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Earthquakes

From Bloomingpedia

Even though Bloomington is far from the most commonly known earthquake zones, it has been known from time to time to experience the tremors of the New Madrid fault and other epicenters in the region. The most recent quake was in 2008.

Geologists say that a quake in the 6.0 to 6.5 range, like the one in 1895, occur about every 75 to 100 years and a megaquake in the 8.0 range like the one in 1812 occur about every 800 years.

Recent earthquakes felt in Bloomington

  • 2008 Bellmont Earthquake, April 18th, 5:39am - 5.2 magnitude quake centered close to Bellmont, IL.
  • 2004 Shelbyville Earthquake, Sept 12th, 8:05am - 3.6 mag. six miles north of Shelbyville, Indiana
  • 2002 Evansville Earthquake, June 18th, pm - 4.6 mag centered near Evansville. This one was felt by many people in tall buildings around Bloomington. Several people in the upper floors of Graham Plaza noticed it and came down to the ground to see what was happening. It was felt up to 250 miles away from the epicenter.
  • 1987 Lawrenceville Earthquake, June 10, afternoon - 5.? mag centered in Lawrenceville, IL Felt in several states.
  • At least 2 other quakes between 1968 and 1987.
  • 1968 Mt. Carmel Earthquake, November 9 - A magnitude 5.5 quake centered near Mt. Carmel, IL. This was the strongest quake of the 20th century to affect Bloomington. It was felt in 26 states.
  • 1925 Earthquake - Strong earthquake of magnitude 5 or greater
  • 1922 Earthquake - Strong earthquake of magnitude 5 or greater
  • 1909 Earthquake, September 27 - The strongest quake centered in Indiana in recent times.
  • 1895 Earthquake, October 31 - Very strong quake in the 6.0 to 6.5 range that caused a lot of damage to southern Indiana and Illinois.
  • 1812 New Madrid Earthquake, February 9 - The New Madrid megaquake was one of the strongest quakes in recent history. It is estimated that it was in the 8.0 to 9.0 range. It occured before Bloomington was settled though.

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