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| Mag 5.2 Earthquake Near Bellmont IL 18 April 2008 |
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18 April 08 Mag 5.2 Earthquake Location |
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Large Scale Map Showing Aftershocks and Deployment Stations |
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On Friday April 18, 2008 CERI deployed a network of 5 portable seismic stations in and around Belmont, IL to record aftershock data from the April 18, 2008 magnitude 5.2 Mt Carmel earthquake. Researchers from Indiana University and Purdue are also deploying instrumentation. A team is returning to the area with 5 additional instruments on Wednesday April 23, 2008. The additional instrumentation will be configured in a 25m radius star array pattern. We plan to continue monitoring in the area for approximately six weeks depending on activity levels. The closest permanent network station is about 10 km from the epicenter of the mainshock. The portable instrumentation provides extremely accurate and detailed information on aftershocks. This information can be used to further refine mainshock parameters and to investigate possible causes and consequences of the mainshock. Seismic monitoring of the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone is a cooperative effort of the ANSS partners at the U.S. Geological Survey, CERI at The University of Memphis, and St Louis University. Additional information about the ANSS is available at http://www.anss.org. |
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Did You Feel It? |
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Earthquake History of the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone Recent studies have indicated that the New Madrid Seismic Zone is not the only 'hot spot' for earthquakes in the Central United States. On June 18, 2002, a 4.6 magnitude earthquake struck the Evansville, Indiana with an epicenter between Mt. Vernon and West Franklin in Posey County, in an area that is part of the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone. According to the Indiana University Indiana Geological Survey, while there was minor damage associated with the earthquake, the tremor was a warning to residents of the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone that earthquakes can, and do, strike close to home. The Wabash Valley Seismic Zone is located in Southeastern Illinois and Southwestern Indiana and it is capable of producing 'New Madrid' size earthquake events. Since the discovery of this seismic zone, earthquake awareness and preparedness have increased. Residents are seeing that moderate sized earthquakes are not just occuring to south, but occur right at home and can affect Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. Geologists in Indiana and Illinois have found liquefaction sites and sand dikes that shows the evidence of prehistoric earthquakes in the region. By examining the size of the dikes and sediment found within the sand dikes, geologists are able to estimate the size of the earthquake it took to create the formations. In the mid-1980’s, geologist Steven Obermeier found a liquefaction formation that was estimated, through carbon dating, to be 6,100 years old. The earthquake that produced the site was estimated to be a magnitude 7.0, large enough to seriously disrupt the area known as the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone. Current research is still turning out new evidence of historic earthquakes in the zone. For further informaiton, browse through the links to the right. More Information: |
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Southern Illinois Largest Earthquake in Illinois This was the strongest felt earthquake in southern Illinois since the 1895 Missouri event. Property damage in the area consisted mainly of fallen bricks from chimneys, broken windows, toppled television aerials, and cracked or fallen plaster. In the epicentral area, near Dale, Hamilton County, MM intensity VII was characterized by downed chimneys, cracked foundations, overturned tombstones, and scattered instances of collapsed parapets.
Most buildings that sustained damage to chimneys were 30 to 50 years old. A large two-story brick house near Dale, Illinois, sustained several thousand dollars damage. About 10 kilometers west of Dale, near Tuckers Corners, a concrete and brick cistern collapsed. A large amount of masonry damage occurred at the City Building at Henderson, Kentucky, 80 kilometers east-southeast of the epicenter. Moderate damage to chimneys and walls occurred in several towns in south-central Illinois, southwest Indiana, and northwest Kentucky. Felt over all or parts of 23 States: from southeast Minnesota to central Alabama and Georgia and from western North Carolina to central Kansas. People in multistory buildings in Boston, Massachusetts and southern Ontario, Canada, felt the earthquake. |
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