A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck central Indiana Thursday morning at 7:55 a.m. EST, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The earthquake was about three miles deep and was centered about five miles south of Greentown in Howard County or around 50 miles north-northeast of the capital, Indianapolis.
As of 12:30 p.m. Thursday, about 7,100 people reported to the USGS that they had felt the earthquake, including residents as far away as New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, and Wisconsin.
“Earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains, although less frequent than in the West, are typically felt over a much broader region,” the USGS explained.
The USGS said an earthquake east of the Rocky Mountains can be felt over an area as much as 10 times larger than a earthquake of a similar magnitude on the West Coast. A magnitude 4.0 earthquake in the eastern United States, which seldom leads to damage near its source, usually can be felt at places as far as 60 miles away from the epicenter.
Indiana University geologist Michael Hamburger told Indianapolis television station WTHR as quoted by The Associated Press that the earthquake is “pretty unusual for the area,” as no known fault lines exist in the area where the quake was centered.
Baldwin noted that two quakes have been reported within 60 miles of the epicenter in recent years, including a 3.8 quake in 2004 and a 3.0 quake in 1990.
The earthquake was about three miles deep and was centered about five miles south of Greentown in Howard County or around 50 miles north-northeast of the capital, Indianapolis.
As of 12:30 p.m. Thursday, about 7,100 people reported to the USGS that they had felt the earthquake, including residents as far away as New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, and Wisconsin.
“Earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains, although less frequent than in the West, are typically felt over a much broader region,” the USGS explained.
The USGS said an earthquake east of the Rocky Mountains can be felt over an area as much as 10 times larger than a earthquake of a similar magnitude on the West Coast. A magnitude 4.0 earthquake in the eastern United States, which seldom leads to damage near its source, usually can be felt at places as far as 60 miles away from the epicenter.
Indiana University geologist Michael Hamburger told Indianapolis television station WTHR as quoted by The Associated Press that the earthquake is “pretty unusual for the area,” as no known fault lines exist in the area where the quake was centered.
Baldwin noted that two quakes have been reported within 60 miles of the epicenter in recent years, including a 3.8 quake in 2004 and a 3.0 quake in 1990.
