A magnitude 4.0 earthquake hit Missouri on Thursday afternoon, with shaking felt in the surrounding states, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquake rumbled a kilometer northwest of Cooter, Missouri, according to the USGS. The location is 80 miles north of Memphis, Tennessee, and just above the Arkansas state line, NewsNation local affiliate WREG reports.
The earthquake hit right along the New Madrid Seismic Zone, which the Missouri Department of Natural Resources describes as “the most active seismic area in the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains.”
Missouri's Cooter rattled by earthquake with shockwaves felt across multiple states
Chris Melore
A large earthquake has struck right in the heart of an ancient seismic zone feared to one day bring a catastrophic natural disaster to the Midwest.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) detected a magnitude 4.0 quake less than a mile from the small Missouri city of Cooter at 1.59pm ET on Thursday.
Although Cooter only has a population slightly over 300, the seismic event has already been reported by over 500 people across six states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.
According to USGS, the shockwaves were felt over a distance of more than 300 miles, from western Tennessee to central Arkansas.
Residents have reported light to moderate shaking throughout the region, but there have not been any reports of injuries from local news outlets.
Cooter sits in the southeasternmost part of the state, known as Missouri's Bootheel. However, this region is also known for being in the heart of the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ).
Although these light tremors are considered harmless and normal for the region, scientists have calculated that the NMSZ is entering the window where a massive seismic event could take place, affecting millions throughout the central US.
Between December 1811 and February 1812, a group of three powerful earthquakes over 7.0 in magnitude caused damage in multiple, including Cincinnati and St Louis, and was felt in states as far away as Connecticut and Louisiana.
Studies have found that large quakes like these could happen in the NMSZ every 200 to 800 years.
This means the region has just entered the range for the next major disaster in the Midwest to strike, although there is no guarantee it will happen this century.
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