GERMANTOWN, Ill. (AP) — An earthquake of magnitude 2.8 has been reported north of Germantown in Clinton County. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the earthquake was detected about 6:55 Thursday night. The earthquake was at a depth of just over 14 miles (22.5 kilometers). No injuries or damage have been reported.
This is the third earthquake reported in Southern Illinois in the past few months. A 2.5 magnitude quake was reported near Pinckneyville on March 5th. The other quake was centered in Washington County just west of the Jefferson County line 12 miles southwest of Mt. Vernon. It registered 3.1 on the Richter Scale. There were no injuries or damage reported in those two quakes either.
Small quakes are not unusual, with around one-million reported annually.
Parts of Illinois are located within the 150-mile-long (241-kilometer-long) New Madrid Seismic Zone, according to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security. Parts of northeast Arkansas, southeast Missouri and western Tennessee also are within the zone.
A magnitude 3.6 earthquake rattled northern Illinois and parts of three other states in November. That tremor was centered near Standard, Illinois, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of downtown Chicago, according to the USGS.
