The area near the small, central Illinois village of Ohlman, Illinois was struck by a 3.8 magnitude earthquake early Tuesday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey, with shaking felt as far west as St. Louis and as far east as Champaign.
According to the USGS community intensity map, some also reported feeling the quake in in Christian County near Taylorville. Ohlman, in Montgomery County, is directly south of Taylorville, and about 60 miles southwest of Decatur.
Tuesday’s 3.8 magnitude quake, at four kilometers northwest of Ohlman, occurred in the Ozark Dome Region, the USGS said, which covers parts of Indiana; Kentucky; Illinois; Missouri; and Arkansas, and stretches from Indianapolis and St. Louis to Memphis.
According to the USGS, the area borders a “much more seismically active New Madrid” seismic zone, which the Illinois Department of Emergency Management describes as one of two “major” seismic zones the state is at risk of earthquakes from, The other, the state says, is the Wabash Valley Zone, located between southeastern Illinois and southwest Indiana.
In the New Madrid Seismic Zone, there is a 25% to 40% chance of a 6.0 magnitude earthquake or greater over a 50-year time span, the state said.
“Since 1974, the year network monitoring of seismic activity began, more than 3000 earthquakes have been recorded in the NMSZ,” the state’s emergency management agency said. “Fortunately, none of these earthquakes exceeded a magnitude of 5.0, and most occurred without our noticing.”
An earthquake with a 3.8 magnitude is often felt but may not cause damage. On a level of 8.0, an earthquake of 7.0 is described as a “major earthquake” with serious damage, according to Michigan Tech.
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