32 Quakes on Missouri’s New Madrid Fault in 30 Days – Many Felt

Earthquakes happen often along the New Madrid Fault in Missouri. Most of the time it's one or two every few days, but in the past month there have been mini-swarms totaling more than 30 in just the past 30 days. Oddly many of these have been felt, too.

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I got curious about the number of New Madrid quakes near Missouri when I saw a handful that happened in a short span of Friday morning, October 6, 2023. I did some digging on the USGS earthquake website and discovered that as of this writing, there have been 32 quakes along the New Madrid in just 30 days.

The largest in the last month happened just a few days ago measuring a 2.9 and was reportedly felt by 21 people according to the USGS "felt report".

Another New Madrid quake measuring a 2.8 was reported by almost a dozen residents, too. Again, it's not unusual that there are quakes near New Madrid, Missouri, it's just not that common that anyone feels them.

This sudden uptick of New Madrid quakes does not mean that a larger quake is imminent. But, it's worth paying attention to new activity in this part of Missouri since scientists have warned that a potential killer quake is possible in the future. They even shared a new estimate claiming that damage would likely be double what they previously thought. Instead of millions, they think a major New Madrid quake damage might someday even cause billions of loss. Let's hope that possibility never becomes a reality for us all.