever. Steinmetz said he needed more time to research when — if ever — central Indiana had been the center of even a more minor earthquake.
The last major earthquake in Indiana on April 18, 2008, had a magnitude of 5.2 and was the strongest to hit the state in 40 years. The epicenter of that 5:37 a.m. quake, seven miles below the Earth's surface, was near West Salem, Ill., about 125 miles southwest of Indianapolis, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That quake was considered to be associated with the midwest New Madrid fault.
No comments:
Post a Comment