11 Earthquakes Rattle Illinois to Arkansas, Experts on the Lookout for Next Possible Strong Seismic Activity in Eastern US

11 Earthquakes Rattle Illinois to Arkansas, Experts on the Lookout for Next Possible Strong Seismic Activity in Eastern US

Rich Co

Experts are still keeping an eye out for any potential upcoming strong seismic activity that could shake the entire Eastern US after 11 recent earthquakes shook regions from Illinois to Arkansas.

Another significant earthquake powerful enough to rattle the entire area of the Eastern United States is still imminent in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, which is still active.

11 Earthquakes

11 earthquakes have rattled the Mississippi River region from southern Illinois into northeastern Arkansas over the last 10 days. The earthquakes struck in Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas, with the most recent striking near McClure in southern Illinois Nov 18. Earthquakes have ranged in magnitude from 1.2 to 2, as seen in the list by USGS below.

New Madrid Seismic Zone

Although no one is certain of the exact timing, experts predict that the violent history of the NMSZ will repeat itself.

As noted by experts, December 16 marks the first of three significant quakes that hit the United States during the winter of 1811-1812, a violent period in the region's seismological history that scientists predict will happen again.

Northeast Arkansas was shaken by a strong 8.1 earthquake on December 16, 1811, at around 2:15 am in what is now the New Madrid Seismic Zone. People in cities like New York City, Charleston, SC, and Washington, DC were jolted out of their beds by the earthquake, which was felt throughout much of the eastern United States. In hard-hit areas of the quake, like Nashville, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky, the ground shook for an unbelievably long one to three minutes.

Unrelated 40 Earthquakes in South Carolina

Sadly, the science is not yet developed enough to predict whether that threat will materialize in the coming week or fifty years. In any case, there could be a sizable loss of life and property when another major earthquake strikes here in the future because the population of the New Madrid Seismic Zone is enormous compared to the low and scattered population during the early 1800s. Tens of millions more people live in an area that would potentially experience significant ground shaking.

According to Weatherboy, There doesn't seem to be any connection between the recent increase in activity near the New Madrid fault and the ongoing swarm of earthquakes in South Carolina. Central South Carolina has experienced more than 40 earthquakes since December 2021, with several stronger earthquakes recently felt and recorded. According to scientists, the distance between the earthquakes in the New Madrid region and those in Elgin, South Carolina, is too great for them to be connected.

USGS List of Earthquakes Illinois to Arkansas

According to the USGS Latest Earthquakes interactive map, (as of November 21) the following details show the earthquakes listed in areas from Illinois to Arkansas for the past 10 days:

1. Nov 21 at 9:03, Magnitude 1.24, 4 km WSW of Ridgely, Tennessee 
2. Nov 21 at 05:44, Magnitude 1.81, 3 km SW of Ridgely, Tennesse
3. Nov 18 at 18:32, Magnitude 1.17, southeastern Missouri 
4. Nov 18 at 11:13, Magnitude 2.04, 3 km SSW of McClure, Illinois 
5. Nov 17 at 07:38, Magnitude 1.74, 4 km WSW of Ridgely, Tennessee 
6. Nov 17 at 05:10, Magnitude 1.48, 4 km ENE of Lepanto, Arkansas 
7. Nov 16 at 08:27, Magnitude 1.72, 2 km ESE of Lilbourn, Missouri 
8. Nov 16 at 04:13, Magnitude 1.54, 5 km SE of Marston, Missouri 
9. Nov 15 at 13:57, Magnitude 1.73, 7 km SW of Tiptonville, Tennessee 
10. Nov 13 at 22:36, Magnitude 1.7, 1 km NE of Marston, Missouri 
11. Nov 13 at 14:11, Magnitude 1.75, 3 km W of Tiptonville, Tennessee