2008 Illinois earthquake

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2008 Illinois earthquake
Date 18 April 2008
Magnitude 5.2ML
Depth: 11.6 kilometres (7 mi)
Epicenter location: 38.45° N 87.89° WCoordinates: 38.45° N 87.89° W
Lick Prairie Township,
Wabash County, Illinois
(5 miles north-northeast Bellmont, Illinois)
Countries/
regions affected		 United States
Max. Intensity: VII - Very strong[1]
Casualties: 2 reported; 0 fatalities

The 2008 Illinois earthquake was one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded in the state of Illinois, measuring a magnitude of 5.2.[2] It occurred at 4:37:00am CDT (9:37:00 UTC) on April 18 within the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone at a depth of 11.6 km. It was centered near West Salem, Illinois and Mount Carmel, Illinois, specifically 38.450°N, 87.890°W, [3] and felt as far as 450 miles (724 km) away.[4] Tremors were felt as far west as Nebraska[5] and Kansas City[6], as far south as Atlanta[7], as far east as Kitchener, Ontario[8]and West Virginia[9], and as far north as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan[10]. The earthquake was felt so far away, compared to earthquakes in other regions, because the old, rigid bedrock beneath much of the Midwest allows the tremor to propagate further.[5][9]

The earthquake epicenter was located in the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone, which is adjacent to the more famous New Madrid Seismic Zone.[11]

Contents

[edit] Damage

  • In Mount Carmel, Illinois, a woman was trapped in her home by a collapsed porch but was quickly freed and was not hurt. Also, an old school that was converted into a two-story apartment building was evacuated because of loose and falling bricks and because the roof had started to collapse into a couple of the apartments on the top floor.[12] The building was later condemned.[13] A man received serious eye injuries, but did not seek immediate medical attention. [13]
  • In St. Louis, Missouri, the outer lanes on the South Kingshighway Boulevard viaduct were closed between Shaw Boulevard and South Vandeventer Avenue/Southwest Avenue for approximately thirty minutes because pieces of concrete were seen around it, and on the surface streets/railroad tracks below it.[14] Minor damage was seen all over the St. Louis metropolitan area causing street closings in some southside communities.[citation needed]
  • Illinois and Kentucky state highway crews were investigating if any roads or bridges were damaged in the area nearest the quake, but so far only cracks had been reported in Illinois, on U.S. Route 51 near Cairo, Illinois, at the state's southern tip, said Mike Claffey, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation.[17] No roads have yet been reported to be damaged in Kentucky, but inspections are being conducted in the Louisville, Paducah, and Henderson districts, according to the Kentucky Department of Transportation.[18]

[edit] Emergency Response

Many precautionary measures were taken after the initial quake, including several evacuations.[20] All Vincennes University dormitories were evacuated as a precaution, but no damage was discovered and students were allowed to return after about 45 minutes. A coal mine in Gibson County, Indiana, was also evacuated after the earthquake, but miners returned to work shortly afterwards. [21]

The Gibson County, Indiana, 9-1-1 system was briefly knocked offline due to a flood of calls resulting from the earthquake, but after about 15 minutes service was restored. [21]

[edit] Aftershocks

A week after the main earthquake, the USGS recorded a total of 26 aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 1.0 to 4.6. The biggest aftershock occurred at 10:14am CDT (15:14 UTC),[11] on April 18; it was a magnitude 4.6, and also centered near West Salem, just north of the original quake.[22][23] An aftershock with a magnitude of 4.0 (initially reported as 4.5) was felt three days later on April 21, at 12:38am CDT (05:38 UTC), centered northwest of Mt. Carmel, Illinois.[24] [25] A 3.7 aftershock struck on Friday, April 25 around 17:30 GMT (12:30 PM local).[26] A 3.3 aftershock struck on Thursday, May 1 around 5:30 GMT (12:30 AM local). [27] A 3.6 aftershock struck on Thursday, June 5 around 2:13 AM local time. [28]

[edit] Earthquake on TV

Several television stations were live on-air when the quake hit. NBC 14 WFIE[29] in Evansville and NBC 3 WAVE-TV[30] and ABC 11 WHAS-TV[31] in Louisville were doing local news broadcasts when the tremors hit.

