Minor Earthquake Hits Illinois, Tremors Reported in Indiana, Kentucky

A minor earthquake hit a small town in southern Illinois yesterday, raising questions again about the threat of a major earthquake for states sitting on or near the New Madrid fault line.

The quake struck yesterday at 3:48 p.m. and registered magnitude 3.6, according to information from the National Earthquake Information Center in Denver. The center of the earthquake was near Equality, Ill., which is about 120 miles southeast of St. Louis.

Calls were taken from people in Indiana and Kentucky, who felt tremors that came from Illinois earthquake, but the quake was unlikely to have caused any damage, according to the spokesperson from the National Earthquake Information Center.

Insurance Journal recently reported that experts disagree about the dangers of a major earthquake along New Madrid. A recent study by the University of Memphis indicated the the fault was active, while Purdue University experts downplayed the study saying that fault is not active or a threat.

Some insurers such as Safeco Insurance have ceased writing earthquake coverage in Illinois and Missouri. And, homeowners are inconsistent in their purchase of earthquake insurance. In Missouri less than 50 percent of homeowners near the fault line purchase the coverage.

Yet small earthquakes hit southern Illinois several times a year, according to a National Weather Service meteroligist, Jim Packett, Paducah, Ky.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Illinois Kentucky