Another Slightly Larger Earthquake Just Shook Illinois Again

Something strange is happening in southeastern Illinois. After 2 earthquakes struck the region yesterday, another slightly larger quake has just been reported and it also was widely felt.

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The USGS just reported this quake near Lawrenceville, Illinois. This is the same area where two earthquakes were felt yesterday. This one measured a 2.8 on the Richter Scale.

After only just a few minutes after the USGS report, 20 people immediately reported feeling it and that number is expected to grow throughout the day.

What's up with earthquakes suddenly happening in southeastern Illinois?

While Illinois is obviously a part of the New Madrid Fault system in the southwestern part of the state, the quakes felt this week are from the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone. The Wikipedia page says this fault is capable of experiencing a 7.7 earthquake in the future which makes me wonder if this recent mini-swarm of quakes this week is a precursor to something even larger.

Might want to keep an eye on the USGS earthquake map for future quakes to see if there's more shaking yet to happen in Illinois. Would be a good idea to brush up on those earthquake preparedness plans, too.