Tremors of the magnitude 4.6 aftershock were also caught on camera during a taped interview with the Indiana Department of Transportation in Vincennes, Indiana, as the interviewer asked about the magnitude 5.2 earthquake. It was later broadcast on the Wabash Valley's local news station WTWO's Live at Five broadcast.[32][33]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Event 2008qza6 Map". USGS (April 18, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-18.
  2. ^ "Illinois History". USGS.
  3. ^ "Magnitude 5.2 - ILLINOIS - Details". USGS.
  4. ^ "5.2 earthquake rattles skyscrapers, nerves across Midwest", AP (April 18, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-18. 
  5. ^ a b Jim Suhr, Associated Press (April 18, 2008). "5.2 earthquake rattles skyscrapers, nerves across Midwest". San Francisco Chronicle. “It was the kind of tremor that might be ignored in earthquake-savvy California, but the temblor shook things up from Nebraska to Atlanta and rattled nerves in Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky., where bricks toppled to the pavement. Dozens of aftershocks followed, including one with a magnitude of 4.6.”
  6. ^ "Earthquake rocks Midwest, including KC area", The Kansas City Star (April 18, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-18. 
  7. ^ "Geological survey now registers quake at 5.2", The Southern Illinoisan (April 18, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-18. 
  8. ^ "Illinois earthquake rattles southern Ontario", National Post (April 18, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-18. 
  9. ^ a b "Nope, you weren't dreaming", Chicago Tribune (April 19, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-19. 
  10. ^ "Felt Reports", USGS (April 18, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-18. 
  11. ^ a b "Early Today", KSDK (April 18, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-18.  Television reports
  12. ^ "5.2 earthquake rocks the Midwest", ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved on 2008-04-18. 
  13. ^ a b Easter, Laura (2008-04-22). "Residents ‘obviously shaken and concerned’ by earthquake activity, Colby Rigg says" (in English), Daily Republican Register, Tri-State Media. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. 
  14. ^ "Lanes on KingsHighway Viaduct Reopen", KSDK Newschannel 5 St. Louis. Retrieved on 2008-04-18. 
  15. ^ a b WAVE (TV) 3 News, Louisville, Kentucky, April 18, 2008
  16. ^ "Update: Aftershocks rattle Tri-State Friday", 14 WFIE News. Retrieved on 2008-04-19. 
  17. ^ "Strong Aftershock Felt In Midwest", AHN - All Headline News. Retrieved on 2008-04-18. 
  18. ^ "Bridge Inspections Underway in Kentucky", WXIX-TV Fox19 News. Retrieved on 2008-04-18. 
  19. ^ http://www.tristate-media.com/articles/2008/04/21/pdclarion/news/news1.txt
  20. ^ Earthquake Information
  21. ^ a b "Significant Earthquake Rumbles Early Friday", WRAY Radio. Retrieved on 2008-04-19. 
  22. ^ "Magnitude 4.6 - ILLINOIS". USGS (April 18, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-18.
  23. ^ "Map Centered at 38°N, 88°W". USGS (April 18, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-18.
  24. ^ "KSDK NewsChannel 5 - 4.5 Magnitude Quake Rattles St. Louis Early Monday Morning". KSDK (April 21, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-21.
  25. ^ Magnitude 4.0 - ILLINOIS
  26. ^ Magnitude 3.7 - ILLINOIS
  27. ^ Magnitude 3.3 - Illinois
  28. ^ http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/us2008sxba.php
  29. ^ YouTube - 14 WFIE Sunrise News Shows Earthquake
  30. ^ YouTube - WAVE-TV 3: Earthquake Shakes Studio
  31. ^ Local News Video On Demand | WHAS11.com | News for Louisville, Kentucky
  32. ^ MyWabashValley.com Media Player
  33. ^ MyWabashValley.com

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Illinois_earthquake"
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