Some in Illinois may have felt the ground shake Monday night as a 3.3 magnitude earthquake was confirmed in Coles and Cumberland Counties, the United States Geological Survey reported.
According to the USGS, a 3.3 magnitude earthquake was recorded around 11:43 p.m. near Lerna and Neoga in east-central Illinois. Reports said the epicenter was roughly 195 miles east-southeast of Quincy, at a depth of nearly 5.5 miles.
More than two dozen people reported feeling the quake, data from the USGS showed, with reports as south as Mount Vernon, and as far north as Urbana. The majority of reports were from Neoga, Mattoon, Trilla, Charleston and Lerna, the USGS showed, with other reports of shaking as far as Decatur and Hopedale.
At least one report of shaking was recorded in Will County, near Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.
Is Illinois on a fault line?
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security says Illinois is “at risk from two major seismic zones,” which include the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone and the New Madrid Seismic Zone.
“The Wabash Valley Zone is located between southeastern Illinois and southwestern Indiana,” the office said. “The NMSZ is located in the Central Mississippi Valley and includes portions of the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee. During any 50-year time span, there is a 25% to 40% chance of a magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquake in this seismic zone.”
Most of Illinois’ earthquakes occur in the southern half of the state near the famed New Madrid fault line. That fault system has caused some of the strongest earthquakes in United States history, temporarily reversing the flow of the Mississippi River and causing tremors that were felt as far away as Washington, D.C.
Contrary to popular belief, there are fault systems in northern Illinois as well, including the ‘Sandwich Fault Zone’ running from DeKalb to Dixon, according to the USGS.
Another fault known as the Peru Monocline runs southeast from Dixon and across the western portions of LaSalle County.
There is a fault zone north of Chicago in an area known as the “Des Plaines Fault Zone,” but that area has not caused significant seismic activity.
When was Illinois’ last earthquake?
On average, Illinois gets five earthquakes per year, but we don’t typically feel them, experts say.
One of the most recent earthquakes in Illinois came in July of 2024, when a 3.4 magnitude earthquake struck near Somonauk in DeKalb County.
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